Nice to have a man around on a very girly forum. Helpful advice only, a bit direct perhaps, but no time-wasting title-tattle. But if that's what the majority want ...
PS. I haven't found the ignore button yet.
But one would be missing a lot of good stuff if one used it.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Naturally all of us girlie gardeners wear frilly dresses and aprons to garden as we flit between the flower beds filling out trugs with blooms to fashion into pretty nosegays . Perish the thought that we would imperil our femininity by wearing jeans and wielding manly secateurs
I find secateurs too heavy and ver' unladylike.. I have Mrs Thing cut my flars for me incase my crinoline gets sullied by a leaf.
My trug is a racing green, plastic one which cost a pound. I was really chuffed with my bargain until I realized I'd have to carry it on the bus home! I use it to fetch and carry wood from my store to the fire... shame on me for not being girly.
Trug seems to mean two different things these days - the traditional type woven willow shallow basket shape, or the less pretty but arguably more practical plastic bucket-with-handles. Mine are the latter, black, made from recycled tyres, set of three sizes bought probably 20 or 25 years ago, plus a couple of cheap green ones. The smallest black one is what I use for carting hand tools around in - trowel, secateurs, weeding tools etc.
No girly clothes for gardening unless it's for light pottering-type tasks and it's really very hot when I might wear a cheap crinkle-cotton sundress that doesn't matter if it gets snagged on things - more old hippy than elegant lady .
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Sorry for late reply, thank you to everyone for your interesting and varied sharpening methods. I have previously been interested in the wet/drystone methods but have never known how to get the right angle on the blade. I will peruse all of the links on what to buy and more importantly how to use them!
I have quite small hands and find that little tool is just the right size for a quick sharpen up. You hold it a bit like an old fashioned potato peeler and scrape it along the blade. Don't even have to think about angles @meomye.
I also have the Felco diamond sharpener which I bought because I thought I'd finally sussed tool sharpening and should have a more grown up tool🙄. But you seem to need to think about the angles more and it doesn't do a better job than the little other little gadget - so it's rarely used.
I'm very lazy about putting my tools away, just bung them in a wheelbarrow in the garage. I use them too often to waste time going to the garden shed and hanging them up.
In Dordogne where it can be hot I wear a dress for gardening, cooler. Today I'm wearing a pretty pink number with short but floaty sleeves with big flowers on it, mail order from M&S but when it arrived I didn't like it so it's a gardening dress.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Posts
Different, possibly better solutions.
Nice to have a man around on a very girly forum. Helpful advice only, a bit direct perhaps, but no time-wasting title-tattle. But if that's what the majority want ...
PS. I haven't found the ignore button yet.
But one would be missing a lot of good stuff if one used it.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I use it to fetch and carry wood from my store to the fire... shame on me for not being girly.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I also have the Felco diamond sharpener which I bought because I thought I'd finally sussed tool sharpening and should have a more grown up tool🙄. But you seem to need to think about the angles more and it doesn't do a better job than the little other little gadget - so it's rarely used.
Glad you like it @Fairygirl 🙂
Thought it would be handy to keep in my gardening fleece jacket pocket, rather than stomping inside to the kitchen drawer!
In Dordogne where it can be hot I wear a dress for gardening, cooler. Today I'm wearing a pretty pink number with short but floaty sleeves with big flowers on it, mail order from M&S but when it arrived I didn't like it so it's a gardening dress.
I use Crean Mate and camellia oil on my secateurs (Okatsune and Niwaki) and hori hori knife after every use.
https://www.niwaki.com/crean-mate/
Digging fork, spade, etc. are cleaned, dried and put away in the shed after each use. I do have a small garden so have time for this.