Best Oil For Garden Tool Handles – This site contains affiliate links to products we recommend. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
What makes a high quality tool? And are quality garden tools worth it? We chat with Will from Homestead Iron about what sets his quality tools apart and why you should order some today!
Best Oil For Garden Tool Handles
We’re excited to have Homestead Iron’s Will on Pantry Chat today. He and Jamie own and operate Homestead Iron from the Ozark Mountains, making equipment that blends old and new technology, just as their grandfather did.
Tool Maintenance Oil: How To Choose The Right Type
Will is a fourth generation blacksmith. As a child, he started working with his father and grandfather, where he learned the basics. He then went to cowboy for a living and later became a maintenance director for a small airline.
Blacksmithing as a business was created when he and his wife wanted to move out of the city and into the countryside, but needed help to financially support their lifestyle, preferably from home.
Will says that the tool was thrown at him. He was tired of buying tools that underperformed or eventually broke. He got access to some high carbon steel and started making his own tools.
Once he realized he could make high-quality tools, that all changed. He realized that he no longer needed to spend on the “junk” tools that he had been buying before, and he knew that he couldn’t be the only one who wanted high quality tools.
How To Clean And Sharpen Garden Tools (2024)
Will will share that making high-quality tools isn’t difficult, but it does take some forethought. First, he takes care and goes through several iterations of each tool. The great thing about Homestead Iron Tools is that Will and his wife Jamie use their tools regularly.
Will spends countless hours modifying tools, making sure the angles are just right, the handle length is right, and that both tool and handle are as strong as possible.
One of the biggest differences between homestead iron tools and the ones you find in the store is the quality of steel it uses. Will uses C1075 high carbon steel, which to the naked eye looks like C1018 structural steel.
C1018 steel has a tensile strength that is about 75,000 psi. The C1075 high carbon steel that Will uses for his tools is 285,000 psi, so there is a huge difference in strength. But again, you won’t be able to tell the difference just by picking up two different tools and comparing them side by side. Power and quality will shine through when using the tool.
How To Restore Garden Tool Handles
The advantage of this high carbon steel is that the tool will have longer ductility, meaning the tool will not bend, dent or distort in response to stress, and will retain their edge and maintain sharpness.
Many tools you find in big box stores perform poorly because they don’t even have an edge ground, they come standard with a blunt edge. Even if they have an edge it won’t last because it’s a soft steel, which as Will says works great for fenders and toasters, but not tools!
I personally prefer working with tools made of wood, they seem to last longer and are easy to care for to last for generations. Will agrees and shares how his hands are made to grip smooth wood. You should never wear gloves when using a hammer because you have to grip tighter than if you weren’t wearing gloves.
The same goes for garden tools that you will use for extended periods of time throughout the season. Don’t fall for the gimmicks and widgets of “ergonomically” correct or lightweight new plastic handles. They may feel better (more comfortable, lighter weight, etc.) when they take them to the store, but extended movements will actually backfire and make you work harder.
What Are The Best Oils For Garden Tools?
I wrote a post here about my favorite garden tools and how to care for them, but Will is going to share how to maintain and care for homestead iron tools.
The first thing you can do to triple the life of your tools is to store them out of the elements.
When you’re done with your tools at the end of the day, don’t leave them exposed to dust or rain or sun. It’s easy to put them away, lean against the garage, under an overhang, or wherever you can find a place that’s dry and out of direct sunlight.
For the next level of storage care, store your tools in a protected environment such as a garden shed, garage or basement where the temperature stays constant, there is no damage from sunlight and they are completely dry.
Best Restoration Products For Wooden Tool Handles
The first thing to start wearing on this tool is the wooden handle. So sanding them down with some sandpaper and conditioning them with linseed oil will really extend the life of these tools. To save some money on the cost of linseed oil, we like to use our homemade bacon to condition our tools because we always have some on hand.
Fall is a great time to condition your tools before putting them away for the winter. Use a rag and rub the oil into the wood so that the heat of your hand warms the oil and wood. If you just slap on some oil and don’t rub it in properly, it will eventually become sticky and unpleasant to the touch.
I like to say that I will pass my homestead iron tools on to my children because quality is a generational tool.
Another way you can extend the life of your tools is to clean them after each use. Then again before storing it away for the winter.
My Favorite Kitchen Gardening Tools • Gardenary
One of Wills’ customers suggested placing a bucket of sand next to the tool shed where you keep your tools. After each use, they dip each tool into a bucket of sand for easy cleaning.
Will shares that there are a lot of rocks in the Ozarks, so his tools are constantly in contact with the rocks, creating sparks and dulling the edges faster than those working in soft clay soils.
Will needs to sharpen his tools faster than someone who only uses them a few times a year.
It is better to use a simple file for sharpening tools. Although you can sharpen homestead iron tools to resharpen them, Will shares that this isn’t necessary, and you can actually soften or warp them if you accidentally overheat them.
Tool Maintenance: How To Clean Garden Tools & Pruning Shears
Some people may be surprised by the price of Homestead Iron’s tools, as they compare them to common tools found in many big box stores. We love the saying, “Price is what you pay, value is what you get,” because buying a high-quality advance can save you money in the long run.
Will shares the analogy of someone buying a cheap tool for $15 that expires in a year. The following year, that person would have to replace it, thus spending another $15 on a tool that might break before next season. If that person has been gardening for 10 years, they will spend $150 on that one tool.
, that one tool may cost $40, but it will last more than those 10 years and eventually be passed down to the next generation.
Moreover, a high-quality tool will actually make the job easier and reduce the time it takes to get started.
Hanging And Wedging A Wooden Handle, Part 1
Josh: Hey, you guys. This is Josh with Homesteading Family and welcome to this week’s episode of The Pantry Chat: Food for Thought. Hey, I have a very neat guest with me today, Will Dobkins of Homestead Iron, he makes some fantastic home and gardening tools. Will, how are you today?
Josh: Yeah, absolutely. Guys, you’ve seen me talk about some tools for home iron and we wanted to bring in Will so you can learn a little bit more about him and why they’re so special and precious and a little bit about his story but, you know, we usually like to pop in and have a little Loves to chat and just talk about what’s going on at the farm. And so, Will, I just want to ask you, I know you make tools every day here and there in the smithy, but what do you have in your backyard? Am I right, you are in Missouri? Am I remembering that correctly?
Will: That’s right. Jamie and I are in southern Missouri and it’s spring here and we’ve been very busy. It’s definitely garden tool season, so I’m at the store getting tools as soon as possible. But apart from that, the
Best oil for tool handles, garden tool handles for sale, plastic dip for tool handles, tool for cabinet handles, garden tool handles, linseed oil for tool handles, best oil for wooden tool handles, tool for installing cabinet handles, handles for tool boxes, grip tape for tool handles, rubber dip for tool handles, tung oil for tool handles