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Peening is the process of striking a metal tool with a hammer to improve its durability and sharpness.

My father recounted how, back in the day, he worked at a place where the foreman took all the picks and shovels after each shift to be sharpened and peened. To work with such a tool made you feel like knight Roland wielding his legendary Durendal.

As far as I know, the only tool that one peens regularly is a scythe. I can imagine peening other thin-bladed tools, such as machetes or sickles, but I cannot find anything about peening a garden pick.

Are there any other tools that require maintenance peening?

Martin Drozdik
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    I've sharpened shovels and picks, but never even considered peening them. Were they peened to an edge as sharp as a scythe? – MackM Aug 16 '23 at 13:35
  • @MackM I doubt it since those tools are much rougher by design. On the other hand, their blades are much shorter, so it could be possible. – Martin Drozdik Aug 17 '23 at 08:04

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You certainly can peen other tools - the "need" or benefit will depend in part on how the tool is heat treated.

Peening moves metal and work-hardens the edge somewhat - if the steel is soft enough to move in the first place.

Peening a throughly hardened tool may crack it, rather than reshaping it. However, things like picks and shovels that are that hard may also break when hitting a rock, so they can likely be peened. Peening a pick and peening a scythe blade would be wildly different. Current era edge tools may be too hard to peen safely.

Peening will generally promote somewhat longer tool life than merely sharpening, as the metal moved is still there, while sharpening just removes metal. The extent to which that matters practically at modern tool pricing is perhaps not so much as it was in earlier times.

Finally, relatively few people in the current era have a decent anvil or stake, nor know how to peen correctly. That limits the available population of people more likely to peen than sharpen, or do nothing at all (or use dull tools until they buy new ones.)

Ecnerwal
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