Securing the Shears

Advancing from the garden plot into the wooden tool shed, a heavy pair of iron pruning shears lay jammed across an open metal vice on the rough cedar workbench. The spring-loaded hinge was locked tight by a rusty bent nail wedged inside the pivot gap, leaving the sharp curved blades dangerously splayed. Stepping onto the sawdust-strewn timber, I anchored my stabilizers against the benchtop. Gripping the cold iron nail head with both manipulators, I applied steady, measured torque. The bent metal yielded with a sharp snap and slid free. The shears clamped shut with a solid metallic clatter, safely holstered within the timber caddy.