"Raels" wrote in
:

Hi all,

Went up to the local hardware shop the other day & asked about prices
for them to clean my garden utensils.... the secetaurs, hedgers,
etc..... just small items. Can't remember the price but just
remember deciding to try somewhere else.

Now, I probably can't sharpen the darn things myself...... but I
should at least be able to clean them up.

What with and how?

...· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ Raelene -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* xxx




Hi Raelene,

It depends on what you want to clean off of them

Very light rust, bits of garden dirt and bits of plant will come off (in my
experience) quite easily if you disassemble the tool in question and use a
mixture of fine sand, water and a small amount of dishwashing liquid. My
dad claims that Elbow Grease is the secret ingredient but my hardware shop
laughed at me when I asked if they stocked it

Dip your *strong* cloth in to the mixture and start rubbing. The sand,
obviously, works as an abrasive, the dishwashing liquid is probably not
needed but is supposed to remove grease and oil and the water keeps the
sand seperated nicely so that you don't grind the blade.

Heavier deposits of rust and thick dirt, grease etc. will all come off
quite easily if you soak the tool in petrol for anywhere from 1 hour to
overnight (I think diesel is even better but I won't swear to that because
I haven't tried it). Scrub with a wire brush, repeat as needed and then
proceed as above. I would expect that "medium" deposits of rust can be
removed using wd-40 or CRC or whatever you have.

Don't be scared to try sharpening your own tools - just go slowly and think
about what you're trying to achieve - you want a bevelled edge roughly the
same as the edge that sort of exists already. So, grab your sharpening
stone (if it's a new stone you do *not* need water or oil to lubricate it!)
lay your blade flat against it and lift the blade until the cutting edge is
at the correct angle to the stone and then just start grinding

You might want to check out the knife sharpening FAQ at
http://www.bladeforums.com/features/faqsharp.shtml - ok,ok, I *know* you're
not sharpening a knife but the principle isn't that much different

You might also find http://www.ameritech.net/users/knives/index.htm
interesting as well.

Thanks for asking a question that I can answer - now I don't feel like such
a leech on the combined knowledge in the newsgroup

Regards,

Ivan.