Secateurs suggestions please.

[Colin]

Hi,

I'm after a decent pair of secateurs and having browsed YouTube videos am leaning towards Felco 2 which I can buy through eBay from Germany at £42.63.

What secateurs do you use and any suggestions please.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Daren]

Cant beat Felco, Colin. In my opinion they are the best by far I always Cary a pair with me in to the garden and have done sine 1985 when I Decided to make it my job. My first boss Where I worked Told me to go and try out all the Falcos for sale in the store and pick a Pair( He Paid ) I chose a Pair of 6 Sec's back then. I never Had a pair break on me in all them years since( If they need parts like a new blade its easy to order). But I do know I have lost some to the Compost bin!!!!!. I Now uses A Pair of 10s as I find them most comfortable with there swivel handle

 

[DirtMechanic]

I use the Felco 2 but my wife uses the Ames Professional. They look identical for all practical purposes.

 

[alp]

I love my Draper .. Japanese .. After 20 years, the middle bit gone, so semi-retired.

 

[marlingardener]

I have a pair of Fiskars--easy to sharpen, hold an edge well, and are comfortable to the hand. They also have orange handles, which makes them easier to find when I negligently lay them down!

 

[alp]

Orange or yellow or a bell needed for my secateurs and keys .. or even credit cards. My whole life is spent looking for those.

 

[Verdun]

Felco the best but I am so heavy handed that secateurs last only a year or two.
So cheapos and replaced every year for me.
I break the unbreakable....spade, fork, secateurs, loppers, trowels....they all end up broken

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks everyone for your replies.

I'll go with Felco 2. Bron and I have used many cheaper brands of secateurs through the years from £5 to around £15 but these work out the most expensive long term as they quickly fail. Until now I hadn't realized the difference between anvil and bypass secateurs; I know what both types are but never considered the anvil type tends to crush whatever is being cut.

Not finding your credit card might be a good thing alp but I understand what you mean. I seem to spend a lifetime at traffic lights; I can follow a long string of vehicles only to be confronted with amber then red; by the time the lights turn green and I adhere to the prevailing speed limit I have a whole load of vehicles riding my rear bumper; even out walking as I approach traffic lights they turn to red; I must be giving off a powerful magnetic field?

Oh dear Verdun; what's this about you breaking everything; you need me to make things for you; a bit of 1" thick steel plate and a few RSJ's will take a bit of breaking.

My oil can is a very useful bit of kit; how many actually oil the tools they are using? I believe you oil the wooden handles on your garden tools alp so top marks to you. About this time every year I service my petrol powered gardening machines; lawn mower; chain saw and hedge trimmer; I also oil tools which are being stored over winter then they are ready to go; a bit of TLC works every time.

I'll now order the Felco 2 secateurs before enjoying digging roots out at the top of the garden; I want to make the most of this milder weather whilst it lasts.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Verdun]

Ha ha Colin
An old man living nearby made me an unbreakable trowel.....nice and big and heavy. Wonderful and I had it for years until......I broke it.
I tend to mis use tools Colin.....cutting wire with secateurs, using spades, forks and trowels as levers. Always too much haste

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Reminds me of the Titanic Verdun.

What you need to use as a lever is my 5' long by 1.25" dia crow bar; I've all on to lift it let alone bend it; we used these crow bars a lot in the pit for moving heavy machinery around; I've got lighter wrecking bars though that I have bent.

I've ordered the Felco 2 secateurs and am looking forward to receiving them.

Kind regards, Colin

 

[marlingardener]

Colin, you asked, how many actually oil the tools they are using? My father was a fanatical oiler and I learned to oil everything from hedge clips to hoes from him. We don't have much down-time gardening here in Texas, but at least twice a year I haul out every tool, clean and sharpen, and then give it a light coating of oil. I'm still using a shovel and a hoe that my grandfather had, and my favorite digging fork was my daddy's. The wooden handles get a light coating of linseed oil once a year. I dislike fiberglass handles, but sometimes that is all that is available.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Good on you marlingardener for taking such care of your tools; a drop of oil makes a tremendous difference and a wipe over with an oil rag makes them sparkle.

I've restored old cast iron machines many having grease nipples but I doubt these have ever been greased since the day the machine left the factory.

Fiberglass or plastic handles; YUKKKK.

My favourite spade came with the bungalow when we bought the bungalow 30 years ago; it's a small spade possibly a ladies but its a beauty in fact I'm currently using it a lot. A bow saw also came with the bungalow and although I bought a new bow saw I always use the old one which I've sharpened a number of times over the years giving more "set" to the teeth; its still on its original blade and has seen a lot of use. The new bow saw easily jams in the kerf; one day I'll get around to adding a bit more set.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Verdun]

I do have a crowbar Colin and often use it but I try to take shortcuts
Enjoy,your felco secateurs.....they are the best

 

[DeborahJane]

I'm too nervous to buy really good secataurs. I tend to just pop them down and get distracted and off I go on my merry way. I have found secataurs after a storm hanging on a little branch on a tree.. Also I'm pretty slack at the cleaning.bit. I seem to remember to clean them each time with metholated spirits and i set that up witn a rag in my garden shed but so often I leave them on my way verandah, just to gave a cuppa mind. I must try because my methods mean for secataurs that don't work properly and that is very frustrating but i only have myself to blame

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Verdun; I'm looking forward to receiving the secateurs either Friday or Monday; they will get a lot of use and I think first job will be to attack English Ivy that has grown smothering a very big Hawthorn tree and the ivy has formed a huge flowering crown by what I can see of it; I'll remove as much as I can from the ground up to as far as I can reach.

Oh dear Deborahjane what a dilemma for you; I can understand your reluctance in buying top quality secateurs if you are prone to leaving them lying around but as you say the cheaper secateurs are very frustrating to use; I'm frustrated with our cheap secateurs and this is the reason I now want the best; Bron and I have about four pair of secateurs between us but all four are poor quality so now is the time to do something about it.

Kind regards, Colin.