Everyone loves spending time in the garden. Making your little home oasis thrive can be a labor of love. But let’s face it, without the right tools it can just be labor.
One of the tools that gets the most use, but can also be a chore in themselves if you don’t have the right pair, are hand pruners. Pruners and shears do a great deal of the clearing and finishing work for any gardener. But if your pair is old, dull or busted, it’s you that’ll be doing all the hard work.
So, how do you go about finding pruners that work for you without giving yourself carpal tunnel syndrome? You have to choose carefully, that’s how. And to help make that decision a bit easier we’ve compiled this handy guide to choosing the proper shears.
Some pruners have seen better days. Replace dull blades or get them professionally sharpened to ensure a clean cut.
RATCHETING PRUNERS:
A novel innovation in pruning technology, Ratcheting pruners utilize a mechanism that mechanically closes the blades. Each time you squeeze the handle, the jaws close tighter. These are a great aid to folks with diminished grip strength. The mechanism does the grunt work for you. Most Ratcheting pruners are made to cut through tougher jobs, so don’t expect nice clean cuts.