For maintaining your tools all season-long, here are some lesser-known tips gathered from industry experts.

Walter Glenn, writing on lifehacker.com, has some advice on the "oil-dip" cleaning technique – stabbing tools in a bucket of oil-infused sand to clean and oil their surfaces at the same time. He warns against using motor oil and suggests linseed oil since any residue can be transferred to the soil.

Instead of tossing used silica gel packs into the garbage, toss them into toolboxes and storage compartments on your vehicle and at your home base.

A.M. Leonard Horticulture Tool and Supply Company has these tips on sharpening pruners:

• If the cutting blade is extremely dull or has been notched, it may be necessary to take the pruners apart to repair the damage.
• Sharpen a "by-pass' pruner on just one side of the blade, and an "anvil' pruner and a "double-cut' pruner on both sides of the blade.
• Impulse hardened saw blades cannot be sharpened.
• Maintain the factory angle on the cutting edge.

In a tool care guide prepared for Cornell University's Cooperative Extension, master gardener Charles Howard agrees with the need to maintain factory angles, or bevels. A blade that is too blunt will not cut well; a blade that is too sharp will be weak and wear away quickly.

Proper bevels include:
Axe – 40???(R)???AE?
Hatchet – 35???(R)???AE?
Shovel or Hoe – 40-70???(R)???AE?

Other advice from the guide includes:
Use turpentine to remove sap.

Coat metal parts with an "oil sock" (a cloth-stuffed, tied sock dipped in vegetable oil – squeeze excess oil and store sock in a zip-close bag).

Straighten metal pitchfork tines with a three-foot-long, one-inch galvanized pipe driven two feet into the ground.

Handles dipped in or sprayed with a rubber coating not only have increased grip and comfort, but also are easier to spot on the ground.