Easy Fixes for a Garden Spade

A job is easier with the right tools; gardening is no exception. Keep your spade in top working order with the below tips and tricks for common garden spade issues.

Scrub it with steel wool or soak it in cola

With a little elbow grease your rusted spade will shine like new.

• Hose down the spade (or any other rusted garden tool) with water to remove any loose soil, then wash it in a bucket of warm, soapy water. Let the spade dry, then rub some light machine oil onto its metal surface with an old rag. Scrub the metal with steel wool until it shines.
• If this seems too much like hard work, immerse the cleaned spade head in a bucket of cheap cola overnight and allow the acid in the drink to dissolve the rust.

If you need to sharpen the spade, now's the time to do so. If not, give the metal a thin coating of oil to insulate the steel from corrosion.

Hose down and dry your tools after every use — not only will this prevent corrosion, but it'll help prevent the spread of soil-borne plant pests and diseases around the garden.

Sharpen its edge with a mill file

Tools such as spades, hoes and trowels work more efficiently and safely when they have a sharp cutting edge. The best tool for this job is a mill file that you can buy from any hardware store — choose one that is about 25 centimetres (10 inches) in length and that has a flat (rather than curved or triangular) section. Most garden tools are bevelled (sharpened) on one side only — usually, but not always, on the front.

• Keep the spade stable by clamping its handle securely in a vise. Hold the file firmly, using two hands to grip it, one at either end.
• Examine the cutting edge of the tool and try to find the bevelled angle (usually around 30 degrees) at which the blade was previously sharpened.
• Following that angle, push the mill file across the cutting edge so that it bites into the metal; don't try to sharpen on the return (pull stroke).
• Repeat across the whole cutting edge until the metal is shiny and sharp.

Always store your spade hanging off the ground to protect its sharpened blade. If you have lost the blade guard supplied when you bought the spade (or none was supplied), it is easy to make your own.

• Using a craft knife, cut a length of hose to the same length as the width of the spade's blade.
• Split the hose lengthwise and push it onto the sharp edge of the spade for protection.

Lightly sand the tool's wooden shaft and rub in a little boiled linseed oil along its length. Allow it to dry in the sun. This treatment will keep the handle splinter-free and prevent it from drying out over the winter months.