OT? Anvil Shears VRS By Pass shears

[Colbyt]

This is a question anyone who uses pruning shears can answer. I haven't seen any pruning pros hanging out in this group.

I have an set old anvil pruning shears (Craftsman) that I have used for 20 years. They finally quit cutting as clean as I like. Last fall I bought a set of by-pass pruning shears from a store I won't name. I admit to cutting stock slightly larger than the recommended (.5 vs. .75). These new ones now cut worse than the old ones.

I need to buy a new pair or repair the older set.

My questions:

Which type do you think is better?

Which can cut stock slightly bigger with no damage?

Did I purchase at the wrong place or brand or is this typical? I do a lot of pruning so I need something that works and holds up.

Colbyt

[nonews]

The choice varies between "pros". The pro guy with a truck and a business card will probably buy based upon price. The professional horticulturist at an arboretum will have expensive top grade by-pass pruning shears and they will be kept very sharp. He will never exceed their cutting capacity. He will switch to ratcheting loppers and they will be very sharp by-pass type with heavy steel handles. He will also carry a saw when pruning.

The by-pass type allows precise cutting. When I studied Horticulture in one of the prior centuries, I was taught to cut flush with the trunk and only the by-pass would allow that. Now the teaching is to cut at or just into the collar of growth where the branch joins the trunk. Healing is considered to be faster with the collar left on. With the change in position of the cut both the anvil and by-pass types can be precise. There has been some concern that the anvil type crushes branch but in reality it probably doesn't make any difference.

Having said all that, the key is to keep the pruning shears very sharp and never exceed the size capacity. Since I never do that, reality is to buy a new by-pass pair every spring.

I have an set old anvil pruning shears (Craftsman) that I have used for 20 years. They finally quit cutting as clean as I like. Last fall I bought a set of by-pass pruning shears from a store I won't name. I admit to cutting stock slightly larger than the recommended (.5 vs. .75). These new ones now cut worse than the old ones.

I need to buy a new pair or repair the older set.

My questions:

Which type do you think is better?

Which can cut stock slightly bigger with no damage?

Did I purchase at the wrong place or brand or is this typical? I do a lot of pruning so I need something that works and holds up.

Colbyt

[SJF]

I have anvil pruning shears (no name) I've used for 40 years. Still my favorite. For the heavy stuff, >1/2 inch, I use bypass cutter with 18 inch handles -- good to 1 inch. Larger stuff needs some sort of saw. Don't know if that answers your question but it seems the right combination for . --- SJF

[DanG]

A good carpenter or sharpening service can probably make the ones you have work fine again.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Sunflower]

Different pruners for different jobs. Anvil ones for cutting dead branches or rough cutting in a major prune job. Bypass pruners for green living wood and to finish off a job begun with anvil pruners. Bypass loppers for really large canes of shrubs and small trees that are too large for hand pruners. A small pruning saw for stuff just a bit bigger.

You don't want to damage the tissue of living wood any more than you have to when you prune, and anvil pruners crush the tissue and cause more damage and dieback due to more disease entering the damaged site. Bypass pruners offer more of a precision cut and damage the plant tissue the least. Until you try to cut something too large for them, that is, as you've discovered. Then you warp the blades and they don't cut well at all. You should have stepped up to the bypass loppers, which have a greater diameter capacity and the long handles add to the leverage available. The small pruning saw is also an invaluable tool. Keep everything in an old 5 gallon bucket so that it's easy to carry to the garden everything you might need at once. Keep a sharpening stone and some 3 in 1 oil there too as well as some WD 40 for removing sap.