Kitchen Garden Forum

We (by that I mean the charity where I garden as a volunteer) have been given a hedge trimmer.

I know the motor works because I plugged it in and tested it. I suppose I better get it PATested before use.
I guess the donor (MD of the charity) has replaced a mains tool for a battery powered one (or someone else does the gardening!)
Are the blades sharpenable? If so how (aside from slowly & carefully)?
There are few parts available https://www.partshopdirect.co.uk/search/?q=GT231&x=35&y=39 and certainly blades don't feature.

I have had a Black & Decker for about 15 years and it was second hand when I got it. Never have sharpened the blade, not sure how you would do it anyway. It will still cut through just about anything that will go between the blades. However, I got it given because previous owner had broken a spring steel "thing" in the blade drive gearbox. I replaced it with a piece of clock spring, which made re-assembly a lot more difficult, but is much stronger than what B & D fitted new.

Dear Stephen,
by the look of it that hedge trimmer has not been used in several years and thus there is a risk of the blades being stuck together. For the sake of the motor I would try and get some WD40 or similar between the blades and clean them thoroughly before attempting to run the machine. You may be able to loosen the bolts holding the blades together to clean in between but do make sure to tighten them carefully afterwards. This a bit of a goldilocks thing in that those bolts need to be neither too tight nor too slack. Too tight and the blades may overheat and seize together and the motor may go phutt in protest; too loose and you will be on your hands and knees in the garden looking for the nuts and bolts - which you will never find until they are just bits of useless rust sometime next year.

Blade care is so important for all hedge trimmers. They should be oiled before they are put away and you should make sure that the blades are offset before storage so they cannot stick together with rust or sap. If you do not have a cover for the blade wrap them in an oily rag to keep dirt out.

Oh and don't forget to use a circuit breaker when you use them. Even us professional gardeners have cut through cables.....

Regards Sally Wright.

When you have got it moving freely as per Sally I wonder if you can sharpen with valve grinding paste similar to the way you do cylinder mowers. No experience, I use shears on my hedge.

Hi Sally, Geoff
Plenty of lubrication for certain sure.
And an RCD is in the permanent wiring but a 30mA plug permanently wired on to the cable was on my mind. I'm slightly surprised that these domestic garden devices are produced without one.