How to clean and sharpen secateurs and shears

[@paulf2529]

It's worth getting a beige honeing stone from niwaki for the ultimate edge, particularly on the tobisho or okatsune topiary shears. Either that or use a small scrap of leather to strop the edge.
I use felco 7s for heavy day to day pruning and for these I have a small diamond file, I still use the wet stones but the diamon stone used dry is useful for quickly bringing the edge up, the felco are a softer steel than the Japanese secateurs and shears and dull quicker.
I tend to sharpen everything up twice a week when I'm using them intensively.
For me, my pruning bag contains one pair of felco 7secateurs, one pair of tobisho hiryu secateurs, a pair of tobisho baracuda snips, and the tobisho curved blade shears. I probably use the hiryu secateurs the least, mainly for rose and wisteria pruning rather than as my day to day.
I really like the barracudas and use them as snips to dead head, any topiary detailing, and the back end of the blade as secateurs for lighter summer pruning work on softer growth.

[@ExcelsisGardens]

Thanks for the response, I’ll look in to a honeing stone.
Sounds like you have a great set up and maintenance plan too! Regular sharpening to maintain an edge is always so much better than leaving it to long and having to re put an edge on them 🙂

[@mikewood4378]

Great information but could you share how tight the nut needs to be that holds it together. No other person ever mentions the tork specs for the nut. Great video. Thanks. Mike in Alabama

[@vvd0496]

Thanks for the great tutorial! Do ever take them apart and lubricate under the nut that holds them together? If so is there a specific product?

[@ExcelsisGardens]

I have done with the Niwaki tools, but not yet with the Okatsune, they don’t recommend it so haven’t given it a go with those 😅 The camellia oil will work it’s way between the blades well where the bolt is, I tend to take them apart more for cleaning, and tend to do this once a year at the end of the clipping season 🙂

[@HoopersGardenMaintenance]

Great informative video Will✂️👍🏼

[@ExcelsisGardens]

Thanks Martyn! Trying to get a mixture of videos up ‘how to’s’ ‘day in the life’ and some review videos 🙂

[@HoopersGardenMaintenance]

@@ExcelsisGardens they’ve been great so far mate,really enjoyed them👍🏼

[@Jordan.E]

Great video mate 👍🏾 how often do you do this roughly?

[@ExcelsisGardens]

Thanks mate, all will depend how much I’ve been using them.. but if clipping all day with shears, they have a quick run over at the end of each day.. the secateurs I don’t use as much, I’ll clean them at the end of the day, and sharpen probably once a month 🙂.. the more you do it, the less time it will take 🙂

[@krs24976]

Very nice mate 👌🏻

[@ExcelsisGardens]

Thanks mate! 🙂

[@jasongardener3425]

👌👍

[@MilcaDelaVega]

Ang iba apo

[@Thomas.......]

👍🏻

[@magspies]

you're using 1000 grit (that Niwaki need, as carbon steel) on Okatsune, who's product whetstone is only 400 grit (as it's Izumo Yasugi steel) - so you're needlessly wearing away your pruners for no good reason...

[@ExcelsisGardens]

Thanks for the comment, interestingly Okatsune don’t state on there website the exact steel, on Niwaki they do (hitachi carbon steel) and Niwaki recommend they are sharpened with the #1000 grit stone. I personally haven’t seen any excessive wear in my 4 years of owning them and sharpening them regularly, in fact they still look like they did the day I brought them, though I will look at the okatsune whetstone and give it a go 🙂

[@magspies]

@@ExcelsisGardens Okatsune do have on the home page of their website that they use Izumo Yasugi steel. Niwaki now sell the Okatsune whetstone as its more suitable for the Okatsune pruners (they've started stocking as well).
Great you haven't noticed any excessive wear yet, but if people want them long term, best to avoid too high a grit with them!

[@chopperjohn9851]

⁠@@magspiesif the Niwasi is 1000 grit and the Okatsune is 400 grit then
the Niwasi is over twice as fine.