How To Sharpen Your Tools

Really, that's not a euphemism. You may think we're all about croissants on Sunday mornings, long snowy walks in the local park, and cute crafty projects here in the Nest - but let me tell you, we sure like our power tools too.

So far on the power tool front our kitchen, bathroom and garden renovations have required a jigsaw, circular saw (awesome tool - very, very loud, and weirdly pungent), cordless drill, electric screwdriver, tile cutter (super-loud and messy - it spurts tile-dust-infused water absolutely everywhere), several sanders, and an electric plane.

We have masses of traditional tools, too - everything from hammers and saws to those cool measuring thingies that enable you to pencil a straight line down the side of a piece of wood that needs a bit cutting off. Liking it.

Problem is - over time, a lot of these traditional tools lose their sharpness, especially when you do silly things like using specialist wood chisels to prise hideous fifty-year old tiles in your bathroom:

Gotta like a picture featuring a chisel and a Mason Pearson hairbrush (in the white bag) in the same shot. And yes, those pink work gloves are mine :-)

And also in your kitchen:

We didn't think the tiles in the kitchen were fifty years old. They looked to be twenty years old. But when we chiseled 'em off, we found - you've guessed it, a layer of fifty year old tiles underneath. Nuthin' like screwing future homeowners over by tiling on top of tiles.

Anyway, after all that tile removal, our chisels and screwdrivers (yep, I also used the occasional screwdriver to chip off a particularly recalcitrant tile) were looking a little sorry for themselves. Enter The Grinder...

The Grinder is our latest power tool. It's used for sharpening tools. Check it out:

Just hold your chisel blade against one of those twin spinning wheels and watch the sparks fly:

Pretty cool, eh. Plus it's made by Draper, which makes me think of Mad Men, which pleases me even more. Naturally, I wasn't allowed to use it. Andre banned me from all power tools after I dropped a gate on my foot. His argument being, if I'm not safe with a garden gate, I'm probably not safe with 18v of DeWalt power. He may have a point.

By the way, you can see what our bathroom looks like now by clicking here, and what our kitchen looks like by clicking here.  

Well, I think it's the weekend now. Have fun, and I'll see you again next week!

Psst! If you like this, you may also like:

DIY: Kitchen installation guide - figure out your budget

Interiors: Room design based on romantic London home

Recipe: Paris bistro-style salad