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What Are the Best Tips for Tweezer Sharpening?

Rebecca Harkin
Rebecca Harkin

Tweezer sharpening is simple and quick. All that is needed for this chore is a sheet of coarse-grade metalworking sandpaper, a sheet of fine-grade metalworking sandpaper, and a thin piece of metal or a metal ruler. The entire process takes about five minutes and will help avoid having to send tweezers to a repair company for sharpening or having to purchase a new set every time this tool is dropped.

The first step in tweezer sharpening is to file the inside edges of the tool's tines so that they will again be able to grab fine objects. To begin, wrap a piece of coarse metalworking sandpaper around a thin piece of metal or a metal ruler. Only one layer of sandpaper should be bent around the metal edge. Using a fair amount of pressure, pinch the tweezer onto the sandpaper and metal and then pull the instrument away from the sandpaper. Repeat this step several times.

Tweezers are handy to keep in any makeup bag for instant hair removal.
Tweezers are handy to keep in any makeup bag for instant hair removal.

Next, soak a sheet of fine-grade metalworking sandpaper in some water for a minute. Remove the coarse sandpaper from the thin piece of metal and replace it with the wet, fine-grade metalworking sandpaper. Again pinch and hold the tines together on the sandpaper and pull away. This should be done several times, creating a slurry of water and sand on the surface of the paper. The inside edges of the tweezer’s tines should now be sharp and the tines should meet evenly when the tweezer is pinched.

The best way to sharpen straight tip tweezers is to drag a sheet of sandpaper between the tines.
The best way to sharpen straight tip tweezers is to drag a sheet of sandpaper between the tines.

The last step in tweezer sharpening is to hone the ends of the tines. Pinch the tines together firmly and hold. Using the slurry just created, run the tips of the tines back and forth in the slurry. Some tweezer tips are angled. If this is the case, be sure to maintain the same angle when sliding the tips of the tines across the sandpaper. If the tweezer has a blunt tip, then it can be run across the slurry while being held perpendicular to the paper.

Metalworking sandpaper can be used to clean and sharpen tweezers.
Metalworking sandpaper can be used to clean and sharpen tweezers.

To test the tweezer sharpening, use the instrument to pick up a tiny object. A magnifying glass can also be used to survey the end of the tweezer and evaluate the results of the sharpening. If the tines do not meet completely, repeat the tweezer sharpening steps once more.

If the tweezer is sharp and does not need further work, it is important to properly clean it before putting it away or using it. First, rinse the tweezer in some water. Second, completely clean the surface of the instrument with rubbing alcohol.

Discussion Comments

discographer

@SarahGen-- There are actually kits and products out there for sharpening tweezers. They also use sandpaper but you only need to use one type and the directions are very straightforward. They might not make the tweezers good as new, but will definitely improve grab and sharpness.

Some people use a bench stone instead of or in addition to sandpaper/grit paper to sharpen tweezers and other tools. But if you don't have these materials or don't want to purchase them, you can ask someone who already has them to help you out.

SarahGen

Sharpening tweezers sounds more complicated than I expected. I don't even have sandpaper. I will probably just ask my dad to sharpen them for me when I visit home. I'm sure he already has all the materials.

candyquilt

I sent my tweezers to the manufacturer for sharpening. They sharpened it for free but it took one month for them to sharpen it and send it back to me. I think that's way too long of a wait.

I'm sure that the tweezers will work for another two or three years before needing sharpening again. But I would like to sharpen them myself next time so that I don't have to wait so long.

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