Sharpening Garden Shears with a Whetstone

In this video I am sharpening my garden shears, aka hedge shears, so I can cut my yucca plant. If you are familiar with sharpening knives or chisels, this type of garden shear is fairly easy to sharpen.
Originally I tried using a cheap whetstone, but it was very soft and would not stay flat very long, so I switched to my DMT diamond stones, which gave me better results. I went up to 6000 grit, but really 600 is good enough for garden shears.
There are cheaper options for diamond stones, but I have found that some of the 2-sided ones do not stay flat because the metal is thin. So I like the DMT stones with thick steel plates.
How to Make a Lapping Plate for Sharpening: • Making a Lapping Plate...
Tools used in this project: (Amazon affiliate links)
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DMT 8″ diamond stone Coarse
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DMT 8″ diamond stone Fine
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DMT 8″ diamond stone Extra Fine
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Naniwa 6000 grit diamond stone
amzn.to/2CZMeuE
Boeshield T-9
amzn.to/2WQAUrB
Website: www.bobswoodstuff.com
Instagram: / bobswoodstuff

[@steelcross839]

I remember my grandfather had a basement and workshop full of tools with aged wooden handles. It was like a candy store, a magical place he would take me where we would do guy stuff. I loved that old man. This took me waaaaay back. thx.

[@car-less-ness6770]

Thank you for sharing this video. When I was growing up in the 1960s, my father believed that only his sons should know how to do "manly" work. However, my sister and myself did work in the BARN milking, cooling, and being with the sweaty bovines.....38 plus at @ milking. But, construction and welding, electricity and soldering was man's work. Crazy!

[@BobsWoodStuff]

You're welcome!

[@Montina_Paullin]

Thanks for this! Hubby said he'd sharpen my clippers 2 days ago & I'm done waiting.. rain's coming soon! Confident I can sharpen them properly myself now! 😊

[@simon1593]

Thanks man......I found myself some that were being thrown away as scrap and thought I can fix these. All they needed was a good clean and this advice I'll sharpen them real soon and be they'll be good to use as near new

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Good luck! A good pair of shears should last a lifetime with maintenance.

[@Rootythe1st]

Well explained thank you. Nice to see how to properly sharpen, better than most other videos where people just go at it with a dremel.

[@BobsWoodStuff]

You're welcome!

[@deejayp9668]

I not just "LIKED" but LOVED your video! I WISH I could "magic" you to the Caribbean - where I'm writing from, and have you work that SAME magic on my shears! I took some "friendly" advice to: "store the shears - blades down, in DRY SAND." Well...BAAAD advice! 'Cos my shears are rusty, dull and stopping me from trimming a hedge that is getting as tall as I am! Great vid...

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Tools used in this project: (Amazon affiliate links) -------------------------------------------------------------------- DMT 8″ diamond stone Coarse amzn.to/2xKfD9W DMT 8″ diamond stone Fine amzn.to/2S2q1k8 DMT 8″ diamond stone Extra Fine amzn.to/32PIJ4u Naniwa 6000 grit diamond stone amzn.to/2CZMeuE Boeshield T-9 amzn.to/2WQAUrB My DIY and Woodworking plans: www.bobswoodstuff.com/store/premium-plans My Amazon shop with links to tools I like: www.amazon.com/shop/bobswoodstuff Website: www.bobswoodstuff.com/

[@karolawoods]

I’m so envious of the sharpness of those shears!!! I d o need to do this but I only have a whetstone if that - and also have a yucca that til now can only hack at…..

[@BobsWoodStuff]

One option is to glue sandpaper to a piece of glass. Cheaper than buying sharpening stones, unless you do it all the time and need to buy a lot of sandpaper.

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

Nice job

[@samkitty5894]

I close my shears and lift them up to the sun. If there is a gap between the blades no amount of sanding and sharpening will help. Blades are bent...

[@MNpicker]

Awesome vid👍🏻

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Thanks!

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Excellent.

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Thanks!

[@tymoteuszkopanski5017]

Overkill 🙂.

[@FranksDIY]

Looking sharp lol . Great to see you sharpening. Today's society has a way just to toss and buy a new one . Not so good for the environment.

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Thanks Frank. Yeah, it is good to sharpen and restore quality tools. Much better than disposable ones.

[@brutha84]

I love cooking & sharpening kitchen knives. Maybe do a video on best sharpening stones for different tools & the differnece between those sharpening stones? Also when it's best just to take it to a professional?

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Thanks for the suggestion. I did a video about sharpening kitchen knives a while back here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apPam5mNaLeZY9U I might not be the best source for a comparison of different types of stones, since I almost exclusively use diamond stones, regardless of the tool. If the edge is really badly damaged, a machine like the Work Sharp Knife Sharpener (it is a small belt sander) can be really useful to get past the nicks. I would buy one of those before paying a professional.

[@MrSimonj1970]

6000 grit lol! scalpel sharp shears, love it 😅

[@kerryfoster1]

Good clear video. Would have liked some close ups of the blade before and after. And a time scale. :-)

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Thanks for the feedback. I will keep that in mind on my future sharpening videos.

[@Reincarnation111]

Well done! But for me this is too much work and I don't have all the stuff you used to sharpen the shears.

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Fair enough. I first tried it with a very cheap 2-sided whetstone to use more relatable/accessible tools, but the stone would wear away so quickly that I could never maintain a flat sharpening surface. As a woodworker I already owned the diamond stones for chisel sharpening.

[@claudiavaldes2578]

So wish you lived nearby and would charge me to sharpen my old sheers

[@benjaminnicholasking7222]

Thanks for sharing

[@BobsWoodStuff]

You're welcome!

[@midnightmosesuk]

I don't own all those different grit stones, have a lapping plate etc. It'd probably cost me the price of a new pair of shears to assemble all that stuff. All I've got is a whetstone, one side coarse the other smooth. I was hoping you r process would make them just sharp enough for gardening, not surgery.

[@BobsWoodStuff]

You should be able to do the same process with those 2 grits on your whetstone. The main thing to look out for is that the stone stays relatively flat while you are lapping the flat side of the blade. If they whetstone starts to dish in the middle from wear, it will be very difficult to get your blade flat.

[@kodiahdigitalmedia1759]

cool man1

[@heklik]

Now it's sharp as a samurai's sword

[@BobsWoodStuff]

You know it.

[@yukuhana]

1:46 I don't understand the grinding at vertical angle. Doesn't it dull the cutting edge?

[@BobsWoodStuff]

It's not vertical; probably 70 to 80 degrees. I was matching the existing bevel angle on that cutter.

[@rickihicki434]

Apart from the vinegar soak (white?)….. how long did the full process take please? Kev

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Probably about 20-30 minutes.

[@Michalis_Karakostas]

What angle do you sharpen the cutting edge? Somewhere I read about 80-90 degrees…

[@BobsWoodStuff]

I held it to match the existing angles on the bevel. Each blade had a different angle on these shears.

[@1DanielleLouise]

Will white vinegar work as well? Thank you for this video!

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Yes it will

[@1DanielleLouise]

@@BobsWoodStuff thank you!!

[@ravenquilts5931]

But how do you know the angle to set up at ?? Doesn’t answer my need

[@BobsWoodStuff]

I looked at the existing bevel and held it on the sharpening stone at the angle that matched that. On these shears each blade had a different angle.

[@johnsononattuk8716]

Which metal is this

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Some kind of carbon steel.

[@cerumen]

0:52 what if there was some pitting on the cutting edge?

[@BobsWoodStuff]

If the pitting isn't deep, it could be salvageable. But you will need to do more work on the lapping process when you are working the flat side of the blade, to get past the pitting.

[@cerumen]

@@BobsWoodStuff well hot dang, thanks Bob

[@Labuenavidasurf]

I don’t want to have to go buy all this stuff - cozzi life and all that. Could you show with a normal sharpening stone?

[@BobsWoodStuff]

I initially tried it with a very cheap sharpening stone, but the stone wore out too fast and didn't stay flat enough to get a good edge.

[@KJ-tz3rh]

Too much information just want to see how to use the whetstone

[@antonm8719]

6000 is too much grit for this instrument IMHO. I would stop at 1000 grit, it would cut better and for longer.

[@BobsWoodStuff]

I agree 6000 is too much. 1000 is more than enough for scissors.

[@x8falloutboy23]

What is wrong with your voice?!

[@BobsWoodStuff]

Are you referring to the beginning part of the video? I was trying to make a dumb voice like an infomercial. If you're talking about the rest of the video, that's just what my voice sounds like.

[@Dave-im3lm]

@@BobsWoodStuff you better get your vocal chords checked out..plus we want an easy 5 minute way to sharpen them with only a file

[@BobsWoodStuff]

@@Dave-im3lm Lol.