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Hedge Shears

  
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Edge Angles

Hedge Shears are sharpened according to the angles shown below.

Sharp shears impart clean cuts to area of the plant being addressed, minimizing the damage to the plant, and helps the plant to thrive.

The angle for α is not critical. I left it set at the angle that was on the tool originally.

We must cultivate our own garden. When man was put in the garden of Eden, he was put there so that he should work, which proves that man was not born to rest.

Voltaire

A 6" smooth cut machinist’s hand file is useful to carry in your gardening tools box. Use it to resharpen the hedge shears as needed throughout the gardening activity.

General Guidelines

Purpose

 α β

Sharp
ness

Notes
Dead-heading Only 30° 30°
6

If you have a tool to dedicate to this, a sharper angle like this can make the job much easier.

General Purpose 40°
5

Pruning perennials & dead-heading is an activity is something I commonly do, and having a rather average one is useful. The perennials often have thicker stems and a greater angle is useful to keep the tool sharp longer.

This is also a good general-purpose sharpening angle.

Trimming or Touching-Up Hedges 50°
5

The trimmers I purchased years ago from a hardware store had a 70° angle for β. Given the propensity to use electric trimmers for trimming bushes these days, a sharper angle is recommended on this tool as it is typically relegated to touch-up activities (e.g., for topiaries).

Notes & Comments

no image file Information regarding Grindstones
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KJ-140 Knife Jig

Tormek Jig Notes

If using a Tormek to sharpen this blade, the KJ-140 Knife Jig or SVM-140 Knife Jig work best. The SVM-100 Knife Jig, KJ-45 Knife Jig, SVM-45 Knife Jig, or SVD-110 Tool Rest may also be used.

Shaping the edge

Initial shaping of the edge is not typically needed.

If you use an angle grinder, consider using a 120 grit flap disc. A metal grinding wheel may be needed for large-scale shaping. In either case, be sure to not overheat the metal too much: it weakens the metal.

Sharpening the edge

If you are using a Tormek to sharpen the tool, it is recommended to use the vertical position with the grindstone rotating towards the blade. If you use the horizontal position, the grindstone will tend to pull the hedge shears away from the jig.

If you use a machinist’s hand file,

  1. Start with a 12-14" bastard file (as necessary).
  2. Next, continue with a 8-10" medium (or second) cut file.
  3. Finish with a 6" smooth cut file, then use this file to remove the burr.

Honing the Edge

Honing is not recommended for this tool as it will make the gardening activities harder: as with kitchen scissors, coarseness in the edge helps to ensure the piece being cut does not slide out. Stop after the sharpening step (but with a high grit level - 1,000 or so).

Also, as this tool is often purchased with one blade having serrations on it, keeping the edge a little coarse can remove the need for those serrations.

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Example icon

Sharpness Scale

Sharpness scales (as shown in the grey icon to the left) are used to indicate the recommended sharpness for the blades noted above. You can click on any of the icons showing the sharpness scale and be redirected to the page describing this more. Lower numbers are duller; higher numbers sharper.

These are general recommendations; you will need to use your own judgment, based on the knive’s intended purpose.

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