How do you maintain and sharpen garden tools?

Clean them, keep them dry, keep the cutting edge sharp, and oil the metal — and the reason it matters beyond longevity is that blunt secateurs crush stems rather than cutting them, leaving a ragged wound that heals badly and admits disease.

The routine after each use:

Remove soil and sap. Dried sap is the main cause of stiff, sticky secateurs, and it removes with a rag and a little oil or solvent.

Dry thoroughly, since rust begins with water left on steel.

Wipe with oil, which is enough to prevent corrosion on blades and bare metal.

Sharpening secateurs and loppers:

Bypass secateurs have one cutting blade, bevelled on one side only. Sharpen only the bevelled face — sharpening the flat inner face ruins the scissor action, and this is the most common mistake.

Use a diamond file or sharpening stone at the existing angle, working in one direction along the bevel.

Remove the burr from the flat side with a single light pass.

Take them apart periodically, clean both faces and the spring, and adjust the blade tension.

Anvil secateurs cut against a flat surface and crush more, which is why bypass types are preferred for living stems.

Spades and hoes. These have edges too, and a sharpened spade cuts through roots and soil with far less effort. File the inner face of a spade at a shallow angle. A sharp hoe slices weeds at the root rather than dragging them.

Wooden handles — sand lightly when rough and treat with linseed oil rather than varnish, which cracks and traps moisture.

Disease hygiene, which is frequently neglected. Disinfect blades between plants when pruning anything diseased — and between every cut when dealing with bacterial canker, fireblight or a virus. Tools spread disease efficiently, and this is how many garden problems travel.

Storage: dry, off the ground, hung rather than stacked, and a bucket of oiled sand is a traditional and effective store for hand tools.

Powered tools need their own maintenance, including chain tension and sharpening.