How to make a self-sharpening hoe

Purchased factory hoes lose their sharpness during operation, so they need to be sharpened periodically. It's not too difficult, but it's much easier when the hoe sharpens itself and doesn't require any attention at all. You can make such a tool from a blade from a wood saw and modernize its cutting edge in a special way.

Materials:

• old worn out hoe;
  
• blade from a hacksaw for wood.

The process of making a self-sharpening hoe

The worn blade of an old hoe needs to be removed. To replace it, a new one is cut out of a wood hacksaw blade. Its shape and size can be any, the main thing is that it is comfortable to work with. Depending on how the worn blade was attached, a new one is welded or riveted.


After this, the front side of the blade is sharpened using sandpaper. If there are special sharpening devices with a convenient lock, then the tip can be removed before installing the blade on the chopper. When working with regular sandpaper or sharpening with a grinder, it is more convenient to have the hoe already assembled, then you can hold it by the frame.

After sharpening, you need to lay a weld on the opposite side of the blade relative to the sharpening. It should be cooked along the edge line.It is important to build up the metal in this place, but only in a thin layer and preferably without potholes. After this, the welded metal must be ground and smoothly sharpened, but without erasing the surface of the hacksaw blade.

It is not worth skipping sharpening the front side and then sharpening both after welding. With such a sequence, there is a high probability that the cutting edge will not turn out exactly as desired.

If you can make a good, even seam, it can be sanded into a smooth plane. In this case, wet soil will not stick to the hoe. The presence of potholes reduces the usability of the tool in damp soil, but not significantly, and in dry soil such defects do not affect anything at all.
When using a hacksaw upgraded with a welded seam, the metal of the hacksaw on the face of the tip will be worn off first. The weld at the rear is more hardened and therefore wears out more slowly. Due to the difference in abrasion speed, the hoe will always be thin on the edge, and therefore sharp. A similar method is used in the production of plows and cultivator paws, so its effectiveness has long been tested and is beyond doubt.

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