Question on sharpening Felco loppers

Hotshot10

Hotshot10

Joined
Dec 23, 2012
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341
I received a nice pair of Felco loppers for Christmas and immediately proceeded to take a chunk out of the edge by trying to cut through some chain link hidden in some sort of giant vine. 🤦‍♂️ Anyway, I have the 903 sharpener that Felco makes, shown in this video:


What I can't figure out is why the video instructs me to turn the sharpener to an really high angle and basically drag it down the bevel (see the nine second mark). Does anyone have an idea on why Felco recommends that step? I've not seen this recommended elsewhere.
 
Debuting, perhaps? I never sharpen pruners in the way shown. I use a small fine file, and make all my strokes perpendicular to the curve segment. Little bit harder motion, much better results.

I never file or stone the contact face like that either, in fact I have burnished a small burr sometimes toward the other blade. Bypass pruners cut best when the two blades contact each other all the way down the clip. He’s removing steel off the contact part.

Parker
 
Looks to me like he's using the high-angle passes to force the burr to turn to the back side (the flat contact face), after which he flips the pruner around and (presumably) scrubs the burr off.

I have a similar sharpening tool from Fiskars that I've used for sharpening my bypass hand pruner (also Fiskars). It's diamond on on side, and simple chromed steel on the back. They suggest using the chromed back side of the sharpener to de-burr from the flat, inside contact face of the pruner's cutting edge, much in a similar manner to that shown in the video. I DON'T use any high-angle passes with the edge of the sharpener, as shown in that video - I've found that just sharpening in the initial manner shown is enough to get a burr turned toward the back face. Just test the edge with a fingertip to feel for that burr - the steel is pretty soft in such tools, and it doesn't take much work or time to generate a burr that's easy to detect.

The cutting edges on these tools don't need much detail work or high refinement as we might be used to doing with our EDC knives. Just apex the edge with such a tool, or a file, or any other sharpening device that can 'fit' sufficiently between the pruner's jaws and sharpen in the sweeping manner shown. Sometimes it's difficult or tedious to sharpen the cutting edge in a purely perpendicular manner, as we'd usually do with knives, as the other side of the pruner's jaw gets in the way. An alternative is to disassemble the pruner to give better access to the edge. I've done that also - but I've found it's usually more fiddling than is necessary for these tools. So I don't disassemble to sharpen them in such a manner anymore, unless I might be doing so for another reason, like extensive cleaning, etc.

I'd personally never use an abrasive tool on the flat backside of these pruners (incorrectly referenced 'sharpeners' earlier; corrected by edit). Anything taking metal off that contact side is begging for cutting troubles after the fact, if the contact faces can no longer meet crisply. No amount of tightening of the pivot will fix that.
 
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Obsessed with Edges said:
Looks to me like he's using the high-angle passes to force the burr to turn to the back side (the flat contact face), after which he flips the pruner around and (presumably) scrubs the burr off.

I have a similar sharpening tool from Fiskars that I've used for sharpening my bypass hand pruner (also Fiskars). It's diamond on on side, and simple chromed steel on the back. They suggest using the chromed back side of the sharpener to de-burr from the flat, inside contact face of the pruner's cutting edge, much in a similar manner to that shown in the video. I DON'T use any high-angle passes with the edge of the sharpener, as shown in that video - I've found that just sharpening in the initial manner shown is enough to get a burr turned toward the back face. Just test the edge with a fingertip to feel for that burr - the steel is pretty soft in such tools, and it doesn't take much work or time to generate a burr that's easy to detect.

The cutting edges on these tools don't need much detail work or high refinement as we might be used to doing with our EDC knives. Just apex the edge with such a tool, or a file, or any other sharpening device that can 'fit' sufficiently between the pruner's jaws and sharpen in the sweeping manner shown. Sometimes it's difficult or tedious to sharpen the cutting edge in a purely perpendicular manner, as we'd usually do with knives, as the other side of the pruner's jaw gets in the way. An alternative is to disassemble the pruner to give better access to the edge. I've done that also - but I've found it's usually more fiddling than is necessary for these tools. So I don't disassemble to sharpen them in such a manner anymore, unless I might be doing so for another reason, like extensive cleaning, etc.

I'd personally never use an abrasive tool on the flat backside of these sharpeners. Anything taking metal off that contact side is begging for cutting troubles after the fact, if the contact faces can no longer meet crisply. No amount of tightening of the pivot will fix that.
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^^^This.
 
I see some that are wedged apart from cutting too big or hard materials. Once that happens, they’ll never cut the same again.

My personal ones are Corona, and I’m using them heavily now cause it’s fruit tree pruning season. I don’t use them on fence wire (you laugh, but I’ve seen that), and I go get the compound loppers for thick cuts.

Parker
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Looks to me like he's using the high-angle passes to force the burr to turn to the back side (the flat contact face), after which he flips the pruner around and (presumably) scrubs the burr off.

I have a similar sharpening tool from Fiskars that I've used for sharpening my bypass hand pruner (also Fiskars). It's diamond on on side, and simple chromed steel on the back. They suggest using the chromed back side of the sharpener to de-burr from the flat, inside contact face of the pruner's cutting edge, much in a similar manner to that shown in the video. I DON'T use any high-angle passes with the edge of the sharpener, as shown in that video - I've found that just sharpening in the initial manner shown is enough to get a burr turned toward the back face. Just test the edge with a fingertip to feel for that burr - the steel is pretty soft in such tools, and it doesn't take much work or time to generate a burr that's easy to detect.

The cutting edges on these tools don't need much detail work or high refinement as we might be used to doing with our EDC knives. Just apex the edge with such a tool, or a file, or any other sharpening device that can 'fit' sufficiently between the pruner's jaws and sharpen in the sweeping manner shown. Sometimes it's difficult or tedious to sharpen the cutting edge in a purely perpendicular manner, as we'd usually do with knives, as the other side of the pruner's jaw gets in the way. An alternative is to disassemble the pruner to give better access to the edge. I've done that also - but I've found it's usually more fiddling than is necessary for these tools. So I don't disassemble to sharpen them in such a manner anymore, unless I might be doing so for another reason, like extensive cleaning, etc.

I'd personally never use an abrasive tool on the flat backside of these pruners (incorrectly referenced 'sharpeners' earlier; corrected by edit). Anything taking metal off that contact side is begging for cutting troubles after the fact, if the contact faces can no longer meet crisply. No amount of tightening of the pivot will fix that.
Click to expand...
I would think that you could raise a burr on the bevel side and then just cut it off by closing and opening the loppers a couple times. I've seen that recommended for scissor sharpening.
 
Hotshot10 said:
I received a nice pair of Felco loppers for Christmas and immediately proceeded to take a chunk out of the edge by trying to cut through some chain link hidden in some sort of giant vine. 🤦‍♂️ Anyway, I have the 903 sharpener that Felco makes, shown in this video:


What I can't figure out is why the video instructs me to turn the sharpener to an really high angle and basically drag it down the bevel (see the nine second mark). Does anyone have an idea on why Felco recommends that step? I've not seen this recommended elsewhere.
Click to expand...
He's pushes the burr over and then uses a bit of an angle to cut the burr off presumably with out touching touching the back using light strokes. I think it's risking a back bevel.

There are probably 101 ways to get it done. I deburr with a hard fine stone laid flat to the back taking three or four light passes. Much like deburring a chisel. I'm not removing enough steel for it to ever be an issue.
 
The cutting blades in these Felco pruners are actually made from quite hard and wear resistant steel, i sharpen these from time to time for florists and garden afi's on my Tormek SB-250 black silicon carbide stone.
I disassemble the pruner, and then just resharpen the single bevel blade until i have a fine and even burr all along the edge, and remove it on the Tormek leather wheel coated with 1.0 micron diamond compound.
Felco is considered a high quality brand where i live.
 
I should have mentioned that the pruners featured in the video just have that bevel on one side. My loppers have a 23 degree bevel (I think that was it) on both sides. I was not planning to use that high angle motion on my loppers.
 
Felco stuff is almost twice the price of Corona stuff here. I’ve owned it before and used it hard, and I assure you it’s not any higher quality. The Felco I have now (1 pruner, 1 14” saw) I bought used or at a deep discount. Works fine, just not worth the retail prices to me.

Hotshot, I find I prefer bypass pruners/loppers for green wood and anvil pruners for dead/dry stuff. Anvil pruners cut differently and are more forgiving to sharpen, IME.

Parker
 
3D Anvil said:
I would think that you could raise a burr on the bevel side and then just cut it off by closing and opening the loppers a couple times. I've seen that recommended for scissor sharpening.
Click to expand...
I've actually done that, more often than not. In a sense, I kind of prefer doing it that way. Any rubbing, burnishing or abrading done on the flat side by other means, to scrub the burr off, is in my mind a chance at altering the flatness and flushness of the contact side, creating a microbevel or rounding off the edge there. And for the tasks for which these tools are made, there's nothing to be gained in doing anything complicated to remove the burr. Even putting the pruners immediately back to work in cutting twigs will likely scrub any significant burrs away, assuming they're not hugely heavy.

I do the same with scissors, for the same reasons.
 
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I agree with all that. I’ve also seen improvement from filing the inside of the other blade (the hooked part, but not the contact surface) and removing the corner radius. It gets worn down by use, although some cheap pruners come radiused new. Reshaping that corner, crisping it up, improves the cut.

Parker
 
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