How To

Keep your blades as sharp as possible,
for as long as possible

As you have probably already figured out, blades don't stay sharp forever. Quality, hardness, and temper of the steel are a few things that greatly affect edge durability. Using blades for their intended purpose is a large factor; cutting down a tree with a pair of scissors or shaving your beard with a chainsaw is not going to yield favorable results ;-). With that said, here are some tips on maintaining your newly restored edge.

Kitchen Knives

Always hand wash and dry, dishwashers will ruin an edge the first run
Don't cut on anything that's harder than the blade. Glass, ceramic plates, and granite countertops are real edge killers! Wooden cutting boards are best, and use plastic for raw meat.
Keep knives in a block or in sleeves. Never let them bang against each other in a drawer.
Use a ceramic or steel honing rod to maintain your knives. This is not actually sharpening by removing material, it just simply realigns microscopic teeth on the edge that get folded over with use. This can be performed several times, until those little teeth finally break off, then honing rods will not help. At that point it is time to let Whet the Edge professionally whet your edge!

Chainsaw Chains

The most important thing is to never let the chain touch dirt or rocks. An average chain is running around 5000 feet per minute, so if you hit the ground for just one second each tooth has already went through dirt 20 times!
Always make sure your saw is oiling properly; bar oil reduces friction, which reduces heat. Heat causes blades to lose their temper which makes them soft and dull.
Keep correct tension on the chain. Too tight will build heat, and cause excess wear on chain, bar, and saw. Too loose will get pinched easier, cause kickback, and could cause the chain to fly off the bar.
Guide bars will need dressed every few sharpenings, when a burr starts to form. The burr makes it difficult to slide through wood, and can cause the saw to cut crooked.
Keep a sleeve over the bar and chain when not in use to prevent anything from damaging them.

Woodworking Handtools

Be sure to never let the edge bump into another piece of steel, as this will immediately dull it.
Use a strop to maintain the edge. A piece of tooling leather glued to a flat piece of wood works great (smooth side up). Apply some buffing compound to the leather, then pull the blade toward you bevel side down, at about a 20° angle. Be sure to pull AWAY from the edge, so that it won't cut the leather. Strop the blade a few strokes every so often to keep it razor sharp.
Keep each tool's edge in a protective sheath

Scissors & Shears

Every pair is made with specific blades, handles, and edge angles to suit a specific task. For maximum efficiency and edge life, use them for their intended purpose. Cut only hair with beauty shears, and only cloth with fabric scissors. Keep a multi use pair of household scissors around for cutting paper and opening packages to avoid damage to your expensive shears.
Apply a light coat of oil to the pivot point occasionally, or at the end of each day for hard worked shears.
Small shears are easily bent, just dropping them or setting something heavy on them can bend the blades out of alignment.
Keep delicate and expensive shears in a padded case when not in use.
One of the most common causes of shears not cutting is not enough tension. As your shears become loose, turn the pivot screw clockwise a small amount to tighten them. Some pairs have tricky screws, we can help you with these.