Best pruning shears? Or am I in the wrong Forum? :)

S

Sir Joe

Joined
May 30, 2015
Messages
114
Hello knights,

I am trying to figure out which professional high level pruning shear is the "best".
I have narrowed it down to 3 brands: Felco, Bahco, and ARS.
Felco is the most used here in Germany, the typical you still receive when you study is the Felco 2 (I do not know why, considering that now it is supposedly replaced by the 11).
Considering that I have an almost chronic carpal tunnel syndrome or something similar, I have looked at the models with rotating grip.
So, Felco 7, Felco 12, Bahco pxr-m3, Bahco pxr-s2, and ARS VS8R.

I do not like the Bahco, this I can tell it for sure.
The most expensive, and less pleasant to use.
They have a closing mechanism which needs two hands to be operated, and it is hard to open.
They have a strange form which does not feel right in my hands. Also the shape of the rolling grip is not ideal, and my index finger would move forward a bit at each cut till I have to readjust the hand.
They are all rubbish, which is good if you do not use gloves, and they have a nice cushioning thing on the spring, better than Felco and ARS.
But for the rest, I do not like them at all.
Also, when I cut with them I notice that the tip draws a 1/4 circle in the air, moving 4cm on the right/bottom (4!!!).
To make the blades open clean, vertically on a stable axis, I must use some force and change the angle of my hand so that finally they lose their ergonomic effect.
Not well thought.
But at least they cut well. On a test with a paper sheet they were the 2nd winner.

The Felco are overall very good. I like the shape a lot. The upper grip is perfect for my hand, the bottom one has such a clever shape that it is the only one of the three where my grip stays fix and I do not have to readjust the hand from time to time.
On the Felco 12 the rolling grip is rubbish, on the 7 is hard. I have done some tests and contrarily to what I had supposed, the hard one gives a better stability of grip.
I have changed grip between the two to be sure of this.
The cut of the 7 on the paper test is not so good. It cuts well, no paper bending, but the border of the cut is rough.
Third place. (yes, the ARS are the winner in this test, BUT, wait till you read more).
12 and 7 are the same in this.
The closing mechanism is better than on the Bahco and can be easily operated with one hand, but not as amazing as the ARS's.

Now the ARS...
At first I fell in love for the unlocking mechanism. Squeeze to open! Everybody should do that!!!
They also feel very good in the hands. For some things better than the Felco. For others (the shape) I kind of prefer the Felco, but, I have ordered the VS9R and I suspect they could be better for my hand, so, let's wait.
What I really HATE is the screw to fix the blades. On Felco and Bahco it is clever, fast to fix.
On the ARS is a real nightmare!!! I have spend ONE HOUR to find the right point.
Anyway. I hope I will not have to do that often. In that case they are still winner thanks to the general better feel on the hand, genious lock mechanism, and I must say the best cut. Really they cuts paper like real scissors.
Incredible.
BUT, I had to tighten the blades first, because they came a tiny bit lose, and the paper test was horrible, they were bending the paper.
Another bad thing: the tip of the lower blade protrudes 3-4mm over the upper one when they are closed/locked.
This means, you can not save them in your trousers, or they will destroy them.
They need a leather holder.
But a guy in Amazon, who was describing the same problem, told me he bought the VS9R and they are not like this.
So, I will update when I receive them.
I also ordered a replacement for the VS8R to see if it was just a defective unit/batch.

This is all for now.
Happy to read about your experience.
Also about how do you sharpen them, lubricate them, maintain them...
 
Last edited:
I had a look at them.
Not easy to get in EU, but, most importantly, they are not bypass.
Why do you prefer them over a good bypass?

I have also read their quality decreased a lot in the last years, probably due to cut on the production costs by choosing a lower quality steel which does not resist much.
 
I have an old Boker from the '50's ?? a bypass type .But the one I usual use is an old Stanley blade and anvil type.
 
Sir Joe said:
I had a look at them.
Not easy to get in EU, but, most importantly, they are not bypass.
Why do you prefer them over a good bypass?

I have also read their quality decreased a lot in the last years, probably due to cut on the production costs by choosing a lower quality steel which does not resist much.
Click to expand...

The ratchet pruner cuts large branches with relative ease, up to 3/4" at least. My hands are not nearly as strong as the were 40 years ago. Bypass pruners are tough on my hands for heavier work. Leyat and Roto are pretty good bypass pruners.
 
Last edited:
The Boker seem to be a thing of the past now.
The Leyat looks promising. I wrote them to see where I can find them here. I only see them in US online shops. I would not buy them so.

I admit the Ratchet were cool when I have tried one, once.
I am not so old but, did not pay attention at the beginning of my gardening formation, and now have problems in some articulations. Hand, elbow, shoulder. All right side.
I may give a Ratchet a try, but I would prefer something I can find here on Amazon, try and eventually return.
I may suppose there must be other good ones too.
Is the maintenance more difficult than on a bypass one?
 
As far as you do not do it with a Bagger...
:D

I too use Chain, with big things.
But, well, I am curious to know how you cut perennials.
 
I purchased a fairly expensive pair of Corona bypass hand pruners recently. I have a lot of trees on my small city lot and the two crabapples out front require constant maintenance. I managed to almost immediately take a rather large chunk out of the blade cutting green water shoots off the crabs. I am going to look into some of the above recommended brands. I have used Corona for a long time and the latest offerings do not strike me as similar in quality to what I am used to.
 
Sir Joe said:
The Boker seem to be a thing of the past now.
The Leyat looks promising. I wrote them to see where I can find them here. I only see them in US online shops. I would not buy them so.

I admit the Ratchet were cool when I have tried one, once.
I am not so old but, did not pay attention at the beginning of my gardening formation, and now have problems in some articulations. Hand, elbow, shoulder. All right side.
I may give a Ratchet a try, but I would prefer something I can find here on Amazon, try and eventually return.
I may suppose there must be other good ones too.
Is the maintenance more difficult than on a bypass one?
Click to expand...

There's basically no maintenance on a Florian ratchet other than some rust prevention occasionally.
 
Best is relative, my Bahco PX-M2 have been great for me.
Choose right or left hand, small med, large model, nice efficient tool.
 
I finally kept the ARS VS9R (the 8R was a little too small for me, and the tip of the lower blade was staying over the edge of the upper blade when the shears are closed, so that there was a cutting spear free. Not a huge deal once in the leather holder, but, I thought it was a sort of defect. I now see that some other brands do that too. Strangely , the 9R does not have this, or just very little).
I am not 100% satisfied, because they are not so easy to adjust, and I actually do not find a right point of tightness.
Either they are too tight and blocks when some rest of plants start drying on the blades or even just depending on which plant I cut, or they are too loose and they do not pass the "paper test", I mean, they bend some things instead of cutting them.
Said so it seems terrible, it is not. They are good. Very good.
But, a bit frustrating to find the best possible setting.

I also kept the Felco 7. I do not like the rolling mechanism here, it moves too much and it tends to be in a false position when I take them. While the ARS have a limited angle of rotation and are always ready to be taken.
But I have thought that in some moment it could be good to have a Felco.

My Chef uses the Felco 13. They are not roll. They are huge, but somehow their form make it possible to hold them.
And being so big, it is possible to put more pressure and cut more.

Now I am going mad to chose all possible shears.
I have tried Fiskars and Wolf (Wolf are sold as Wilkinson Sword in US and UK) Hedge Shears and Grass Shears.
Fiskars Grass Shears are forgettable. Wolf Comfort are better, but I had problem today cutting Carex Morrowii (a grass) unless I was cutting few leaves at a time.
I initially wanted a grass shears to cut Buxus and other Topiary stuff with one hand. The idea is cool but I did not find any grass shears able to do it well.
The best one hand solution found till now is the traditional "Sheep Shears", those one hand shears with two big triangular blades, like this although this is actually not good. Surprisingly the cheap Charles Rose (identical to the Darlac, two only Brands having this kind of design, probably an OEM then branded to both of them) are so much better. They just need a bit of dense oil (no thin spray) of light fat in the joint. They are wonderful to finish the job, but too tiring to make a more than one complete job.
I which there were a better one hand system for topiary.

I have also ordered other grass shears in the hope to find a better one, eventually I will just keep the best at least really for grass.
And also ordered other Hedge Shears, like the Gardena 570. I need something with not shining blades or I can't see where I cut, when the sun shines on the blades.
The little Wolf for topiary, and the Telescopic Wolf for Hedge, are the one which I will keep for now.
But I look for a middle way now. Hopefully with an even better cut.

Then I have also ordered several shears of this type here.
I hope I will find a superb one. I suspect the best could be the so famous Jakoti used buy a famous guy on a gardening show in UK.

And also I look for a good Snip with fine tips to cut individual branches of perennial where with the Pruner is difficult.
The Darlac Compact Snips are really a toy. I cannot understand the good reviews.
Even worse their Compact Shears, and horrible their Grass Shears.

There are some wonderful things coming from Japan, like this. I have preferred now the Jakoti and similar because easier to put on a holder or pocket.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to suggest.

But actually I wanted to ask about a good sharpener for people who cannot use a stone very well. I have tried, but nope.
I have seen this: what do you think? I just know (or have just read) that it should be better than carbide.
No idea if that particular one is anyway the best possible.
 
So, some updates:

I have received the Jakoti, they are very nice and cut really well. Not good for woody stuff, but wonderful for perennials, grass etc.
The steel is Carbon Steel and it rusts VERY quickly.
They MUST be cleaned and dried every single day, and oiled regularly.
They look gorgeous, and there is aholster which can be ordered separately.
In EU the best thing is order directly from the producer.

About the Pruners, I have noticed that there is NOT one which I like for everything.
The ARS are very good but they tend to get stuck quicker when you cut some plants which tend to immediately get glued on the blade (like Prunus Laurocerasus).
The Felco do not do that. I suspect it is becuse of the form of the lower blade.

I still did not find the right snips.
I am not sure if I want something with stainless steel (I have read that it lose sharp quicker than a carbon steel?).
So I have to decide if buying something cheaper like the classical ARS 300ss and Okatsune 307, or something with a more expensive stainless steel.
I suppose that as I already have the pruners I will just buy the cheaper Carbon Steel one. Probably Okatsune.
 
Not into high end pruners. I want fairly good quality like Fiskars, but really don't push the envelope in the cost department. They get misplaced from time to time and I won't want something that might be considered "professional grade". I do know I prefer the anvil type regardless as I don't seem to get nice clean cuts with bypass loppers type shears. The micro-tip hand shears are very useful for perennials and soft stem plants. I use them both indoors and outdoors for little jobs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top