Knives, snips, shears, glue guns – these are the tools of your trade and the items you depend on day in and day out in the flower shop. Just like any other product in your shop, your tools are a business investment that needs to be maintained, inventoried and cared for to ensure you’re getting the most out of your toolbox. Here are tips to help you keep track of your snips and shears and optimize the lifetime of these products.
Care and handling
Let’s begin with care and handling. Keeping your tools sterilized is paramount to the longevity of your floral product. Diseases such as botrytis are common and can spread quickly, compromising the quality of your blooms. Any tool that touches floral product should be sanitized daily. It’s just like going into a hair salon and seeing all the combs and shears in solution. Soaking your tools for a good hour each day will deter bacteria. For your underwater cutter blade, it’s imperative that it be cleaned thoroughly after every floral delivery and wiped down again prior to using just to make sure. There are specific floral industry cleaners on the market that you can use to properly disinfect, but don’t skimp – it’s important to realize that a quick spray will not kill bacteria. Check the instructions on the particular cleaner you choose but I definitely suggest you stick with a professional floral brand product for optimum results.
To prevent product from rusting, the next step, of course, is to dry the tools. What comes to mind is the “pouch” that mechanics have to place all their tools in at the end of the day. The pouch maintains a dry environment for all tools until the next use. As another option, you can also roll your tools in a dry towel.
Finding quality tools
Knives: A good knife is one that has the blade inserted right to the end of the handle. You can usually tell by the screws toward the end of the handle or by being able to see the end of the blade at the end of the handle. One tool with this feature is the well-known Swiss Army-style knife, although this model can be problematic. In a busier shop, where floral designers are faced with constant repetition, a Swiss Army knife puts strain on the hand due to the weight of it. It also isn’t very aerodynamic when held and involves a more intensive cleaning process. For these reasons, the orange- or grey-handled knives (these are common, but not the only, colours) are a popular tool and a less expensive option. These knives are lightweight, simple to clean and feature a curved handle for easy grip. I know some designers prefer to use a replenishing blade style knife, and these are also great. Just make sure the handles are sterilized along with the other tools.
It’s also important that you know how to sharpen your knives. Sharpening at the incorrect angle will be detrimental to obtaining a clean, concise cut of the product and this will do more harm than good. Develop a set schedule for sharpening tools to ensure the product is in the best condition for reuse. Your knives should be sharpened a minimum of every 14 days. Check the instructions on your underwater cutters for obtaining optimum results.
Snips/shears: Whatever you wish to call them, your snips or shears need to be of the best quality you can afford. The repetition during a busy day can leave your staff aching and even unable to move their hands. Providing them with a retractable handled snip allows for greater efficiency and ease. Perhaps, just as mechanics are required to provide their own tools, this item is one that staff should take ownership of themselves. I have always brought my own to any job. That way, I am in control of the wear and tear on my hands, which are my livelihood.
Glue gun/pan: Though the portable ability of a glue gun is great, I am still a big fan of the glue pan.
I find the staying power better and much more efficient. One suggestion I have is to experiment with the product to find that perfect setting, make a note of the setting and find a way to ensure it doesn’t change. Burnt glue becomes dark and loses its properties. Whether you’re using a glue gun or glue pan, don’t overfill or leave the tool dirty with drippings all around. Why? It’s my opinion that providing a clean, safe environment promotes respect among employees within the company, so wipe out the pan and make it part of a cleaning schedule in your shop.
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It’s important that you educate each employee on how to use each tool properly. This will keep your staff safe and protect you against liability in the event of an injury.
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Taking ownership
Staff taking ownership of tools ensures that the tools are cared for properly and helps prevent your favourite shears from going missing in action. You could encourage your staff to purchase their own tools by covering a percentage of the cost. If this isn’t a program you’d like to employ at your shop, then you need to teach your employees to respect the tools you provide them with. This should most certainly be a part of your employee training program.
To keep inventory of your tools (or your staff’s own tools), provide your staff with a location for their shears and knives and encourage them to label them if applicable. Outline your care and handling expectations from the start – you may even want to post a cleaning chart so you can track cleaning and sharpening efforts.
It’s also important that you educate each employee on how to use each piece of equipment properly. Why is this so important? It provides your business with protection against liability, in the event of employee injury while using any tool with which they have been instructed on the correct handling procedures. These guidelines should be written out as part of your policy binder. Each employee should have a signed agreement after they have been instructed and this should be placed in each employee file. If you’re worried about the legal implications, be sure to have your lawyer check this over to verify the lingo. If all you want is to bring home the importance of compliance, this should be sufficient.
To the right is an example:
There are few items in your shop that you rely on as heavily as your tools. Buying quality products and maintaining them on a set schedule is the best way to ensure that your shop operates safely and efficiently. It will also help you and your staff suffer a few less aches and strains for the flower shop’s most important asset – its hands.
Illustration by Brian Fray. Product photos from Smithers Oasis.
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