Herbert Miller
Pruners come in all shapes and sizes. From small, one-handed secateurs to bigger loppers that can get even the most massive weeds out of your yard, all types of pruners are super useful to use around the yard when gardening or landscaping.
However, pruners become significantly less useful if they are dull. Once the blades get tired, you’ll be working harder to remove weeds, branches, and grass that should otherwise be very easy to cut.
What needs to be done? It would be best if you sharpened them. Hence, let’s learn how to sharpen pruners with a Dremel.
When is it Time to Sharpen?
In most cases, you’ll know when it is time to sharpen your pruners because they will not be working as well as they were when you first got them. Whether you’re having difficulty cutting with them or they look like they need to be sharpened, there are a few different ways to know that it’s time.
Here are some signals that should give you the heads-up that it is time to try to sharpen your hand pruners:
- Visible rust buildup
- Trouble cutting the usual things
- Blades getting stuck together while cutting
- More than two years since last sharpened
If your blades match any of these criteria, it is time that you sit down with your pruning shears and get a nice new edge on them. You’ll be amazed at how big of a difference it can make in your garden work.
How to Prepare Your Tools for Sharpening?
If you want to sharpen your tool successfully, you must remove any built-up rust, grime, or dirt before attempting to do any sharpening. How do you go about doing that?
First, try using soap and water to get off any built-up gunk. This would be able to remove the dirt and any necessary grime, but old tools or tools that have been left to rust may need more work. That’s where high-grit sandpaper comes in.
Using high-grit sandpaper, you can easily remove rust. Try to sand the pruners until you have a beautiful shine for the best results. If you leave any rust, you won’t be able to get as sharp of a finish on the blades beveled edges as you might have been able to do otherwise.
How to Sharpen Pruners with a Dremel?
Here is an essential step-by-step guide to sharpening the shears with a Dremel:
- Remove the blades by unscrewing a small screw in the middle, but check your specific pair of pruners to see how they come apart.
- Set up a vise and put one of the blades into the clamp. Make sure that you place the edge so that the angled side faces upwards, as this is the side that you need to sharpen.
- Make sure your Dremel has a bit in it and turn it on.
- Put the Dremel on the blade at the same angle as the beveled edge. For pruners, this is usually around 10 degrees.
- Start grinding and continue to grind until the entire edge is sharp. Be sure to keep a steady hand and continue to crumble at the appropriate angle through the whole process.
- Remove the blade from the vise.
- Most bypass pruners only have one beveled edge on them so that you might be done with the sanding process. If your pruners have two beveled edges, you will want to repeat the process with the other blade as well.
- Reassemble the pruners.
As you can see, using a Dremel to do the sharpening is quick and easy. It doesn’t take more than this tremendous rotary tool and a steady hand to get the blades as sharp as ever before, so you need to have the patience to sit down and do it.
What Are Other Tools that Can Be Used to Sharpen Pruners?
We are suggesting that you use a Dremel because this standard home power tool makes it very easy to sharpen the pruners, but it’s not the only way that you can sharpen a pair of pruners.
If you don’t have a Dremel, try using one of these other tools instead:
- Mill file
- Sharpening stone
- Whetstone
- Knife sharpener
- Factory bevel
All these tools can be used in similar ways as the Dremel, but they will take more patience and a steadier hand than the powered rotary tool. Be sure that you always learn how to use these tools correctly and use a vise to keep everything safe while sanding.
Stop Cutting with Dull Pruners!
If your pruners are dull, you have no excuse not to sharpen them, especially now that we released this straightforward step-by-step guide on how to sharpen pruners with a Dremel. The critical thing is to do it safely and patiently.
It’s easy to improve how well your handheld pruners are working, so what are you waiting for?
