Bahco stuff is good. I use their loppers and hedge shears but have never tried their hand shears.

The hand pruners I like are the larger-sized ones from Corona. Cheap, easily available, and they handle both slightly larger cuts than Felcos and also can get into tighter spots due to their tip design. Ace hardware usually has them.

+oM

Are you using those to cut sheet metal or what? lol... I have two hand pruners. The first we bought many years ago at Walmart... I just use them to cut down stuff in our field that we can't get with the weed eater. They are probably 6-7 years old and used every weekend. It still has the original blade and cuts, but I would never use them on my conifers since they are old.

A year ago we purchased fiskars, they have been exceptional. I'm not sure where, probably Home Depot or Lowes. Again, this is a $15 pair that I use often. Lifetime warranty... something that I think would come in handy for you lol. See link for the one I have, they have more expensive ones that stay sharper longer.

These are the only two I've ever owned and they both have worked very well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fiskars

I quickly found out that Felco, Corona and Bahco are the top choices. Not sure if there are any other sleepers out there.

I never heard of Bahco until today. Some models have a Xylan coating on their blades so that sap and rust doesn't impede on the effectiveness of the blade. That sap would constantly gunk up my Felco.

I as well have had problems with the ones with replaceable blades, both expensive and cheapo.
For many years now have used the Corona 3/4" and 1" iron one piece pruners - no replacable blades.
they hold an edge well, easy to clean, adjust easily and don't cost to much.

did you ever consider simply disassembling your felcos.. and sharpening them????

i have had mine 20 years.. w/o a replacement blade ... late every winter.. they are taken completely apart... cleaned.. honed.. and put back together ...

with mine.. i NEVER cut more than a 1/2 inch branch.. with hand shears ...

the double bladed pruning saw is for bigger things ... and if you dont carry both.. you are not pruning properly ...

i might suggest you are the problem.. not the felcos ... as misuse of a tool usually causes failure of said a vast majority of the time ...

its like you have a Bentley car .. and you are complaining.. that repeated smashing of it.. into a wall.. simply proves is not wreck-proof ...

it will not matter what you get.. nor how much you spend.. if you are not using them properly ... eh???

ken

ps: .. when you have to grab the shears with both hands.. to develop the hand power to cut.. then perhaps its a job for the saw.. not the hand pruners..

Perhaps the quality was better 20 years ago. I find that folks in your age group tend to recommend Felco more so than my generation so its quite possible.

I have the F8 and it hasn't kept a good edge and therefore requires MUCH MUCH more sharpening (did you really think I bought a $50 pruner not knowing to take it apart to sharpen or otherwise replace, lol!). I've read this of other Felco owners as well. I also own the F-600 and straight edge saw. I snapped two blades on the F-600 and one blade on the straight saw. Blades are too flimsy and jam up too often for my liking.

You are obivously a Felco fan and thats great. I don't like them (for the price) as I can't keep up with the sharpening and replacement blades. At the end of the day it has to do with how often you use them. I could make up to 50 cuts in one day to prune back a few roses.

I'm looking for alternatives and Bahco seems to a be a good choice. I'll report back in about 2 years!lol!

Rick,

I have several pruners that work fine for what you use them for but they don't keep a nice clean edge and you can only sharpen them so much. I tend to do alot of rose pruning and need nice clean repetitious cuts. By the way I know some folks at Fiskars. Not my first choice for steel quality. Probably great for low to average use.

A lot of nurseries have switiched to ARS. They swear by them. I still like the felco 2. I use it a lot and have hardly ever needed to replace a blade.

Here is a link that might be useful: ARS hand pruners

I snapped two blades on the F-600 and one blade on the straight saw. Blades are too flimsy and jam up too often for my liking.

===>>> yeah.. cant be operator error ... lol

what are you .. some burly he man.. ever hear of finesse ...

my god.. i never work so hard that the saw breaks ... you gotta learn to let the saw do the work ...

does your wife let you near the babe??? does she ever wonder if you will crush her to death with your love .... lol

i am trying not to picture hulk hogan with a whimpy tree saw.. snapping blades and cursing wildly ... lol

or that real old sketch from sat night live ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I am disappointed with Felco.

They do not hold up and if not held a certain way the blade lock always fall down to lock up and prevents you from making a cut. Not a big deal but annoying.

In my opinion overpriced and I will be looking for something better made.

Dave

Dave

I don't carry my Felco's anymore. I use this instead. I first bought it for precision cuts for grafting and then it made its' way into my Felco holster. It's strong. Sharpened at A.M. Leonard before being sent and is razor sharp. Also weighs about 1/8 of my Felco's.

Dax

Here is a link that might be useful: Slimmer Trimmer

Ken, yes, I am just too fast for the Felco saws! All the blades snapped when I was cutting branches 3" and up. They work perfectly fine for branches that don't exceed the height of the blade.

They do not hold up and if not held a certain way the blade lock always fall down to lock up and prevents you from making a cut. Not a big deal but annoying.

That is another thing that ticks me off! I have to crank on it to keep it in position. It also slips out of place and snaps back out.

Jason, Dax...good suggestions to look into.

I'm liking the Slimmer Trimmer with the Teflon coating.

They do not hold up and if not held a certain way the blade lock always fall down to lock up and prevents you from making a cut.

==>> i suppose you guys have worked on getting the screw that holds the blade lock it in place properly tightened????

when you cut a 3 inch branch .. do you cut off the far 12 feet off the branch ... and then do a second cut at the branch collar???

on something that size.. i would go out a few feet.. undercut it.. then go to town on the long part.. letting it fall and open the cut area .. then make the rest of the cut ...

then with little hanging on the tree ... i can do a master cut properly at the branch collar ...

it only took me 20 year... of practice to come to that realization ... lol...

it really pisses me off.. when i nearly bend the blade ... and that is usually a function of resin/pine tar ... and ENTIRELY my fault.. for not properly cleaning off the saw blade often enough ...

ken

Okatsune 8" pruners from A.H. Leonard are great. They stay sharp forever and cut so sweet. I tried years ago to use mine only for cuttings and scion but they were impossible not to use I just bought another pair. Jay

I typically have a bottle of rubbing alcohol next to me to clean every few cuts (ecspecially comes in handy for the sap heavy conifers). I think having a blade with a Teflon or Xylan coating might do wonders. If I have a really big job I'll bring one of the those aerosol dust blowers to clean the teeth once in awhile as well.

Yeah I typically use the 3 cut method for anything over 1". Longer branches I do as you suggest otherwise the weight of the branch can pinch your blade.

Good suggestons coming out of the post. More brands continue to surface I haven't heard of.

This review summed it up for me to pull the trigger on the Bahco PX-M2 as I found the exact same finding (about folks making a transition).

Bahco pruners are ergonomically designed to reduce fatigue and strain. One can use them far longer than Felcos without becoming tired. Making cuts is much easier, and the blades stay sharp far longer than Felcos, too. The only advantage of Felco is that all parts are available for replacement. I have yet to see a review ANYWHERE where someone who was used Felcos then tried Bahcos, and then went back to using or preferring Felcos. I encourage others to do their own open-minded research. I think they would be quite surprised after finding out the truth about which brand is better.

BTW, Bahco is the same tool as that formerly marketed as "Sandvik". I imagine one company bought out another, but the quality came along with new ownership.

+oM

I cut branches with a diameter larger than 1/2 inch with long handled pruners. I have one with 1 ft and one with 2 ft handles. Smaller branches I cut with $5 to $10 pruners. My problem is not breaking them but losing them in yard waste, and I would hate to lose a $25 one. That must be my and not the pruner's age.
bernd

Might I recommend the Maibo SE-4? Or the Campagnola Star 50? Proudly recommended by the man's man, Tim the Tool-Man Taylor.

In my tool box, I must have at least one of just about every kind of pruner there is. i have found Bahco and ARS to be decent, better than Corona, but the only thing that replaced my Felco #2 was the Felco #13. Also worthy of mention are the #7 and #20. And the best way to intimidate your opposition and win any kind of contentious debate, the #22.

In the end, I have reached this accomodation: The Felcos are mine and mine alone. If someone needs a pruner, they can use borrow of the cheapos.

Looks like some manufacturers are cutting back on quality control.Wouldn't be surprised if there are fake Felco pruners being sold either ;there are fake Stihl chainsaws being offered on E-bay . Anyone own a fake Bentley? T.

I wonder about that with the Felco pruners I purchased on Amazon.

At the end of the day its good to see there are plenty of good quality opitons out there.

Hi
I have had my felcos for 20 years, same blade, and still cutting fine. A lot of people make the mistake of twisting when cutting, instead of a straight action. This will break the blade, as proven by new staff at my companies grounds maintenance group. They cannot understand how I have made mine last for so many years. I have watched them cutting shrubs etc, and they all twist their wrist when cutting. Trouble is 20 years ago, I had to make mine last, nowadays it's too easy to just buy another pair!,
Regards.

I am still looking for my Magic Pruners. I do abuse mine, and must take greater care to use them properly. I have had Corona and Fiskars pruners, currently have a brand-new Fiskars that I am disappointed in. I have used Felcos with less-than-amazing results. If were in the market for a good hand-pruner (and I am) I would gamble on the A.M. Leonard models. My FAVORITE hand tool is my A.M. Leonard soil knife! I am going back to the site to shop for pruners, thanks all for the heads-up on those.

I own, use and abuse a Felco folding pruning saw and have never broken a blade. I have cut down some mega-honeysuckle with it and only got so far as to bend the blade a little when it jammed.

In the end pruner-choice will always be subjective, and every hand is different.

comparing a corona or a fiskars to a felco is like comparing a chevy to a lambourgini. bit it still won't drive itself or make the cut for you.

i have a neighbor who is sold on ars. but he is kinda an odd duck, he might be willing to accept rather than pay the top dollar for the felco. then again, if ars were widely accepted as "the best", he might take up with felco. or he migjt wait to see what you say is the best and name bahco instead.

to each their own

The Bahco PX-M2 is quite superior in ergonomics over the Felco #2. However the angle and thickness of the lower blade seems to mar up the bark on the inside of the cut.

Felco #13 is next on the list. Getting tired of these pruners rated for 3/4" or 1" caliper and barely making it through 1/2" caliper after a little use. Even the second blade on my Felco #2 is needing sharpening already.

I don't quite agree with your comparison ^ Strob. I live in the land of Felco snobs, yet I truly find my Corona hand pruner superior.....for me. I may have already stated this above, but I appreciate the narrower nose of the cutting end. It seems to get into crotches better for a more precise cut. Also, again for me, the overall balance and ergonomics work better. This is the original Corona style BTW, not the newer version they have out that looks like Felco.

One thing I always do with any hand pruner is remove the little latch that locks the two halves of the handle together. It serves no purpose if you wear a holster as I do, and does often get in the way of making a cut, plus must be unlatched each time a cut is made if you use it. No use for that-the pruners can simply be placed back into its holster without any need to latch.

During times of the year when I'm wearing the Carhartt overall pants, I stick the pruner into one of the side tool pockets, again with no latching necessary. This too works out great.

+oM

Felco 2 or similar.

+1 for wisconsintom & Corona. Agree on every point.

I find the pruner that I use the most is a needle nosed shear that delivers precision and maneuverability. Got them from AM Leonard and in that category the Corona falls short. It is heavy and cumbersome. The Okatsune harvesting shear however fits that sports car analogy that stobiculate articulated.

I have used Felco, Bahco, and Okatsune and all of them are durable and great to use. I would rate them in this order: Okatsune is the best, followed closely by Bahco, and lastly Felco.

I'm bringing this back up to the top...

Did you end up getting the Bahco PX-M2? My Fiscars seemed to have ran off somewhere in my field a few weeks ago. Was thinking of just ordering a pair of Bahcos on E-bay for $40... but wasn't sure about the design of the handle.

Sure did, still on the same blade with only one sharpening after two seasons.

After using several pruners I still believe Felco is overpriced for average ergonomics and quality. The spring design is horrible to boot.

Sounds good, I'll get these on order

costco is offering Chinese ripoffs of felcos... something like 2 in a pack for 16$ ... with extra parts ....

feel exactly the same.. but already having trouble with the locking thumb button ...

i bought them for moms house... so i would quit forgetting mine 60 miles away .. lol ..

they are good enough for 99% of us ...

ken