You need a strong, heavy work bench that has a decent six inch vise bolted to it. That alloww you to clamp tools firmly in place at whatever position needed for sharpening.

You need a large rat-tail file and a large flat bas tard file and both should have handles on them. The flat bas tard file will sharpen round and square mouth shovels and other items that are fairly flat and straight like Dutch hoes, edging tools, scythes etc. Pruning, lopping shears with semi-circle cutters are best sharpened with the rat-tail file on the bevelled side of the blade and then use the flat bas tard file on the flat side of the blade to clean up nicks and burrs.

Do not attempt to use hand-held grinders or bench-mounted grinders for this work. You will just wreck the tool. The files allow you to work slowly and take off only as much steel as necessary to bring the edge back.

Great! I have a built in heavy work bench that can support the six inch vice. I'm going to get it set up for this purpose.

What about rust on tools? Is there a good way to clean it off?

There is a chemical called Naval Jelly that sorta converts rust. I have never been all that impressed with it. All gardening tools will form a light coating of rust on them due to the steel being unprotected.

If you use a bench grinder with a wire wheel on it to remove the rust, then you have to coat the raw steel with lacquer or paint or oil or grease to keep the rust happening almost immediately. The problem is, the minute you start using that tool in the garden, the protective coating gets removed and the rust comes right back.

Some people have solved that problem this way. They take a plastic five gallon bucket and fill it with really dry sand. They then pour used motor oil into the sand ALMOST to the point of saturation. Immediately after finishing with a shiny, rust-free tool out in the garden, they wash it off with water to remove any dirt and then plunge it repeatedly into the oily sand to coat the tool with oil.

That prevents the rust from returning between usage.

If you decide to buy a bench grinder, then get one that is at least one half horsepower and takes six inch wheels. Most of them come with grinding wheels on both sides. You can remove one wheel and put a six inch wire wheel on instead.

Mount this grinder to the front corner of your bench with the wire wheel to the outside of the bench so that you can manuever the tool you want to clean up easier.

The alternative (if you feel up to the learning curve) is to buy a four inch angle grinder for about twenty to thirty bucks. One of those Chinese made grinders work just fine. Remove the grinding disc and washers. Buy a twisted wire cup brush sized for that grinder (see a knowledgable tool guy at the store) and put the side handle on it for added control.

Now, you can clamp tools into your bench vise and clean them up with the wire cup brush. But....... buy yourself a full face shield to wear while you are using either of these power tools so that your eyes are protected from flying debris. I cannot stress that enough.

Using either of these power tools requires a firm grip and a learning curve but there is no reason for you to shy away from using them.

+1 on the bucket of sand. Not only does the oil evenly and thinly coat the tool but the sand abrasively cleans the tool. You don't want grime to get in there hence the wash off prior. Works great for maintaining your tools and doing light de-rusting.

And the best sand to use for this purpose is "brick sand" or "sharp sand" or "mortar sand" depending upon the local jargon.

Okay, so I'm definitely going to get set up for sharpening my tools. It's been long overdue and I work too hard out in my gardens to create extra work for myself having dull blades on my tools!!

I don't think I'm going to be able to get set up with the grinder, etc. so I will just clean the rust off the best I can and definitely start using the bucket of sand to store the tools in after use. Do you even store shovels and hoes in the sand? Or just hand tools with blades?

I think my tools will stay in better shape if I didn't leave them outside in the rain, too! LOL!

I just purchased a new Felco Hand Pruner and I am going to take good care of it!!

Thanks for your suggestions, and Happy Gardening!

You misunderstood.

Wash the tool off after using it. Let it dry. Plunge it into the oily sand. Remove the tool once it has been coated with oil and hang it up The tool will have a light film of oil on it that will prevent rust. There is no need to actually store the tools in the bucket of sand.
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When they are rusty, plunge it in until the rust is abraded off.

Got it! Duh, I was picturing a bunch of buckets with tools stuck it them. :)

That way sounds easy enough.

Thanks for all your help!

Judy

You can buy a round or half-round diamond sharpener for less than $10, and they're pretty handy for smaller tools like small pruning shears.