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

omewhere else.

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

Combination of soft brush, stiff brush and wire brush and oil rag.

Basically bush of all the mulch, and dirt, wash off dirt, scrub off mud
and then wipe scratched surfaces with oily rag.

"someone wrote in message ...
omewhere else.

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

Combination of soft brush, stiff brush and wire brush and oil rag.

Basically bush of all the mulch, and dirt, wash off dirt, scrub off mud
and then wipe scratched surfaces with oily rag.


Um, er...... what sort of oil? Car oil, cooking oil, *shrug*

Raelene
xxx

Raels wrote:

....snip.....

Um, er...... what sort of oil? Car oil, cooking oil, *shrug*

I guess any petroleum based oil will suffice; car, diesel, heating.

"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.

snip
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.
snip
You can remove all traces of rust by soaking the metal in molasses.
Sounds strange, but it works really well. Buy a small tub of molasses
from a farm supply shop, mix with water at about 10 parts water to 1
part molasses.
Stick the rusty implements in the mix and leave to soak for however
long it takes.
Small rust marks will disappear in a day, heavy rust can take about a
week.
If it takes a week, the mix will get a covering of a marshmallow sort
of mould. It's harmless as far as I know, and doesn't smell or
anything.

My Dad heard about this from a guy restoring vintage cars - it's light
on elbow grease and doesn't abrade the metal. I've since used it to
great effect to restore some old tools - files, screwdrivers and a
saw.
Once they are done, oil the metal so no more rust forms. WD-40, CRC,
RP7 are all fine for this.

Good Luck !

Adam