Clean And Sharpen Your Garden Shovel Using An Item You Likely Already Own

Cleaning shovels (and other tools) is critical garden maintenance you are probably neglecting. But you do so at your peril. Giving your shovel a once over from time to time prolongs its life significantly. If you live somewhere that gets a lot of snow, you probably retire your garden and store your tools for the winter. Getting them back to workable condition before you do so is a must. This involves removing rust and dirt built up over the season, and sharpening those edges that dull every time they move through the soil or hefty roots. The bundle of metal most people use to rid pots and pans of baked-on food doubles as something you can use to check off those yard work to-dos. If you haven't guessed already, we're talking about steel wool!

Steel wool isn't used to sharpen the blade of a shovel; think of it more as a starter and finisher in the overall shovel cleaning process. The abrasive texture of steel wool comes from all those razor-sharp metal strips, which shear away imperfections from any surface they're rubbed over. A ball of steel wool is also arguably easier to hold than sandpaper. To actually sharpen the blade — shovels, after all, are considered cutting implements, even though many gardeners don't categorize them as such — you'll need a file. Honestly, any old steel wool will work for this trick, so you may as well go for the cheapest option, though ideally, it's rated 000 or 0000.

Don a pair of cut-proof gloves and scrub the entire pan of the shovel vigorously with steel wool in a circular motion. Don't neglect the back of the shovel head. You should see the rust, caked-on dirt, and sap slough off with each swipe. If not, scrub harder! The large surface of the shovel pan often requires more effort to get clean than smaller tools. Rinse the shovel with soapy water, followed by fresh water from your garden hose.

It's time to sharpen your dull shovel! Put on a pair of safety goggles — in addition to your gloves — to protect your eyes from flying metal shards. Clamp your shovel blade in a vice grip so it doesn't move around when you're working. Using your pick of sharpening implements, a sharpening stone, flat mill bastard file (8 to 10 inches), round or half-round file (8 to 10 inches), whetstone, or pocket file, and sharpen just one side of the shovel's blade. Set the sharpening tool at an angle you can easily maintain and move it either up or down — not both. Once sharp, run over the edges again with a finer steel wool to smooth any burrs that sometimes result from sharpening and restore that new-bought shine. Be careful! If you've done the job right, those edges will be pretty sharp. Finish with a coating of vegetable oil and store the clean tool in a cool, dry spot.