I need to get a B'day present for my Dad, who's getting on a bit but still likes his garden, and saw the Ciso secateurs in B+Q the other day.
Just wondering if anyone had tried them and found out if they were good or bad before lashing out 60 notes?
Cheers G
Bypass not anvil, so that might be relevant, depending on what he's chopping. They also look quite short in the jaws?
Personally I like my secateurs to be lightweight. I wouldn't want to trade ease of operation if they were awkward to carry. Li-ion batteries though.
Indie seemed to like them
them
Sadly no time to save a tenner! (A few quid cheaper at Screwfix than B
+Q though) I guess the short jaws would be something to do with them being battery-powered - maybe to stop trying to cut too much? I've never really understood the bypass / anvil issue, but I've no doubt more conscientious choppers-up of growing things than me will have considered views on the benefits.... I'm sure they wouldn't do for everyone, but they seem a good idea if you have a bit of arthritis / a weak grip, providing the battery has enough oomph in it to cut and to last for a session.
AIUI, anvils will cut thicknesses of stuff for "trimming" that bypass won't, but bypass leaves a smoother cut, which is less prone to disease entry, so it's favoured for posh stuff and fragile plants like vines and roses.
Picked one up (physically, not as a purchase) the other day. The handle was really uncomfortable. The switch was awkward. They felt as if there wasn't a chance they would work well. Very disappointing.
Mind - any real world experience would trump my playing in the shop experience. And other hands might find them more comfortable.
(I was also somewhat disappointed by the Isio trimmer thing. Bought a Lidl one at less than half the price. And, within limits, it is fine. NiMH rather than Li unfortunately.)
I'll generally use bypass for green stuff, and anvil for brittle, dead stuff.
That's a lot of dosh, for pruning shears. We buy quite a few for the farm and £60 is getting on for the cost of a top-quality set of pneumatic shears.
FWIW, most professionals seem to choose Felco (Swiss), they're extremely good quality and easy to uuse for several hours at a stretch.
For the sort of money that you are talking about you could get the pruners, a leather holster and possibly be looking at a decent quality pruning saw as well.
Of course if you want to really splash out, the top of the range Felco models are about £2,000.
Anvil can cut much thicker harder material. The downside is that the blade doesnt meet the anvil perfectly, so it leaves stuff slightly attached, which is a pain for thin soft material, for which bypass work better.
NT
In message , GMM writes
If your dad still has reasonable dexterity and strength I would suggest spending 25-30 ukp on Felco secateurs. I tried the full range before deciding on No 11 but Nos 2 and 4 are also popular for general pruning.
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