Cleaning My Pruning Shears: Inspiration For This Website

I sharpened and cleaned my pruning shears today. I’m embarrassed to admit that this is the first time I’ve ever completed this task.

Earlier this year, I was in a #gardenchat and the topic of pruning came up, including what people do wrong when they’re pruning and tool maintenance. I realized that I didn’t have a good answers for any of the questions that were asked. I always want to prune when it’s not the right time. Then I forget to do it when the time is right. I’m the “people” they’re talking about! I usually do a little research on how to make cuts, but still wonder if I’m doing it right. I’d never maintained a garden tool properly.

I thought there needed to be a place for people who don’t know the answers yet or are learning as they go along. And now I have this website.

So back to the pruners — I Googled how to maintain them and here’s how it went.

Brush with a steel brush. Looks a little better now. Still kinda…dirty? Rusty? That’s what happens when you don’t keep up with maintenance. Tsk tsk.

Run sharpener over blade. This sharpener is a Corona tool that I got on Amazon. As I’m running the tool over the blade, I notice a ton of nicks on the pruner blade. They aren’t completely worked out of the blade after the four to five swipes I take with the sharpener. Did I make them better or worse? I guess we’ll see when it’s time to prune something.

Oil the joints. Spray, spray, spray with WD-40. Before I cleaned them, these pruners did not spring back open after cutting something. I would have to pry them open after I made a cut. Now they’re like new.

And now my pruners are clean and ready for a workout. I must be a real gardener now. Stripes earned? At least one stripe?

Update: Pruned an unruly rubber plant. Like a warm knife through butter. Nice.