Clean tools last longer

If nothing else, tools should be cleaned after each use. Doing so keeps diseases, fungi, insect eggs, and weed seeds from being unwittingly spread around the garden. Cleaning also extends the life of a tool by removing moisture-laden, rust enhancing soil from steel surfaces. For tools with a keen edge, a good cleaning keeps rust from eating the edge away.

Spades, rakes, hoes, trowels, and any other tools that come into contact with soil should be hosed off with water after each use. With the garden hose nozzle adjusted for maximum pressure, average garden soil washes away easily. To remove heavy clay soil, some scrubbing with a hard bristle brush also may be necessary. After washing any tool, dry it with a cotton rag before putting it away.

Tools that don’t come in contact with soil, particularly those with sharpened edges like axes, pruning shears, and knives, should be wiped down with a thick, rough cotton cloth to remove any gums and saps from their blades. When working on pitch-producing plants like conifers, dampen the cloth with a little paint thinner before wiping. In all cases, once dirt and residue are removed, dry the tool with a clean cotton rag.

Apply oil to prevent rust

Even after washing and drying, steel tool heads are still susceptible to rust when exposed to oxygen. In fact, as a general rule, the better the grade of steel used, the more vulnerable it is to rusting. So, considering the high cost of quality gardening tools, it just makes sense to keep rusting to a minimum.

Motor oil is an inexpensive and effective rust preventer. When applied to steel surfaces, the oil insulates the steel and prevents it from oxidizing. To thin the oil out and make it easier to work with and to better coat both porous and smooth steel surfaces, I mix one quart of nondetergent 30W motor oil (any brand will do) with a pint of kerosene or lamp oil. This 2:1 ratio of oil to kerosene can either then be wiped onto the steel surface with a clean cotton rag or sprayed on to metal surfaces—a recycled household-cleaner spray bottle works for me. Store the mixture away from heat sources and dispose of it as you would any motor oil.

Whichever way the oil is applied, keep the coating thin so it won’t drip off the tool head and onto the floor. Because oil is organically based and breaks down rapidly in soil, you don’t have to worry about this small amount of oil adversely affecting your soils.

Before taking any kind of wire brush to a tool, always put on a pair of safety glasses. The rust particles or the wire bristles can fly off at high speeds and in unpredictable directions.

Once I’ve removed as much rust as possible, I then apply a coat of my oil mixture to the newly exposed steel to stop the oxidation process in its tracks and keep in check the almost-invisible residual rust that I couldn’t remove.

Grind battered tools into shape

Since the grinding process removes metal quickly, only the most battered tools are candidates for regular grinding. Tools like lawn-mower blades and grub axes usually merit an annual trip to my grinder. An electric bench grinder is the best way to retrieve a keen edge because it has an adjustable tool-rest platform that allows for more exacting edges.

With a grinding wheel turning at several thousand rpm, the chances of overheating the steel are high. Overheated steel will lose its temper, which means its hardness becomes compromised and the tool will never be able to hold a sharpened edge for very long. So during grinding it’s very important to keep the tool from getting too hot, preferably keeping the surface cool enough to touch. Periodically immersing it in water is the standard cooling procedure.

High-speed grinding should be done with caution. Even with the extra eye shields provided on some machines, you should always wear safety glasses when grinding tools. A bench grinder/buffer can be purchased for around $40. You can also do some basic touch-up grinding with a small grinding wheel (less than $10) made to fit an electric drill.

Store each tool in its own space

It’s important to store your clean, oiled, and sharpened tools properly. I organize my tools according to when and where I use them. Weeding tools are near the door closest to the garden; cutting and pruning tools are near the door closest to the shrubs and woods. And I return them all to the same spot when I’m finished to save time looking for tools when it’s time to work.

Hanging your tools by their handles on a storage shed or garage wall not only keeps them out of the way but also prevents damage to sharpened edges. A 10-penny finish nail driven into a handy two-by-four is the easiest way to keep tools aloft. I drill 1/4-inch holes through the handles of my axes, shovels, hoes, rakes, and other long-handled tools so I can hang them on the nails. I like to keep the business end of the tool hanging toward the floor so when I pull the tool off its nail, it won’t swing down and hit something or someone.

I’ve seen the light—or at least have become more aware of my own dimness— as far as tool maintenance is concerned. Without being too compulsive about it, I now clean, sharpen, and repair all my gardening tools, even if they are only being set aside for a couple of weeks.