#8 Tool Maintanence
The madman’s definition of a tool is “something that makes a task easier.” The better the tool, the easier the task. We consider our seed catalogs tools, but now let’s consider the other tools hanging on walls, sitting in buckets or lying around in various spots – NOT misplaced, says the madman.
Mid-winter, with all its bad weather, is the perfect time to revisit the garden through tool maintenance. This is definitely not the madman’s favorite task, but he grudgingly admits it is important.
Hand Tools
This year we started with our hand tools, for no reason other than they were in front of the snow blower – and, if you live in Connecticut, you know why we finally needed to get that thing out.
Over the years, we have accumulated a variety of tools-some of them quickly became favorites; others are in the category of “why did we ever think we needed this.” No matter where they are in the pecking order, we like to keep them ready for use.
During the excitement of the gardening season, we are often guilty of simply tossing tools into the bucket. Remember one of the madman’s 2019 resolutions was to be better at journaling; another one was to be better at putting tools away properly. So here we are with our first bucket of tools to sort through.
Getting Started
Before we started, we gathered all our maintenance supplies. Since we have a nice 3’x3’ tabletop tarp, we worked on the kitchen table. We gathered a pile of rags (old towels), household oil, butcher block oil (mineral oil, linseed oil or olive oil work just as well we just used what we had), naval jelly, antibacterial soap and water, sandpaper, steel wool, wire brushes and a couple of metal sharpening files.
Getting the table ready for work.
We would have had a whetstone, but the container was mysteriously empty, so that will go on our “to purchase for the garden” list. The madman is a licensed optometrist, so he insists on proper eye protection (he has picked enough metal out of unfortunate eyes to be a stickler here).
By the way, if you are looking for a step-by-step how-to, you may as well stop reading now. The internet is full of videos by experts on the maintenance of your exact tools. They can give you better specifics than we can.
Favorites First
Of all our tools, the hand pruners and clippers seem to be the most useful. We never head for the garden without a Felco 8 tucked in a back pocket. In addition to the Felcos, we have collected a variety of clippers and hand pruners; so we started with these. I found the Felco 9s the madman received from Santa in 2017 still in the original package because he claims that over the years he has adapted to using right handed tools – thus ends my search for left handed gardening presents (I also think that if he managed to lose all the Felco 8s that package would be opened.)
Cleaning
Cleaning the cutting tools was fairly straightforward. We brushed off loose soil and garden debris. A quick once over with the antibacterial soap cleared any left-over sap. A bit of oil and steel wool cleaned the blades and removed any accumulated rust.
Sharpening
Sharpening blades was next. With cutting tools, remember to replicate factory edges when sharpening. Most of our handheld pruners are bypass cutters so the cutting blade is the only section sharpened-the backside is fairly flat, the front side has the bevel. If your sharpening skills are rusty, Felco has some good how-to videos on the internet. Note that you will do yourself a favor if you clean and oil your pruners regularly throughout the season.
The madman owns two different loppers – one a by-pass and one an anvil. They received the same cleaning other pruners did, but sharpening the anvil lopper was different. An anvil lopper’s blade is two-sided, so both sides of the blade have to be sharpened. In case you are interested, the madman prefers his anvil-type tools for cutting dead branches. Also, some experts recommend anvil loppers for pruning evergreens.
Diggers and claws
Moving on to our diggers (as the madman calls them, you probably call them trowels), claws (cultivators), and other hand tools. The blades or tines were cleaned and brushed with steel wool to clear any beginnings of rust. We coated these tools with a fine film of household oil to help prevent rusting. We cleaned handles and sanded to smooth any rough spots. Handles were coated with the butcher block oil (we could have used any oil).
Some of our cultivators have a sharpened edge, such as the Circlehoe that became a quick hit last year. If any tool came with a cutting edge (such as the Circlehoe), we re-sharpened that edge. Last year, the madman experimented with one of his old diggers. He sharpened the front edge on a bench grinder and loved it. That got re-sharpened. We examined all the tools to find those that that were broken or unused for three or more seasons –we tossed a broken clipper.
Other Stuff
Our definition of hand tools includes our labels and markers, trellis nettings, supports and plant support ties. We pretty much did an inventory so we could fill in any holes before the season starts in earnest. For his seedlings, the madman uses 4” white plastic tags that need to be cleaned before his planting starts. Trellis nettings and cloth pots will be repaired and cleaned, as will gardening gloves.
Larger Tools
Moving on to the big stuff – the hoes, shovels, forks and rakes. This year, Mother Nature was kind to us-we picked a relatively warm day and enjoyed a nice fire as we worked outside (marshmallow breaks slowed us down a bit, but kept us warm and happy!).
We keep our large gardening tools on a rack in a protected alcove of our house-most experts recommend keeping them under cover, but that doesn’t work for us so we have to be extra vigilant in their care.
The large tools were pretty much maintained in the same fashion as the small ones. Metal surfaces were cleaned, buffed with steel wool and oiled. Wooden handles were sanded, oiled and rubbed down.
Don’t Forget the Saws
Just when we thought we were done, the madman remembered his collection of saws and knives. We seem to have a cutting tool for every purpose. Our all-time favorite is the root knife-this tool has proven itself again and again; unfortunately we do tend to overuse it. The teeth are so fine that we have never been able to figure out how to sharpen them, so maintenance involves making sure we have a replacement-we thought we had finally lost it when our supplier is the U.S. announced that it would no longer carry the product. Nothing stops the madman. He found a supplier in Germany, so before the season starts, we make sure we have a new one on hand, and we do.
We have pruning saws in a variety of sizes. They are all alike. They cut wood – and they get dirty and they get dull – then they don’t cut wood. When cutting a branch off a tree, you want to make the cut is as clean as possible to prevent damage to the tree. While we can do some touch up sharpening on these blades, the madman prefers to find a professional to sharpen these blades.
Power Tools
We also have chain saws, power trimmers, a lawn mowers and a rototiller. Since the madman does not get along well with small internal combustion engines, these devices are sent to the mechanic yearly for professional maintenance. All we do is try to keep the mice from eating the ignition wires.
Handy Reference
This evil looking critter was headed for extinction until the madman discovered that it was destined to become a Giant Swallowtail.
The only other thing we have to do is to collect our reference books – invaluable tools that many overlook. We have books on birds, wildlife, insects, plant diseases and pests to name a few. These need to be in a handy spot before the outdoor gardening season begins in earnest. We have learned that many evil looking critters may turn into something beautiful or beneficial, so in our garden all bugs are treated as royalty until proven otherwise – hence the need for quick, efficient identification.
Everything seems to be in order. Seeds are ordered. The tools are cleaned, sharp and ready to go. Supply orders are prepared. Books are handy. We are ready for the season and the cocoa is hot.
