Secateurs

Yeah that tickled me.

They look like a branded pair which usually get great reviews, can't remember the name at the moment. Let us know how you get on with them long term. If you're onto a winner then great, if not then you're only 7 quid down :gnthb:

 

Yep - Felco.

 

Actually, even the cheap ones often have a hole at the end of one side of a handle where you could thread a cord through so you can loop them round your wrist if you can make the effort, but I haven't.

There's also a couple of trowels somewhere in the borders. I know what I've probably done, gone to move something with a trowel, found I needed a spade, put the trowel down, gone for the spade, forgot about the trowel and ended up burying it!

 

Touch wood, I've still got the same Bahcos my partner bought for me at Hampton Court about ten years ago. There have been a couple of times when I've lost them out of the holster, usually when bumping along on the tractor with a trailer load for the bonfire or copmpost heap. Fortunately, after retracing my route, they've turned up but I wasn't so lucky with the best pair of loppers I had.

I'd been cutting back shrubs and had chucked the lot in the trailer with the loppers and trundled off the the bonfire. I thought nothing more about it until later when I couldn't find them, which was annoying and a little puzzling. A week later, when raking through the ashes I came across some charred metal in the shape of a pair of loppers. I've never found such a good pair again:cry:.

Chris

 

I would have to go with a good pair of Bahco Roll handles, I used these for years in vineyards and along with good maintenance they should never fail you aprt from the odd blade change. Plus it's always good to have some spare stoppers and springs but I guess that depends on how much use they might get.
There was another brand I had that were great too, I'm trying to remember what they where.

 

If I remember rightly, Bahco, like Rolcut, are owned by Felco.:gnthb:

 

I've owned two pairs of Sandvik/Bacho roll handled secateurs for about the last 20yrs. I bought the second pair after typically loosing the first, then finding them again a year later laying on the ground of one of the industrial sites that I used to maintain. Incredibly they hadn't even begun to rust.
I pretty much earned my living back then pruning, and wouldn't be without a pair of roll handles if pruning day in day out.

A handy hint on the maintenance/sharpening side of things, is to use a bench polisher with a white paste. A quick buff of the cutting blade will have them sharp enough to shave the hairs from your arms.
Follow this by a quick squirt of ACF50 to the pivot point and the jobs done.

 

So that's why Bahco are so good Dai!:wink:

Chris

 

Nothing to touch Felcos really. You can replace all the parts, bolts are hardened steel, large range of models. I've found three pairs at car boots one for just a pound and have restored them so as good as new. Might be expensive new but will last a lifetime and easy to service.

Otherwise look at Bacho (Swedish but made in France) or Wolf Gaerten (German).

 

Just seen this post on secateurs - there are some really good German Secateurs available, huge range of both anvil and bypass types as well as loppers, professional quality and German engineering - see www.original-loewe.de - I have a couple of the anvil type and they cut through almost anything up to 3/4" thick.