We spent a week pruning and clipping to test the best secateurs for a neat and tidy garden
Novice gardeners and experienced horticulturalists are united in their search for the best secateurs (otherwise known as pruning shears) with a steel blade. The most preen-worthy of pruners should be capable of snipping at delicate plants to encourage growth, harvesting fruit and vegetables and hacking away at thicker branches - everything short of trimming and strimming. Hedge Clippers Battery
A simple enough purchase to make, you might think – until you start looking around and quickly learn that not all secateurs are created equal. Bypass, anvil or ratchet secateurs? More on that in our FAQ section at the bottom.
Below, we’ve reviewed the best secateurs on the market in depth, and sought expert advice on popular questions like the difference between bypass and anvil mechanisms, how to care for secateur blades, and what to do if anything gets jammed. If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick look at my top five:
How smoothly the contraption can be manoeuvred one-handed will impact the efficiency of your green-fingered endeavours. Just make sure you invest in a quality product – which means good, sharp steel. The sharper the blade, the stronger the cut and the less force is required, which makes it the gentler on the wrists, says topiary expert Darren Lerigo who runs the Modern Mint online tool and gardening shop. If the blades can be sharpened, all the better.
Investing in strong steel has a second benefit: it circumvents the need to buy ‘ratchet’ secateurs, which use an extra spring and cut through a branch in stages. Ratchets do make cutting easier on the hand, but they add more moving parts and therefore complicate the equation, introducing more scope for things to go wrong.
I tested each pair if secateurs in my garden, rating them on the quality of the blade, how easy they were to use and how comfortable the handle is to hold. Read on to see how they compared. If you’re interested in more gardening equipment, we also have guides to the best lawnmowers and best leaf blowers.
We like: the sharp, Rockwell scale approved carbon steel and “life-changing” functional design
We don’t like: they can be slippery in the rain
Topiary expert Lerigo devoutly describes his chosen make of Japanese secateurs, Okatsune, as a bit of kit that Marie Kondo would approve of: simple, effective, and capable of sparking joy, time and time again. The Hitachi Yasugi high carbon steel of these Okatsune secateurs stands out, producing a clean, precise, efficient cut. Apparently, they’re made with “Izumo” iron sand, which was used in the manufacturing of ancient Japanese swords.
There’s less cushioning in the handles, so the experience of pruning feels precise, clean and direct. The practical, flickable open-close latch mechanism is so simple to use that even a gloved Neanderthal wouldn’t struggle with it, and it means I don’t end up all fingers and thumbs dangerously close to the blade. In fact, you don’t even require fingers to open them: you can simply hold the secateurs in your hand and brush the catch against your leg or hip – forwards to unlock, back to lock.
They make me feel in control, which is pleasing. I’m not alone: The Telegraph’s gardening expert Bunny Guinness has described them as “life-changing, so sharp, so well made – they have done me prouder than any other make I have owned.” The unusual red and white colourway, by the way, shows yet more attention to detail: the red shows up in daylight, the white at night, making them harder to lose in the garden.
We like: the no-nonsense design and 10 year guarantee
We don’t like: cutting diameter not as long as advertised
No comprehensive guide to secateurs would be complete without referencing Wilkinson Sword: as well as Felco, these are some of the most ubiquitous, lower budget pruning shears to be found in the UK. I was reasonably impressed: they come with a 10 year guarantee and are made with fairly good quality SK5 Japanese steel blades. The cast aluminium handles are strong and lighter than many others (they weigh 216g in total), and the grip is fine.
I didn’t mind the open/close mechanism too much either: you just flick down the small switch by the side of the blades (be careful not to get your fingers too close, mind) and a bouncy spring between the handles boings open. When closed, the safety lock keeps you safe from the sharp blades.
However, while they promise the standard 20mm cutting capacity I’ve come to expect from many brands, the reality is more like 15mm. Fine for a cheap pair of secateurs, but not a product that’s likely to last you a lifetime.
We like: these secateurs are so appealing they’re practically an objet d’art
We don’t like: they’re expensive
Leading pruning specialist Jake Hobson learnt the craft of tree training, pruning and rootballing in rural Osaka, and founded Niwaki (it means “garden tree”) to bring Japanese techniques to Western gardens. “A good pair of secateurs is the single most important bit of kit for any gardener,” he explains. His range of secateurs doesn’t disappoint. The bypass designs have a simple, chunky catch at the bottom, just like the Okatsune.
According to gardening writer Anna Pavord, he approaches the subject “with the eye of an artist”, and as a result, his loppers – in particular these limited edition S-Type secateurs – are a work of art in themselves. The only reason the Okatsune pruners pipped them to the post here is because of the price: but really, I’d highly recommend both – it just comes down to aesthetics.
Known to Hobson affectionately as his “double yellows”, the bright yellow Niwaki GR Pro secateurs are made with KA70 carbon steel, they’re a 23cm long pair of whoppers, weighing 239g.
Hobson also sells hand-sewn leather holsters with copper rivets in which to store them. They can both be cleaned the Japanese way with odourless, non-oily camellia oil and also with a “Crean Mate” – a scouring block for cleaning resin, rust and other gunks from blades.
We like: the signature postbox-red design classic with a lifetime guarantee
We don’t like: the catch mechanism is fiddly
The sharp blade of these Felco 2’s (first manufactured in 1948) proved well-suited to the most unruly of shrubs and the thickest of tough branches, but also the most delicate of stems and plants.
I found the rubber cushioned, shock absorbing, forged aluminium alloy handles to be gentle on my wrists, with a slick bypass cutting action. “Although not the cheapest, they are the most reliable and hardwearing,” says Chris Lowe, nursery manager at David Austin. “Cheaper brands don’t stay sharp long enough and are not up to the daily pruning of the thousands of rose bushes we have here. They’re simply the best.”
These are secateurs to have and to hold until death do you part: they come with a lifetime guarantee, and the cutting blade is replaceable, too (in fact, all the parts are, including the replaceable anvil blade with a sap groove which helps prevent the cutting blades from sticking together after repeat use. Clever). Just make sure you don’t lose them.
However, topiary expert Lerigo says he found the latch used to open them involved too much fumbling around on ladders for his liking, a situation not helped by cold, numb or gloved hands. As much as I wanted to love them, and despite the superior, precise blade, Lerigo was right: the catch mechanism used to open and close them is fiddly compared with its smoother competitors, and nigh impossible with gardening gloves on or one-handed, up a ladder, because the clasp requires a thumb to be operated. I also found that my own hands were slightly too small for them.
This is a supremely solid all-rounder, nonetheless: the company claims its products are subject to 100 quality control processes, so whether I’m tending a pruning a lone rose bush or have an entire vineyard to tend to (one day, one day), they’re clearly of a quality which should stand me in good stead.
We like: The beech wood handle
We don’t like: the small cutting capacity
Opinel is a chic French knife and tool brand worth having on your radar. Design-wise, I like the combination of steel and beech wood. Cunningly, these secateurs also have three positions to fit the diameter of the branches and the size of the hand (wide opening, narrow opening, closed).
The cut is clean and effortless. The stainless steel blade has a cutting capacity of diameters of 20 mm – less than the Felco and Okatsune secateurs featured here, but more than the Wilkinson pair above.
The USP is how light these secateurs are. Weighing just 65g, they’re the only pair sub 200g. However, I did find their performance slightly compromised based on the lack of weight and quality. The locking latch is a little clumsy and the overall design could be more sturdy.
Best secateurs for small hands, 8/10
We like: the stainless steel design
We don’t like: smooth handle makes them hard to grip
If you like the idea of these, I’d also point you in the direction of the rest of designer Sophie Conran’s stunning collaboration with Burgon & Ball. These have the chunky mechanism I prefer, and are striking aesthetically: entirely silver, with a simple golden bronze lock clasp to clip the handles together when not in use.
The stainless steel handles mean they’re markedly resistant to rust. “I have been known to abandon my tools in the garden as I rush off to do something else, leaving them at the mercy of the elements,” explains Conran. They’re 20cm long, and are presented in a pretty eau de nil gift box.
The secateurs are designed with small hands in mind, something which can be hard to find. Mechanism-wise, they’re the easiest to control on this list. They’re unfortunately let down by a lack of grip in the handle, which rendered them almost unusable when it rained, as I found they just slipped through my fingers.
Secateurs either use a “bypass” or “anvil” mechanism. Bypass secateurs are similar to scissors, with two blades that glide past each other. They’re suited to caring for delicate, living plants and saplings, as well as fully grown shrubs. A good, sharp pair of bypass secateurs should be able to cut through thicker branches and solid wood too.
Anvil secateurs, on the other hand, make a “crushing” action, like a knife on a on chopping board. They should only be used on very thick branches or for dead wood, as the cutting blade comes into compressing contact with metal, which can bruise the plant tissue.
Slightly less popular are ratchet pruners which are more powerful and better for cutting through thicker branches. They require less pressure on the handles because they have small springs and mechanisms to ease the efforts. Ratchet secateurs are an excellent option for gardeners lacking wrist strength.
According to topiary expert Darren Lerigo, most gardeners will find bypass secateurs to be the better bet, because they make for a cleaner cut.
Smooth blades all have their limits, says Jake Hobson. Steel is hard and sharp, but it can chip if abused. Try not to cut wire, metal, stone, plastic or any other hard material. Even bamboo fibres and some very hard woods, especially knots, burrs and dead wood, can damage steel edges.
Do not twist or apply uneven pressure: try to cut branches diagonally, not straight across. Blades may chip or crack through misuse and bad luck, although damage can be ground out with a file. Clean the blades after use, oil them with a light oil occasionally (Lerigo is a fan of scentless camellia oil), and store with blades closed to protect the blades (and you).
Sharpen with a whetstone. Leave the whetstone in water for about five minutes until soaked through, then gently rub a blade against it to sharpen.
According to Telegraph gardening expert Helen Yemm, secateurs usually jam because of a build-up of dried sap and general garden grot on the blades. A good clean, followed by a wipe with an oily rag, sorts the problem out. Presumably you have tried that.
Chop Saw Hand Held Alternatively, it could be time for a thorough service, she says. “Burton McCall, which only services Felcos, no other brand, will send them back looking like new for £25, with a replaced blade.”