With blunt knives, the scarifier is at a loss against thatch. Although the garden tool is only used once or twice a year, the blade cylinder wears out more quickly than the lawnmower blades due to the high stress. This guide explains how to sharpen your scarifier yourself.
The knives are removed for sharpening
Safety is a priority - Important preparatory work
Before you devote yourself to the blades of your scarifier, you should make sure that you cannot start the engine unintentionally. To do this, pull out the power plug on the electrical device. Please disconnect the spark plug and plug on the petrol scarifier (84.00€). Since blunt blades can also cause serious injuries and metal chips fly when sharpening, please wear gloves and protective goggles.
Sharpen scarifiers manually - tips & tricks
In the hobby garden, it is rarely worth investing in an expensive wet grinding machine to sharpen a garden tool from time to time. For this purpose, the focus is on whetstones or hand files because they are cheap to buy and easy to use. How to proceed correctly:
- Remove the scarifier blade according to the manufacturer's operating instructions
- Clean thoroughly with water and a cloth
- Clamp in a vise or otherwise securely fasten
- Soak the sharpening stone in water or oil for a few hours
- Sharpen a blunt blade from the outside in with a whetstone or file
When grinding, please ensure that the existing angle of the cutting surface is maintained. If you are working with a hand file, use a whetstone to remove the last burr at the end. A simple file is usually enough to keep the scarifier roller blades working smoothly. You can achieve more precise results with a sharpening file because the sharpening stone is on a handle. This construction also scores with the advantage that grinding work is less strenuous.
tips
Owners of a drill (€97.00) with a flex attachment can sharpen the blades and knives of garden tools without removing them. With the universal knife sharpener from Westfalia, not only rosettes and pruning shears are sharp in no time at all. You can also sharpen scarifier knives on motorized and manual devices alike.