Cultivator Sweeps: How Sharp is Sharp Enough?

[MBDiagMan]

When I was a kid, my Grand Dad had a small forge and anvil that he used mostly for occasional horse shoeing. I also remember him sharpening the sweeps from his cultivator. He sharpened them by heating them red hot and then peening the edges sharp with a hammer and anvil.

When I asked him why he sharpened them this way, and didn't grind or file them, he said that it was because filing or grinding would grind it away, while his method allowed him to get much longer life from the tool.

Now, to my question. How sharp do these cultivator sweeps need to be? I got a two row field cutlivator for use in my garden so I'm not worried about their life. My Granddad cultivated a 120 acre feed patch. I will only be doing a moderate size garden.

If I get them as sharp as a good hoe, will they really do a much better job, or would I be wasting my time?

Thanks for your help and comments.

 

[gwdixon]

I'd say your Granddad probably knew exactly what he was doing, why he was doing it, and the benefits. No wasted effort on the farm.

For a garden that you can do and redo often sharp sweeps probably don't make a lot of difference. As you correctly pointed out, a sharp hoe does a better job but a dull hoe does the job - just not as efficiently.

 

[jinman]

I suspect your grandfather's method also work hardened the tips so they would not wear as quickly. I never remember sharpening cultivator sweeps, but we only farmed about 6 acres of vegetables. I do remember that the sand was very abrasive and erosion was evident on some old sweeps, but it was kind of a self-sharpening process where metal was removed from the top of the sweep as the tip was eroded away, keeping the same thickness at the point.

 

[TripleR]

I grew up farming and we never sharpened a sweep nor did I see anyone else do so. It may work better, but on a large scale, it simply would not be practical.

 

[bilrus61]

When I asked him why he sharpened them this way, and didn't grind or file them, he said that it was because filing or grinding would grind it away, while his method allowed him to get much longer life from the tool.

He couldn't say " If I don't look busy Grand Ma will make me the do the jobs on her list."

 

[bp fick]

Grew up cultivating but have no remembrance of ever sharpening. I do recall doing a complete replacement at the 10 year mark, as I recall.

 

[Bird]

As the other guys said, I never knew anyone to sharpen the sweeps. I got mine at Tractor Supply Co. and they were never sharpened.

 

[John_in_TN]

Doc,
I can't really answer your question, but I do clearly remember helping my dad remove the sweeps and taking them to be "sharpened". A local blacksmith would do exactly as you describe: heat red hot then use a hammer & anvil to peen the cutting edges, then quench. We repeated the process periodically, but I don't remember how often, but don't think it was more than once per year - not sure it was that often. As I recall, there was no grinding or fileing involved, just heat/peen/quench.

 

[D7E]

Sharpening seems recreational i think , i've never heard of it but then sometimes we change them every year the ones following wheeltracks can have no wings left and be just points after a few thousand acres .

 

[TraderMark]

I personally believe that the "sharpen by fire" method had a lot more to do with hardening the edges than actually sharpening them.

We farmed as much as 5000 acres for several years when I was a kid and we never sharpened a set of sweeps.

Mark