stihl hedge cutters

[Mesterh]

Ill put any future binned ones to one side but they usually have a few snapped teeth by the time they are retired.

 

In all honesty I probably leave it far too late to sharpen them ie they are well blunt but then hedge trimming is probably the least favourite part of my job so the hedge trimmers dont get that a good looking after. Especially since stihl redesigned there brilliant HS85's.

[Pedroski]

Ill put any future binned ones to one side but they usually have a few snapped teeth by the time they are retired.

 

In all honesty I probably leave it far too late to sharpen them ie they are well blunt but then hedge trimming is probably the least favourite part of my job so the hedge trimmers dont get that a good looking after. Especially since stihl redesigned there brilliant HS85's.

 

Aww bugger, don't worry about ones with snapped teeth - proper metal pile jobs they are.

 

Can't believe anyone can dislike hedgetrimming though - I love it

[GardenKit]

It's quick and easy with practice. Work mate and I have races. We're down to about 3 minutes for all teeth.

 

I'll quite happily take your old blades off ya and pay for postage so hang on to them!

Aprox 30 teeth per side, 4 sides, 2 edges per tooth = 240 edges.

 

Thats more than 1 tooth per second to sharpen in 3 minutes by hand, impressive.

 

It takes me about 15 minutes with a grinder, and thats fast.

[bradshaw groundcare]

i use the grinder on a slow speed so not to take too much off, easy and fast

 

has any one seen a machine for sharpening them?

[GardenKit]

i use the grinder on a slow speed so not to take too much off, easy and fast

 

has any one seen a machine for sharpening them?

I did buy the Oregon hedgecutter blade sharpening attachment for their chainsaw chain sharpener. This was about 12 yrs ago, but it looked complicated to set up, and time consuming to use. Also the blades have to be off the machine.

 

Its still in the box, never used.

 

I always use the grinder with the thin disc, no need to take the blades off, just remove the guard tooth bar.

[Pedroski]

Aprox 30 teeth per side, 4 sides, 2 edges per tooth = 240 edges.

 

Thats more than 1 tooth per second to sharpen in 3 minutes by hand, impressive.

 

It takes me about 15 minutes with a grinder, and thats fast.

 

I'm serious though - it's "shp shp shp" on each tooth, all down top side one edge, flip over and same on bottom side one edge, start hedgecutter, move blades, then same on other side. I suppose it's closer to 1 second per edge and that's plenty enough to get a good edge. Nice thing about using file is that you feel what you're doing and it's easy to avoid taking too much off. Grinder is too much hassle especially when on the job.

[Pedroski]

It also helps that I'm ambidextrous and can happily do one side with right hand and one side with left hand. Same with a chainsaw chain.

[GardenKit]

I'm serious though - it's "shp shp shp" on each tooth, all down top side one edge, flip over and same on bottom side one edge, start hedgecutter, move blades, then same on other side. I suppose it's closer to 1 second per edge and that's plenty enough to get a good edge. Nice thing about using file is that you feel what you're doing and it's easy to avoid taking too much off. Grinder is too much hassle especially when on the job.

There is of course an important difference between what we do.

 

As I see it, you are keeping your blades sharp with a regular sharpen, possibly better described as 'honing'. This is, as you say a quick "shp shp shp" ( I like that description!) with very little metal removal. This is the ideal way to look after your hedgetrimmer.

 

What I do as a dealer workshop job usually involves restoring a blunt blade. This inevitably requires the removal of more metal. This would take hours with a file, and even takes quite a time with the grinder, as we need to be gentle to keep the steel from 'blueing'.

 

Even so, I have reground the same blades many times before replacement.

[lawranced1]

I would use a round file, don't use an angle grinder it will heat the blades to much and take the strength out, also you will struggle to keep each tooth at the same angle. You will find that some teeth end up a lot thinner than the others usually the teeth at the end of the head.

[DN22 Gardening]

we use a dremmel for ours

 

alot easier than a file, or grinder.

 

the only problem is that we haven't found good ends for the dremmel

 

the ones we're using ATM only last one sharpen, and at nearly £7-00 each.......