Paula O’Hara loves her muehlenbeckia ‘hedge’ and enjoys clipping it, but her next door neighbour, Merry Howie, told Don that the vine is a curse because it creates so much work. Merry admitted that the job of trimming the hedge might be easier if her clippers weren’t so blunt. She was very happy when Don offered to sharpen the clippers for her.
Don’s sharpening tips
Like all cutting implements, hedge clippers perform best when the blades are sharp.
- Take the clippers apart, if you can. (Tip: line up the parts in the order that you remove them, so reassembly won’t be a problem.)
- Before sharpening, clean the blades using a scouring pad and, if necessary, white spirit.
- Reshape the vertical bevel on the front of the blade using honing oil and a sharpening stone.
- Sharpen the blade using a Swiss istor Sharpener.
- Finally, polish the flat back of the blade using honing oil and a sharpening stone.
- Repeat on the second blade.
- Oil the hedge trimmers when putting them back together.
Look after timber handles with regular oiling (50% mineral turpentine and 50% raw linseed oil is best).
Returning Merry’s clippers
Don returned Merry’s hedge clippers with razor-sharp blades and oiled handles. After trying them out on the muehlenbeckia hedge, she agreed that they were now much easier to use. Merry was thrilled when Don presented her with some gifts from Burke’s Backyard: top quality Freund clippers and a Swiss istor Sharpener.
Further information
Istor Sharpeners are available from Felco Distribution
Freecall phone No 1800 730 257
Email: [email protected].
All items listed below are available from hardware stores (prices are approximate): sharpening stones range in price from $10-$40, depending on size, coarseness and type (oil or dry). A coarse stone is best to start sharpening, finishing off with a fine stone. honing oil or 3-in-1 oil, $6 for 100ml oil can, $8 linseed oil (ready to use), $8.50 for 1 litre mineral turps, $2.50 for 1 litre