What to Do About Old Garden Tools

Gardening is considered a very active hobby that many individuals enjoy. The idea of spending time and energy to make things grow, often in a beautiful arrangement, is quite interesting to many. Gardening requires tools, however, and these can be quite expensive if the would-be gardener is interested in purchasing the latest in cutting edge horticultural endeavor technology. Many other people prefer the simpler tools of the trade and will make do with older style implements such as shovels and hoes instead of motorized equipment such as gas powered or electric tilling machines. Over time tools become corroded, damaged, or simply loose their edge. When this happens even electrically powered equipment can require repair or at the very least a bit of retooling. The desire to throw away old gardening tools is something many people struggle with but there is no need in many circumstances. The key is to take stock of your tools and determine what is wrong with each of them. Taking stock of the repair needs of older equipment is very simple. Begin by segregating the gardening implements into different categories. A few suggested categories are edged items with handle such as shovels, edged items with multiple handles such as hole diggers, blunt items such as hammers, motorized items such as electric tillers, items such as rakes that have tines instead of blades, and flexible items such as garden hoses. An example of how to assess and repair old tools can be made with the edged with handle group selection. Typically the kind of implement one is using when a shovel, hoe, or a planting spear is used would fall into this category. Any gardening equipment that does not require a motor and uses one or two hands to wield will be part of this group. The most important aspect of any of these implements is the edge itself. Edges are made of metal on most modern tools and the things to watch out for are rust, cracks, and whether or not the blade has dulled. Typically a little cleaning and sharpening are all an edged implement needs. A dull shovel doesn't need to be tossed out, a simple bit of sharpening could make it as good as new. The next item on the agenda would be the handle and the connection to the blade. If the handle seems to be of sound strength without cracks then it is perfectly fine to keep using it. If there are cracks replace it. Most items of this type utilized connector pins or screws to hold the handle to the blade. If the connection is solid and there is no debris within the area of connection this is a good sign. Check to see if the handle wobbles at all. If it does then the handle might be damaged internally where it and the blade connect or the connector might be loose. Tighten the connector if possible, replace it if necessary.

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