On the Care and Enjoyment of Gardening Tools
by Scott Vlaun

With proper use and a little care, most well-crafted garden tools will provide a lifetime of enjoyment. Of course, if you use your kama (grass sickle) to chop out roots, employ your digging fork to pry up huge boulders, or try to shear two-inch hardwood limbs with your loppers, you'll be stuck with using beat-up tools and with constantly replacing valuable implements, or at least their handles. Better to attack roots with a Garden Knife (Hori Hori) or Dutch Hoe, to pry rocks with a breaker bar, and to prune large limbs with a razor sharp Japanese Pruning Saw. So, the first rule of tool maintenance is to use the right tool for the job: it's easier on the tools, kinder to the plants, and nicer for your body.

Likewise, keeping your tools in good working order is easier on all involved. A sharp hoe slices through weeds with little disturbance to nearby plants and less fatigue on the tool and its operator. Smooth, well-conditioned handles are easier on hands and gloves and are destined for a longer life. Here are some tips for taking care of your tools (as well as your body when you use them).

Keep it Sharp

Like a good kitchen knife, precision cutting tools for gardening such as the Kama, Lopping Shear or Pruner will be a joy to work with if kept sharp. Generally the sharper the tool needs to be (the Kama being the sharpest), the more acute the angle to which it is sharpened and the finer the stone or file used to do so. It is best to study the angle to which the blade was previously sharpened and try to keep it the way it came from the factory.

Unlike a good kitchen knife, many gardening tools, including the three mentioned, are sharpened only on the beveled side of the blade. Feel the flat (opposite) side periodically while sharpening until the slightest burr develops, then remove the burr holding the stone or file flat to the blade. Unless you've got big nicks that you're trying to remove, you're done. If the tool is sharpened regularly, a fine diamond file or whet stone is all that should be needed to maintain the tool for quite a while; however, at some point, you may need to have a professional grind the blade to the correct angle or, in extreme cases, you'll need to replace the blade.

Other Gardening implements like hoes and shovels should also be kept sharp but at a less acute angle. Again observe the way they come. For slicing hoes like the Weed Shredder, Dutch Hoe, or Hula Hoe, I find somewhere around 30-40 degrees to be sharp enough to slice weeds below the surface, while being blunt enough to be durable. For the Farmer's Hoe or Garden Spade, a blunter tip of 40-50 degrees will be sufficient; however, if you are cutting through subsurface roots, you'll be happy if it is somewhat sharper. Hoes and shovels can easily be maintained with a coarser file or stone, or even a fine grinding wheel in some cases. Like most matters involving hand tools, with a little careful observation and experimentation, you will find what works best for you and your conditions, while saving yourself a lot of effort in the long run.

Keep it Lubed

For tools with moving parts, such as our Japanese Folding Saw, Felco Pruners or Long Handled Loppers, you'll want to keep a little light oil on the hinge to keep them moving smoothly. Our loppers have a self-oiling hinge that needs to be recharged occasionally using an oiling can. For the folding saw and pruners, an occasional shot of spray lubricant should suffice.

Keep it Smooth

Our tools get heavy use and occasionally get wet or muddy. In the heat of summer, wooden handles dry out. All this wet and dry can lead to a rough surface that can be hard on hands and even wear out your gloves faster. Occasionally, maybe twice a year, we like to round up all our wooden-handled tools and sand the handles lightly with 100 or so grit sandpaper, then apply a coating of linseed oil or tung oil. It makes them feel great to the touch and will help prevent them from drying and cracking.

Keep it Clean

Before putting your tools away for the day, it is always nice to clean them up to prevent them from rusting and so that they won't be caked with mud (and more difficult to clean) the next time you go to use them. Sometimes wiping them with a rag is all that's needed, or, if they're really caked with soil, you might want to hose them off first before drying them. In the case of fine steel tools like the Kama, a light spray of oil will prevent surface rust from forming if they are stored in damp conditions. Some people like to keep a bucket of sand around to plunge hoes and shovels into to remove debris. A little oil in the sand will help keep the rust off. In most cases any surface rust will come off with a few minutes of work in the field. Speaking of putting tools away: although you might have already learned this lesson the hard way (hopefully without breaking your nose!), remember never to set a rake or hoe down with the blade or teeth facing up or out: one step and the handle can whip up and hit you in the face with lethal force.

Keep it Tight

With any tools that utilize wedges to keep the handle in place, such as our Farmer's Hoe, Transplanting Hoe, or Garden Hoe, it is a good idea to check the wedge for tightness each time before you use the tool&emdash;and periodically while working, to keep the head and handle from parting ways and the wedge from being lost. Gently tapping the wedge with a hammer until snug should be sufficient to keep the head tight on the handle. If a loose wedge continues to be a problem, as we have experienced in the arid air of the desert Southwest, you might need to add a wooden wedge between the metal wedge and the sleeve of the tool head. Alternatively, you could make a saw kerf in the end of the handle where it enters the head and drive a metal or wooden wedge into it to keep the handle firmly in place. For many other tools that become loose between the socket and handle, small wedges driven into the gap or a carefully placed screw can be helpful to reduce the slop, which can cause undue fatigue.

Keep it Real

Selecting the right, well-maintained, tool for the job can go a long way towards a healthy, rewarding gardening experience. Using that tool well, by paying attention to your body, can go a long way towards keeping your body as happy as your tools. When undertaking any kind of strenuous work, start off slowly until your body warms up. A few brief stretches before starting can help prevent injury. When hoeing or digging rigorously, bend your knees a little and try to use your whole body, especially your legs&emdash;which house some of your strongest muscles. Become ambidextrous: switching from side to side, or from one hand to the other, helps keep your body in balance and reduces fatigue. Avoid repetitive motion for extended periods. If your forking up beds and your back starts feeling it, take a break, stretch a bit, and perhaps get down on your knees and pull some weeds or deadhead some perennials for a while, before going back to the fork. Lift with your legs rather than bending over at the waist. Relax, breath, listen to your body, take care of your tools, and most of all, have fun.

Scott Vlaun
Seeds of Change Photographer and Editor

Photo captions: (1.) Well used tools in the wheelbarrow after a day in the garden. (2.) Sharpening a kama with a diamond file. (3.) Sharpening a weed shredder with a diamond file. (4.) Cleaned tool handles. (5.) Using wedges to tighten hoes.