Restoring old hand tools

Half way done to show how easy and effective it is!

Old hand tools can still be found for a song these days and many of them are endlessly restorable. This old shovel is 28 years old; I know because I bought it as a fresh 16 year old just starting out in the world of work.

It has dug many hundreds of tons of earth out of foundations in difficult to reach areas and mixed countless tons of concrete and mortar for brick and block laying. It has been run over by a fork truck (thanks Pip!) and left unwashed a number of times.

Using a course wirebrush cup on minigrinder first.

It has just come back to me after a brief stay working with someone else, so of course it needs cleaning properly now! So I don the usual eye goggles essential for this task and gloves are not a bad idea too (do as I say, not as I do lol!).

I used a wire-brush cup on a small mini grinder to remove the traces of cement and rust, followed by a lap wheel (kind of sandpaper on a disc) to polish up the metal.

Polishing up the metal with an abrasive flap wheel.

To finish I dropped a splash of chainsaw oil (it was the closest to hand!) and rubbed it all over with a rag.

Now it’s ready for a little more work again before it’s long sleep over winter here in Norway.

Do you have an old favorite that you keep going back to time after time because you can’t bear the thought of a new one? Post a pic in the comments!

Stay well

Ian