Taking cuttings? Know how to sharpen secateurs so they’ll survive 

But why is it important to keep secateur blades clean and sharp? “It’s much easier to make a clean, healthy cut on a plant if your blade is sharp,” says Rainer Schubert, managing director at Burgon and Ball. “A blunt blade can crush or damage the stem, as it struggles to complete the cut, and this wound then leaves the plant vulnerable to infection.” 

A dull blade can also cause a problem when taking cuttings. Guy Barter, chief horticulturist at the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society), says that “cut ends won’t callus and form roots.” 

Apart from giving a clean cut, sharp secateurs also make pruning easier, reducing the strain on hands and wrists. That’s a bonus if you struggle with arthritis or have limited hand strength. 

You should be able to tell from the cut if your secateurs need to be sharpened. Instead of making a clean, easy cut, your secateurs will struggle and leave a broken stem behind. However, if you’re not sure, John Myers, head gardener at the National Trust’s Ham House and Garden, recommends a simple test that you can do to check if they need sharpening. 

“Sharp secateurs should easily cut through a piece of paper,” he says, “so test them by snipping through a sheet.” 

If their performance in under par, it’s time to get sharpening.  

You’ll be pleased to discover that routine sharpening can be done without dismantling the blades, making the task somewhat quicker and easier. Here are our five simple steps on how to sharpen your secateurs. 

Japanese secateur manufacturers, Niwaki, recommend camelia oil for its own brand of carbon steel secateurs. Although any standard oil will do, such as a household vegetable oil or olive oil. 

Barter suggests its good practise to give your secateurs an annual MOT. To do this, you’ll need to dismantle them and give all the components a thorough clean. Where possible, and if needed, he suggests replacing the blades. “It’s an annual winter day job that is very satisfying,” he says. 

However, how you dismantle your secateurs will depend on which type you have, as all secateurs are not the same.

To protect the life of your cutting tools, the best advice is to use the right tool for the right job. You can’t expect a pair of secateurs to cut through thick branch, but they’re perfect for pruning perennials or deadheading roses.

“Keep your secateurs for fine work and use long-handled loppers for heavy work,” advises Barter, who also suggests, “Keep a cheap pair of secateurs for dirty jobs, such as root pruning, that might spoil good quality secateurs.”