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Blunt

andreamoretonandreamoreton Posts: 46
in Tools and techniques
Hi can anyone suggest the best tool.for sharpening my shears they are always dull and  blunt.
Thanks in Advance 
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Posts

  • rossdriscoll13rossdriscoll13 Posts: 234
    @andreamoreton I use a Solinge multi blade knife and tool sharpener.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I use an ordinary medium & fine grinding stone with a little oil.
    It takes a while to get the hang of it.
    I don't think I'm really very good at it, but they're pretty sharp by the time I've done.
    They're only cheapo shears from B&Q about 30 yrs ago

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • WoodgreenWoodgreen Posts: 1,273
    pansyface said:
    If they are really very very blunt, it may be a good idea to have them professionally sharpened and then keep them in trim yourself afterwards.
    A garden centre near me have had a couple of days when people could take things to be professionally sharpened. I wish I'd taken advantage of it, but maybe next time. Prices seemed reasonable.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Some old fashioned hardware shops still do sharpening. Our local one services my lawn mower to, and much cheaper than a specialist place.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,953
    Anyone else remember the guys who used to come round on a bike with a knife sharpening thingy on the front?
     Also the rag and bone men with a horse drawn cart. Used to give out goldfish in little plastic bags in exchange.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Ergates said:
    Anyone else remember the guys who used to come round on a bike with a knife sharpening thingy on the front?
     Also the rag and bone men with a horse drawn cart. Used to give out goldfish in little plastic bags in exchange.
    I do - I also remember it cost 'half a dollar' but I can't remember what half a dollar is nowadays
    I also remember the rag and bone cart - I don't recall getting any goldfish though

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited November 2022
    I remember rag & bone men. These days it's just the scrap metal chaps driving around in a white van,
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited November 2022
    When I lived in rural mid Suffolk, we used to have a Romany Gypsy couple visit the village to sharpen knives, scissors, shears, axes etc.  He had the bike thingummy and she sold handmade lace and pegs, and occasionally she told fortunes for people she liked ... 'not for everyone' she said.  The village pub used to give them their lunch in exchange for some sharpening ... they usually had a bowl of soup and bread ... one year a new landlady made the mistake of giving them soup that had been liquidised, but they refused is as they couldn't see what was in it.  They had bread and cheese instead.  They were a lovely couple ... one year they had their daughter and small grandchild with them ... I had been sorting some children's clothes for a jumble sale and I saw her looking at them so I offered them to her ... she took some, but insisted on paying, saying that they always paid their way. 

    Then one day there was a report in the local paper that their caravan, parked up near Stowmarket, had been broken into and they'd been badly beaten and robbed.  They'd always kept their money with them, not trusting banks etc.  They stopped travelling and moved onto a permanent site.  So sad.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    Pete.8  In the days when there were four dollars to the pound, the old 'half crown' was usually referred to as 'Half a dollar' - or 12.5p in today's money.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    nick615 said:
    Pete.8  In the days when there were four dollars to the pound, the old 'half crown' was usually referred to as 'Half a dollar' - or 12.5p in today's money.
    Cheers @nick615
    Those were the days eh?
    Not far off parity now..

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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