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Hedge Shears |
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.
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General Guidelines for 4-Facet Grind |
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Purpose |
α | β |
Notes |
| Dead-heading Only | 30° | 30° |
If you have a tool to dedicate to this, a sharper angle like this can make the job much easier. |
| General Purpose | 40° |
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. |
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| Trimming or Touching-Up Hedges | 50° |
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). |
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KJ-140 Knife Jig
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.
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.
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,
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.
