Caring for and refurbishing pruners is a regular task at the nursery here. Here are some things we do to keep pruners in good shape:
•Instead of bleach, use a different sanitizer, such as a product with quaternary ammonium salts (avoid skin contact, read directions), or even 90% alcohol. Chlorine bleach trashes metals.
•After use, rinse or wash pruners and dry them with a towel. Leave them open and in good air flow to dry as quickly as possible. Recoat with lubricant (see below) before next use.
•The easiest, fastest way to remove rust from parts is a Dremel tool, fitted with a wire wheel. Wear safety glasses, hold smaller parts with strong needle nosed pliers. A wire brush can also work. This will raise dust; best done outdoors. You have to be careful with sandpaper, it can reshape metal parts, especially the blade. As David mentioned, the “anvil” side of the blade is flat, and needs to stay that way. You can use a flat file or flat stone to remove corrosion while keeping this surface flat. If the anvil side of the blade gets badly pitted, it will not cut properly and the blade needs replacing.
•While a fine flat file can sharpen the outside edge of the pruner blade, a small triangular sharpening stone, made for the purpose, usually is all you need. Try to match the existing angle and run the stone back and forth, base to point. Do this only on the blade’s outside surface. If the inside, anvil side needs dressing up, use the stone flat against the anvil side. Burrs on the anvil side of the blade need to be removed promptly or they can abrade the anvil, (part 7/4).
•Rust removal almost always generates abrasive particles. It’s best to completely disassemble the pruners, wash the parts in water and dry them out with towels and air. Take the spring out and do the same.
•Before reassembly, coat all parts with lubricant. While standard WD40 works, it remains oily for a long time. Try a silicone spray. Wipe any lubricant off the handles.
•Really old, heavily used pruners can lose the plastic handle coating. There are liquid tool handle dips which can be used to make a new soft plastic, rubber surface.
•The anvil, on bypass type pruners like Felcos, must remain flat and not rounded or gouged. Replace the part as needed.
•It’s very important that pruners are tight at the axle. When opened, you should not feel a lot of play if you gently twist the handles back and forth. They should be as tight as possible, while still opening and closing freely. If the axle/blade to anvil space is too great, the blade can actually take on an angle and strike the anvil, rather than rub past it. This could damage both parts. Felco pruners usually come with a nifty multitool 2/30 to aid in tightening and unscrewing lock screws.
•Eventually, the axle wears out a replaceable bushing, which is pressed into the handle which has the safety lock attached (see part 7/10). If, after tightening, your pruners wobble, especially if the handles are pushed/pulled in the closed, locked position, you likely need a new bushing. One thing about Felco pruners, one can usually get parts. The links above will take you to the wonderful world of Felco parts! A lot of parts can be purchased online or at A.M. Leonard.
(with higher and higher grit numbers, until it looks & feels OK to you)
