Sharpen Shears Anywhere With An Easy Solution From Amazon

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Just like sharper kitchen knives make cooking faster and safer, sharper garden shears make pruning a better experience for both you and your plants. Not only do sharp shears cut more cleanly, but they also help plants stay healthy. Sharpening garden shears can be a multi-step process — so it's no wonder most of us put off this maintenance task. If you want to be able to quickly hone the blades on your shears, a diamond sharpening stone file might be the answer. The Sharpal 181N Dual-Grit Diamond Sharpening Stone File is an easy solution from Amazon that's designed to quickly sharpen tools with no oil or water needed.

According to the manufacturer, this diamond file can sharpen shears up to five times faster than oil or water whetstones. At 4.25 inches long, it's small enough to sharpen hand clippers as well as large loppers. It retails for less than $30 and has a 4.7-star rating with more than 4,700 reviews. Users highlight the diamond file's ability to sharpen blades quickly and effectively with little to no learning curve. Many users also appreciate the file's leather sheath, which doubles as a strop and helps refine a blade's edge and remove microscopic burrs left over from sharpening. Even users who admit to being blade aficionados, like one reviewer who normally uses four different water stones to sharpen knives, appreciate this file for quick sharpening tasks.

A diamond file is a simple tool designed to easily sharpen garden hand shears, made by electroplating diamond grit onto a steel blank. The Sharpal dual-grit file has a coarse 325 grit on one side and an extra fine 1,200 grit on the other side for sharpening blades to a keen finish. Unless your shears are very gunked up, you can skip disassembling and simply run the file along the beveled cutting edge. A few gentle, unidirectional strokes with each side should achieve a fresh edge on your shear blades. Not only does it not require high pressure, but using a light touch can actually extend the file's lifespan. 

Thanks to its multipurpose design, a diamond file like this one from Sharpal can be used on more than just garden shears. If you're noticing your lawn mower blades need sharpening, many reviewers successfully used this file to restore their blades' edges. It can also be used on outdoor equipment, like axes and hatchets, woodworking or utility knives, and even kitchen knives or scissors.

Although the manufacturer states the Sharpal file doesn't require oil or water to use, reviewers and experts recommend using a little honing oil to prevent the diamond grit from collecting metal debris. The manufacturer suggests wiping the file clean with a dry paper towel and using a rubber eraser or nylon brush to remove any buildup of metal debris.