sharpening hedge trimmers

[Dave Rouse]

hi all

anyone got any advice on the best way to sharpen hedge trimmer blades. The blades on my machines are tight, but some of the machines have a tendancy to 'chew' at the stems rather than cut, esp on thuja. are the any jigs that you can buy so as to keep the correct angles? a friend has recommended using a flapper disc or sanding disc on a grinder. has anyone tried this method?

[spudulike]

There is another thread on this subject, general conscensus was to use an angle grinder with a thin flexible disk so your mate is about right, I have used a dremmel with a diamond bit and also used a decent hand file in the past.

 

If both parts of the cutters are mating well then a sharpen is about the only thing left - you should aim for a good shearing action - just like a good pair of scissors or secateurs!

[TerryTibbs]

I did mine by hand filing, 20" Stihl's in about half an hour, the dealer wanted £30! £1.50 per inch!!

[Dean O]

a light flick over with a dremel with stone attachment from time to time, just to take any burrs off and give a new edge