Care & Maintenance of Your Garden Tools

Piginor garden tools (as are most Red Pig Garden Tools) are made in Oregon, USA primarily of mild steel and American hickory or Ash, the traditional materials used for producing garden and agricultural tools designed to be used by hand. The handles we use are premium hickory or ash, both of which are known for the strength and durability, and are turned for us in Tennessee and Arkansas.

Tools ship with a clear enamel coating on metal surfaces and a stained wax coating or lacquer on handles. These protective layers will help prevent rust and moisture damage. They will wear away as the tools are put to use, so some simple regular maintenance will go a long way to getting a long life from your tools.

As a general rule, dirt and moisture should be scraped, wiped or cleaned off tools after each use to get the longest possible life out of the tool (our tools are often used for decades and handed down as heirlooms from parents to children). It is a good idea to apply oil or wax to handles at least once year. If tools will be kept outside or in a moist indoor environment, we also recommend coating metal surfaces with oil or painting them (after they have been cleaned) with something like a clear Rustoleum 2X spray enamel prior to putting them away for an extended period.

By sealing out moisture, in particular, the tools can be protected against rust and cracks developing naturally in the wooden handles.

We guarantee our work, which means if the forged metal part of your tool breaks under normal use for which the tool was designed, we'll repair or replace it. You'll pay for shipping. Damage caused by mis-use, lack of maintenance/care, and by over enthusiastic use (asking more of the tool than what it was design for...for example, a trowel is not a prying tool but is a digging tool) is also in most cases repairable for a small fee to cover labor and materials.

We don't believe in making disposable tools, and so most of our tools are designed to be long lasting, repairable, and maintained at low cost to the user.

To get the longest life from your new Piginor tools (and this applies to most other tools as well), follow these simple rules:

Keep tools sharp by hand with a simple, standard mill bastard file (that is a flat file, medium coarse, single cut)
Use the tool often and clean it off after use to limit development of rust. Wipe it down and let it dry, if used in wet conditions. If putting the tool away in a moist or non-climate controlled environment for a while, you can apply a light coat of mineral oil, motor oil, or other oil. Or use paste wax, or buy a spray can of Rustoleum 2X clear coating enamel. In all cases, after cleaning off the metal with a brush or rag to remove dirt and build up of other materials, wipe or spray on the new coating following directions of the manufacturer. All these options essentially create a thin barrier between the metal and the moisture that will eventually lead to rusting. If rust appears on your tool, clean it off with a wire brush, Scotchbrite pad, or steel wool and then apply a coating.
Oil wooden handles periodically for longest life - boiled linseed or tongue oils work, even danish or teak oil will be fine. You can also opt for paste wax as a coating. You are trying to create a surface barrier to fill grain and minimize the expansion and contraction of the wood that will happen as moisture levels vary.

For other questions, check us out online or email us at: [email protected]

While a little rust or a small crack should not impact the ability of the tool to do the work it is intended for, Red Pig Garden Tools will happily repair any Piginor tool for a nominal charge to cover materials and time. Customer pays for shipping both ways.