Essential safety precautions
Before you start sharpening, consider your own protection. To prevent injury, wear safety glasses and gloves made of resistant material. Also make sure that your tool cannot start up on its own or slip during sharpening.
Tooth by tooth: how to sharpen your hedge trimmer properly
Resin and thick branches will blunt the cutting attachment over time. We show you how to sharpen your hedge trimmer quickly and easily.
21.11.2025
Overview: sharpening a hedge trimmer
- Sharpening as part of routine maintenance for your hedge trimmer
- Clean blades before sharpening and moisten them before grinding
- Remove burrs with a whetstone
- Resin cleaner restores corrosion protection
- Consult a dealer to make sure that sharpening is carried out correctly
You can sharpen an electric hedge trimmer in two steps. First use a flat file to sharpen the cutting blades. Always file towards the cutting edge and maintain the correct sharpening angle. The burr which is created on the underside of the blade during filing is then removed with a whetstone.
As with an electric hedge trimmer, a battery hedge trimmer is sharpened in two steps: first with a flat file and then a whetstone.
You can have your hedge trimmer professionally sharpened by one of our STIHL dealers. Having the cutting blades sharpened by a professional ensures a perfect result without too much material being removed from the blades.
The cost of having a hedge trimmer sharpened depends on the type of hedge trimmer. Models with a detachable cutting attachment are the least expensive type to sharpen. As well as sharpening the cutting blades properly, your STIHL dealer will also be happy to carry out a full maintenance service on your hedge trimmer if necessary.
To sharpen your hedge trimmer properly,
you will need the following useful
tools and materials: flat file, whetstone, soft cloth, water, STIHL resin cleaner, safety clothing, work gloves, safety glasses or face protection
Instructions: sharpening a hedge trimmer
It is best not to wait for the blades to show significant signs of wear before sharpening, as the service life of your hedge trimmer is heavily dependent on regular maintenance of the tool. We recommend sharpening the blades approximately every 50 operating hours. This ensures that cutting performance is maintained and you can enjoy your hedge trimmer for a long time.
All important information about sharpening your hedge trimmer can also be found in the user manual.
During hedge trimming, residues of plant sap and resin accumulate on the cutting attachment. Remove this dirt with a soft cloth before sharpening the blades.
Consistent cutting performance can be achieved in two steps. First, a flat file is used.
- Always file towards the cutting edge. This is how the flat file is designed to be most effective and doing so ensures an optimally sharp cutting edge.
- When sharpening your hedge trimmer, try to maintain the specified sharpening angle. This is listed in the operating instructions of your device under “Technical data”.
- The file should only make contact on the forward stroke, and should be lifted off the surface when drawing it back. Avoid moving the file back and forth to prevent the cutting edge from becoming blunt again.
- Always take care to not remove too much material during sharpening. The wear limit is 5 mm. If you grind down beyond this, you may weaken the material and render your hedge trimmer unusable.
- Apply the same number of file strokes to each cutting tooth so that all blades are the same length at the end.
STIHL pro tip: Only sharpen the cutting edge of the teeth. Neither the integrated cut protection nor the cut protection made of orange plastic should be filed.
“Only the cutting edge of the teeth is sharpened. Under no circumstances should you file the cut protection.”
Jens Gärtner, product trainer
You will need a whetstone for this step. This is used to remove the burr that forms on the underside of the blade during sharpening.
To do this, turn the hedge trimmer over so that you can work on the back of the blades. With a gentle sweeping motion, pull the whetstone along the blade towards the cutting tip, smoothing the roughened surfaces in the process.
You’re almost done! The freshly sharpened blades of your hedge trimmer now just need a little more care.
First remove any grinding dust from the previous steps. Because the existing corrosion protection is ground away during sharpening, it is necessary to spray the cutting attachment with STIHL resin cleaner. This means the tool will maintain its perfect functionality and serve you effectively for longer.
Hedge trimmer is not cutting: what is the cause?
Is your hedge trimmer no longer cutting as usual? This is often because the cutting blades of your tool have become blunt after frequent use and need to be sharpened. However, it could be happening for a different reason.
These indications make it easy to identify the possible cause:
Twigs frequently getting stuck
If branches are getting stuck between the blades during use, blocking them and so not being cut, this is because the upper and lower blades of the hedge trimmer have moved away from each other. This is because the blade spacers become worn over time. If this happens, your dealer can help you and replace the spacers without any hassle.
Branches are not being cut cleanly
If the cuts being made are uneven and frayed, this indicates that the blades are blunt and need to be sharpened. You can have your hedge trimmer sharpened by one of our specialist dealers or, with a little patience, get your power tool up and running again yourself.
Do you want to sharpen your hedge trimmer yourself or have it sharpened?
Not everyone feels confident about sharpening the blades themselves. Our STIHL dealers will be happy to help you with reliable sharpening on-site. The dealer will sharpen the blades professionally, giving you an optimal result without removing too much material from the blades.
