You can do the same thing using various sharpening stones or a very fine file.

I have all that stuff around here anyways, from a previous occupation, so that's what I use.

Good question! :-)

https://www.buybrandtools.com/acatalog/bahco-sharp-x-carbide-sharpener.html

O, I have all sorts of whetstones, sawfiles and such...and my offspring like to get quite competitive around blades, but honestly, I have used this little pocket sharpener for years, on pretty much every small tool I possess. Super easy, quick,portable, cheap.

it used to be a late winter project.. to disassemble my felcos... steel wool and clean all the parts.. [removing pine sap/tar etc was not easy...] .... and take a whet stone to the cutting blades .... and then reassemble them all properly greased up ...

and boy did sharp cutters make a difference on hand pain ..

loppers and other bigger things.. sharp isnt as important as leverage ... the working physics... the long handles... but being sharp sure cant hurt ..

btw.. saw knock off felcos at dollar general for 8 bucks.. i doubt they would last 20 years like my old felcos.. but i could buy 10 pair.. one every year.. and still be ahead .. lol

ken

Thanks for the comments! Good to see what others use.

I clean and sharpen everything once a year during those early warm days like I had a couple of weeks ago. The gardening urge is strong yet it's too early to do anything so I occupy myself sitting outside with the dogs and sharpening things.

I use a proper whetstone on the pricey tools- my very dear Felco pruners, my good kitchen knives, and husband's Gränsfors Bruk axe & maul. I do buy a new Felco blade every couple of years, but the old ones last fairly well if I am careful to not use them in dirty work.

I also have a collection of metal files, grinding stones for dremels, and a couple of little sharpener gadgets.

When I have all that crap out I sharpen everything I can think of- kitchen knives to shovels and mower blades. I use a dremel grinding stone on heavy duty things like old shovels/blades and lower quality mauls. I'm a bit more careful with loppers and pruners- it just depends on how old they are and what their use is.

I do like keeping lots of old stuff around and sharp in case I need to use them in dirty situations of hand a pruner to the husband for some reason. He's not allowed to touch my Felcos as he's just as likely to toss them in the dirt as he is to return them to the right place. I seriously own "dirty" and "good" loppers in two sizes as well as pruners, lol- if they are 'good' I use a stone or file and if they are 'bad' I just grind them.

Then check all the screws, oil what wants oil, and they're ready to go.

I use something similar. Probably got it on amazon. I've used lots of pruners. Some super cheap felco knockoffs. I can't tell much difference between real felcos and the knockoffs. The chinese are good at copying things.

Isn't the nice thing about Felco pruners, is you can replace just the blade?