Springs Question (secateurs)

[Bertie Doe]

I asked 2 questions on the gardening forum for recs on secateurs circa £20.

Felco is a brand suggested by some. Ok but the 2nd Q was regarding the springs themselves.

Not sure I'm going for Felco, more likely a cheaper make. Plenty of time for decisions.

Ok I'm aware that replacement springs are available :-

My experience with the cheapo Homebase, B&Q, Kingfisher etc brands, is that the springs go, long before the blades.

So the question is : Would the springs last longer if the secateurs were not stored (in my shed) in the locked position? Perhaps kept unlocked, wrapped in an old sock?

Ok for safety reasons, the makers recommend keeping them stored locked but doesn't this keep the springs permanently under tension, thus reducing their longevity? What does the team think? TIA

[Chris J Dixon]

My Felco No 2 have now had over 30 years of normal domestic use, and are showing little signs of ageing.

At the same time, I have another pair I picked up about 15 years ago on a market for £2, clearly a foreign copy of the design, though they did change the handle colour to green. ;-)

They have had lighter use, don't feel as if they take quite as sharp an edge, but remain perfectly serviceable.

Chris

[Bertie Doe]

That interesting what you say about forgeries Chris. When ur.gardening recommended the Felco and wait till Amazon are doing a sale, where you could get one for £30.

I countered with the ebay first search page

lot cheaper but some posters mentioned the possible forgery aspect.

Mind you, some of the sellers have almost 100% feedback rating. Would have thought someone would have spotted a duff one by now?

No rush to buy at the moment. The allotment will stay covered in black weed matting and tarp until Spring.

The question remains, if I opt for a cheapo set of secateurs, should they be stored unlocked?

[Nick]

Logically if stored unlocked there will be no stress on the spring. Having said that, my old Wolf secateurs (now at least 35yo) have always been stored locked. Still working but the knife edge is becoming too short to meet the anvil due to repeated sharpening over the years. Spring is in perfect working order. As with all things, I suppose you get what you pay for. Hopefully. HTH, Nick.

[Bertie Doe]

Thanks for that, will go for crossover rather than anvil. Will have a look at Wolf.

I see there's a slotted bolt. Is this for wear and tear overtime or for thickness of branches?

[Broadback]

I have had a pair of Felcro for years, no problems, until 5 months ago the spring disappeared. I was going to replace it, but as the last thing I had been doing was cutting branches up to fit in the Council's rubbish bin I emptied it out, scrabbled around and found it. I replaced it and his has been working fine since. I don't think the age is relevant, surely it is how much they are used, that is hard to estimate.

[meow2222]

the sliding bit is the lock.

NT

[Bertie Doe]

Yes it seems to be a choice between Felcro (lifetime guarantee) and Wolf (10 year).

Suspect they'll both outlive me :-) or (more likely) outlive my enthusiasm for the allotment.

[Bertie Doe]

Ah thanks for that. I'll probably keep it locked in transit but store it unlocked - best of both worlds.

[Michael Chare]

I bought a pair of these on ebay:

Stihl Garden Pruners

My only complaint is that there is no hole to make a loop to hang them up.

Stihl are a good brand, better known for their chain saws etc.

[Bertie Doe]

I'll add those to my watch list, together with Wolf and Felco.

I've heard of Stihl but there's very few on Ebay :-