By Johanna Silver, Sunset test garden coordinator

Sometimes I feel that my blog entries are one failed garden experience after another. Here we go again…

It’s a bit of an understatement to say that I haven’t always kept the best care of my tools. The other day Julie Chai, Associate Garden Editor (and, ahem, my boss), went to cut a bouquet of fall flowers and couldn't believe the sorry state of my bypass pruners.

“You’ve never learned how to sharpen your tools?” she asked in disbelief, knowing I'd worked for a variety of farms and gardens.

So, it’s time for Tool Care 101: Proper care for bypass pruners.

1. Disassemble - All I needed was a crescent wrench.

2. Clean - Julie likes using a bubbling bathroom/kitchen cleanser.

3. Sharpen - Bypass pruners have only one beveled edge and thus only one edge that needs sharpening. Run a file all along the sharpened edge at an angle of about 25 degrees. Use long, one-way strokes, much like you would sharpen your kitchen knives.

4. Reassemble and align - Again, all I needed was the monkey wrench to get everything back in it's place. I don't have a picture of this one, but I promise it was easy (that is, once I had facilities supervisor, Tony Soria, help me realign the toothed center nut).

5. Use 3-in-1 oil - Make sure to oil the spring between the two handles, as well as the space where the two blades overlap.

6. PRUNE AWAY! Let me just tell you -- it's like having a brand new pair tool. They're so sharp and smooth that the dead rose just fell off when I held the pruners near the stem.

Julie likes to clean and oil her pair after each use. The big disassembly and sharpening are recommended for once several times a year. Over-sharpening can weaken your blade, so be cautious.