Secateurs

What to buy

Brand price

• SPEAR & JACKSON PREMIUM SJ-6160BS - $50
• CYCLONE RATCHET BYPASS PRUNER 657726 - $36
• WOLF GARTEN RS22 - $55

The SPEAR & JACKSON and CYCLONE have the best cutting performance.

While the CYCLONE is the cheapest of the three, the other two are easier to use

Models are profiled in rank order.

SPEAR & JACKSON PREMIUM SJ-6160BS

Price: $50

Good points

• Best overall cutting performance, and it was rated equal second for cleanness of cut
• Needed the least force when cutting willow
• Easy to use
• Adjustable handle width
• Teflon coating on blades

Bad points

• The lock is only easily accessible for right-handed people.

CYCLONE Ratchet Bypass Pruner 657726

Price: $36

Good points

• Very good overall cutting performance
• Needed the least force when cutting pine dowel
• Cut the largest cross-section of all
• The safety catch is suitable for both left- and right-handed people
• Teflon coating on blades
• Knuckle guard
• Comes with instructions for use
• Five-year warranty

Bad points

• Difficult to dismantle for cleaning

WOLF GARTEN RS22

Price: $55

Good points

• Equal second for cleanness of cut
• Easy to use
• Comes with a wrist strap — useful if you tend to lose your secateurs while you’re pruning
• The safety catch is suitable for both left- and right-handed people

Bad points

• Comes with very few instructions for use and care

What about the rest?

There was quite a difference in cutting performance between the top three in the What to buy list and the remaining models on test.

• The GARDENA 608, SPEAR & JACKSON SJ-6059BS and CYCLONE Heavy Duty Anvil Pruner are easy to use, but didn’t cut as well as the top three. They’d be fine if your garden doesn’t have any tough pruning. At $20, the SPEAR & JACKSON is the cheapest of the three.
• The two FELCO models on test didn’t live up to their brand’s reputation (or price). The FELCO 2 was the most expensive in the test at $99 but scored just 64% overall. On the plus side it was capable of cutting the thickest stems in our test. The FELCO 5 ($52) was second bottom overall.
• The FREUND 2990 had the highest score for cut quality, but was let down in other areas.
• The WOLF GARTEN RR22 and WILTSHIRE General Purpose Gard 2200 had the lowest overall cutting scores.
• The remaining models either only have an average score for cutting performance or aren’t that easy to use.

• Our test measured cutting performance, by mounting each pair of secateurs into a bench jig and measuring how well they cut an 8 mm piece of pine dowelling, a 10 mm and 16 mm piece of freshly cut willow branch.
• Our test measured the widest diameter the secateurs could cut, how clean the cuts they made were (was there any cell or bark damage, or splitting of the wood?)
• How much force was needed to operate them.
• For ease of use our panel of four experienced gardeners, two men and two women, rated each pair of secateurs for comfort, usability, ease of reassembly after cleaning, ease in performing light and heavy work and the quality of their instructions.
  

What to look for

• The best way to choose a pair of secateurs is to try them in your hand before buying (most are packaged to allow you to do this).
• Handles should fit your hand comfortably and you should be able to open and close them repeatedly without them hurting your hand.
• Brightly coloured handles mean you can find the secateurs easily if you drop them in a pile of cuttings.
• The safety catch is operated by a thumb lever or a sliding catch. Check that the catch is easy for you to operate. Also see Left-handed.
• Avoid blades that have sharp points that stick out at the end — they’re generally unnecessary and you could accidentally cut yourself with them. Both the FELCOs, the BAHCO and the GARDENA 600 have sharp points on their blades.
• The pivot (the bolt holding the two blades together) should be easily adjusted with a screwdriver or a small spanner. A pivot with an adjusting nut that locks into position is your best bet to avoid it coming loose.
• Teflon coating is supposed to keep the blades from rusting, although the coating could come off over time. Any blade made of stainless steel or aluminium should be relatively rustproof, as long as you take care of it.

Left – handed

Unfortunately none of the models on test is specifically for left-handed people.

If you’re left-handed:

• look for secateurs that have an ambidextrous safety catch — see the table for tested models that do.
• a company called Left handed Products Australia makes garden tools especially for left-handed people, but we haven’t tested them and so can’t comment on their performance.
• FELCO also makes secateurs specifically for left-handers.

More about secateurs

Anvil or bypass - what's the difference?
Secateurs fall into two categories: Bypass and Anvil

Bypass secateurs

• Are far more common, which is reflected in our test: 14 of the 17 are bypass.
• Bypass secateurs work like scissors. The plant rests on the curved bottom blade and is cut by the sharper top blade as it slices past the bottom blade.
• With bypass secateurs you can cut branches off right against the stem.
• They’re also great for reaching spots that are hard to get to.

Anvil secateurs

• Have a flat blade at the bottom.
• The top blade does the cutting, as with the bypass, but instead of slicing past the bottom blade it comes down onto it (like a guillotine).
• Anvils are supposed to be better for cutting thicker, woodier stems.
• Bypass, on the other hand, are said to be more suited to cutting softer, stringier living stems.
• Our test results didn’t totally support this, though. Of the three best performers on pine in terms of the amount of force required to cut (the SPEAR & JACKSON Premium, CYCLONE Ratchet Bypass Pruner and WILTSHIRE RatchetGard), only the WILTSHIRE has an anvil blade.

Care of your secateurs

• Keep your secateurs sharp — besides making them less effective, blunt blades can also damage a plant — by sharpening them on a small oil stone.
• Don’t leave your secateurs out in the elements to rust.
• Once you’ve finished a clipping or pruning session, clean off the sap by rubbing the secateurs with an oily cloth.
• Some experts recommend replacing the blades on your secateurs from time to time. See the table for which models have replaceable blades.
• Don’t use your secateurs to cut branches bigger than they’re capable of cutting — it could break or damage them.
• Pull your secateurs apart occasionally and oil the moving parts, including the pivot.