How to Care for Pruning Shears

A good pair of pruning shears can be expensive. However, if you take proper care of them, they can be used for many years. If your shears are already old and dirty, clean them using a wire brush, hot water and soap, then take care of them after every use. If your pruning shears are new, take these steps every time you use them to keep them working like new.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Sharpen your pruning shears at the start of every season, or whenever they seem to be getting dull. If you have a scissor type of shears they have two sharp edges, so both blades need to be sharpened. If you have bypass pruners they have one sharp blade that passes over a dull surface. In this case, you only have one blade to sharpen. Sharpen your shears with a honing, whetstone or non-electric knife sharpener.

2. Disinfect your pruning shears every time you use them. Keep a bucket of hot water and bleach, in a 10:1 ratio, with you while you are pruning. Soak the shears in the bleach solution when you are done using them. It is also a good idea to disinfect your pruning shears after every plant or bush that you use them on, before moving to the next plant, so you do not spread diseases among the plants.

3. Wipe your pruning shears off with a soft, clean cloth after disinfecting them at the end of the day. You should also wipe your shears with a soft cloth after sharpening them.

4. Coat the entire blade surface of your pruning shears with oil after cleaning them and before storing them. WD-40 is a good choice for oiling your shears. Oil helps to prevent rusting of the blades and helps the blades to open and close smoothly when you are using them.

Tips & Warnings

• If you get sap on the blades that is difficult to remove, or if you get any rust on your shears, rub the area with dry steel wool to remove it.
• You can also bring your pruning shears to a garden center for sharpening if you prefer not to do it yourself. Most garden centers perform this service for a very reasonable price.