Before you chuck that old handsaw into the trash or start your lawn mower, you should check with Tom.
Who’s Tom? He’s one of the sharpening guys.
We neglect our tools in all sorts of ways, and maintaining sharp edges probably is the least of our tool concerns. From chain saws and power hedge trimmers to carving knives and router bits, sharpening artists like Tom Raymond can put an edge on it for a surprisingly small fee. Most hand tools can be sharpened for $7 or less, and even the most expensive sharpening jobs are somewhere between $20 and $30.
“Most of the time, when a tool or blade comes to me, it’s pretty far gone,” says Raymond, who runs a small pickup and delivery service on Long Island and is known in hardware stores as Tom, the Sharpening Guy. “The rule of thumb should be to sharpen when the item is still sharp; a sharp tool is safer and works better than a dull one.”
With spring’s arrival, we’ll be gardening, mowing, tilling, pruning, scraping–using more sharp tools to spruce up. It’s a good idea to see if your tools are sharp enough. If you have to apply what feels like too much pressure for any cutting job, or if saw teeth seem to bite, it’s probably time for a new edge.
“Chain saws–most people neglect these the most,” says Raymond, who handles sharpening for more than two dozen hardware stores. “A chain saw should make small chips when it cuts; if it’s making dust, it’s way past the time to sharpen.”
For Joe Franco, who has been sharpening for nearly 20 years, the most neglected item probably is a handsaw, with the chain saw a close second. Franco, who runs a shop in Deer Park, N.Y., stays busy in the spring sharpening the power equipment of landscape companies. Another in his most-neglected Top 10 is the power hedge trimmer.
“With hedge trimmers, there is a buildup of sap or residue from the wet branches,” Franco says. “Instead of slicing, the blade is pinching and biting.” After you use your trimmers, Franco says, clean the blade with lubricating oil.
Keeping blades and saw teeth clean and dry is probably the most important part of maintaining a sharp tool, sharpening experts say. In the case of saw blades, knives and handsaws, use a cardboard sleeve to keep protect the edges.
One item that probably needs a new edge this spring is your lawn mower blade. Raymond says that these should be sharpened twice a year, especially in the spring. “Sometimes, lawn mower blades show uneven wear, as if a portion of the blade is being sandblasted,” Raymond says. “This uneven wear can render the blade useless.”
Raymond warns folks who want to inspect or remove lawn mower blades to remove the spark plug wire first: “If you start turning the blade with the wire attached, you could start the motor,” he says.
Both sharpening guys know that in today’s disposable society, lots of good tools are thrown out rather than sharpened. Their advice is to at least try.
“Most guys in the sharpening business will tell you if the tool can be sharpened or not,” Raymond says. “A lot of stuff, cheap knives, for example, can’t be sharpened.”
Their fees, generally inexpensive, are about $5 to $7 for handsaws; chisels are $2.50 to $3; lawn mower blades are $4 to $5 ; carbide-tipped blades, about $8 to $10. A lot of Raymond’s work is around his own house, too.
“One of the worst things to do with knives is to throw them in the sink,” he says. “You should wipe them off with soapy water, rinse and dry them, and then store them in a wood block.”
