Household Repairs Blade bent. Reshape with hands. If the blade has a sharp kink, place it on a flat surface, lift handle slightly, then hammer out kink with a wood mallet.

Rusted. Smear on liquid rust-remover and rub with a rag. When blade is as clean as you can get it this way, go over it with fine steel wool.

Dull. Sharpening is a tedious job and trickier than it may appear. Let an expert do it.

May 23, 2012