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It is always a good practice to sharpen your hedge trimmer blades before they become dull and ineffective. It should become a routine form of maintenance that you do every few months when you’re using your trimmer.
Maintaining your hedge trimmer blade means keeping up the levels of high-performance you expect from your trimmer and enabling it to slice through even the very toughest jobs. Neglecting to maintain it means that each task will become harder than it should be over time.
If you decide to save yourself some money and sharpen the blades on your own, you’re going to need to apply a two step process of filing and burring with a sharpening stone. Each must be properly executed if you are to get that razor sharp edge you are looking for.
Note that throughout regular use your trimmers are going to collect sap and resin that can clog up the mechanical function and create ineffective cuts. Clean off any residual dirt or grime from the blades before starting to sharpen to ensure that you efficiently hone your blades.
Use A Flat File To Get The Perfect Cutting Edge
To give your trimmer blades long-lasting cutting performance, start with this step to sharpen them. With a flat file, apply an even and steady stroke at a right angle to achieve the sharpness you need. If you don’t have a flat file, you can pick one up at your local hardware store.
Here’s how to do the filing:
- After you clean off any residuals from your blades, have each blade of your trimmer resting in the same position. This gives you the ability to sharpen both at the same time for a matching angled blade.
- Look into your instruction manual to find your blade’s particular sharpening angle under the “specifications” section.
- Once you have found the correct angle, file only in the direction of the cutting edge. Look at the existing blade angle to ensure you’re filing in the right direction.
- Always file towards the cutting edge, and never file upwards. If you file back and forth it will not sharpen the blade.
- Pay attention to your cutting edge as you file it. You have to get it just right, and over-filing can start to eat away at your blade completely.
- Remember to not file anymore than about 5 mm. Exceed 5mm and your material will lose its strength.
- Ensure that every time you apply the file and stroke you are applying the same amount of weight and angle each time. If this varies by too much, your blades will sharpen to different lengths which might cause malfunctions during use
It takes attention to detail and some skill to properly sharpen your blades. But, if you follow these steps you will get the hang of it. Next, you will need a sharpening stone to apply the finishing touches.
Use a Sharpening Stone to Remove the Burr
Once you have your sharpening stone, look at the bottom of your blades. You will see the burrs from the filed area on top. These needs to be removed and fine-tuned to give your blade the perfect cutting edge. Burrs will look like rough edges that the file left behind. If you don’t have a sharpening stone, you should also be able to find one at a hardware store near you.
Here’s how to use the stone to remove burrs:
- Take the rough side of your sharpening stone and glide it across the bottom of each of your blades. This helps to remove the heavy burrs. Make sure it’s evenly applied!
- Take the smoother side of the sharpening stone and apply it the same way.
- Once you have taken your time to perfect those edges, you should notice a real sharpness and nice, clean edges on your blades.
You’re now done sharpening your hedge trimmer blades! The process is simple and straightforward, though it might take you a few times to get fully used to it.
It is our recommendation that after each sharpening session you douse your blades with resin-free spray to prevent it from future rusting or corrosion. This will help to ensure an even longer lifespan and keep your blades looking great and working well for years!
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