Wednesday, March 24, 2010

'Shear' Madness

By Gardennia nutii
Over the years I've collected a lot of clippers, shears and shovels. One reason for my extensive collection is that they tend to get misplaced and then uncovered, but the biggest reason is that I'm too lazy to get them sharpened. I buy a nice pair of clippers, use them a few years, and then they end up at the bottom of my tool bin once they become too difficult to use. Well I'm happy to announce an end to all that (at least for this season). I picked up my old lawn mower last week after its yearly tune up and discovered that my favorite garden tool shop handles sharpening too! I've taken half my tools in for sharpening….and if my burst of responsible tool maintenance continues, will take the other half in a couple weeks later.

How many clippers have you collected? Are you a tool maintenance pro? Let us know!

6 comments:

  1. Felcos are too expensive for me to collect more than one pair but before I saw the light I went through enough cheaper clippers to pay for at least three Felcos! Mine need sharpening desperately. I'm not so good with maintenance.

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  2. The place I had mine sharpened was Roy Boys (out in Tigard). Phone: 503-245-8289; address: 10270 SW Hall Blvd. You have to be patient since they outsource the sharpening...but it is worth the wait!

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  3. Consider myself semi-pro on pruner maintenance. Saw a demo, learned the technique and keep them tuned up. Removing the accumulated sap and sharpening the blade helps my hand joint pain because the pruners are doing the job with less effort on my part.

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  4. I keep a spray bottle of 50%alcohol 50%water to spray and disinfect regularly. Once a week sharpen with a whet stone. Once a year replace blade. Felco's will last 5 years everyday use this way.

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  5. Where do you find replacement blades? I like the idea of keeping the disinfectant nearby in a handy spray bottle. Hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the tip.

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  6. I've ordered replacement blades from two sources with success: gemplers.com and felcostore.com Those are the only two I've tried....but have been happy.

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