The joy of the right tool - compound action loppers!

We've been using an old set of loppers for years, and I really struggle with branches that have any thickness to them. We've done a lot of pruning lately and even removed some large shrubs, and there has been a whole lot of cutting going on here. We went to the garden center the other day, and I picked up a new pair of compound action loppers. What an amazing difference! I feel so strong now, lol. The brand was Terra Verde Splash, and I'm sure I should have done some research/comparison shopping, but I didn't. I acknowledge that these were somewhat of an impulse purchase, although something that had been in the back of my mind for awhile. Anyway, I'm in love!

OH, we love those things and are on our second set - the first pair was pretty cheap but still amazing. Sadly, I tried to cut something a little TOO thick and now the ratchet mechanism is a tad dicey. I still use them on smaller stuff. Both pairs have telescoping handles, which are great for me, since I'm fairly short. Yay for "power assist" pruning, lol. Both of my siblings swear by them (both are 80+ years old and still trimming, lol).

I also love the ratcheting pruners. I think my husband got them from Harbor Freight for $14 several years ago. I bought a pair for a friend too. It's such a joy to have a tool that helps me do MORE with the same effort or less than I used to do.

I think we had a pair of these, but they’ve escaped me in our big move. But yes, that ratchet power was very nice. At the moment I’m letting DH do all the pruning. One of the joys of our yard expanding to 1 acre is that I can plant all the flowering shrubs I want. The downside of that is, of course, they need pruning.

Wow! Sounds like a great Homer Simpson gift for me to give to DH for his birthday in October!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqrFpoxWqfU

I'm sure he would be delighted, Catherine! :laff:

I don’t need ratcheting prune snips but i agree that the right tool makes such a difference. And I also admit that I spend freely on them. Recently I bought an electric tin snip for a project. What a fun tool! I’m ready to take up metalworking as a new hobby! ��

okay---in Zurra, you really need a more effective tool to manage vegetation. Yup. (see photo)Attachment 6458

I bought two Fiskars little bypass pruners in the past month and they have both been really crummy, not like they used to be! What is going on?

I too am disappointed in Fiscar. About useless.

I have a Corona pair of the bypass pruners. An older pair of (think Ace Hardware) loppers that a neighbor had and gave me years ago (another neighbor and I shared a fence and Chinese Sumac would try to grow through it), and when Steve died, I inherited his ratcheting pruners. I had bought him a Corona pair years ago, and he liked them, until he left them outside and part of a tree he worked on, broke loose and landed on them bending the handles.

Those Ratcheting pair make a world of difference.

I LOVE retcheting pruners!!!