Okatsune 103 Bypass Secateurs

Product Information

The handles are made from the same forged aluminium steel which makes them very strong, lightweight and nearly unbreakable. The Gardena A/M is a tough, robust, good quality anvil secateur that will not let you down when there is a need to cut chop your way through old, dead wood. The Hitachi Yasugi high carbon steel of these Okatsune secateurs stands out, producing a clean, precise, efficient cut. The only downside is that if you have small hands, you may find them a little more difficult to use. With this in mind, as well as the fact that some people might find a pair with small handles better to use, I have put together a quick round-up of some of our favourites below.

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. Designed to be used in the left hand is another exceptional pair of secateurs from this world leading manufacturer.

This is useful if you want to save on waste and replace the necessary parts rather than the entire item. With a maximum cutting diameter of 32mm, you can attack plants, roses, shrubs, small tree branches with total confidence.

Made from the same steel used for Samurai swords the 103 effortlessly cuts through anything up to 25mm in diameter in its stride. Made from the finest Japanese steel (the same as used to make Samurai swords) they are sharp, incredibly sharp and being crafted from the finest steel, stay sharp!If you have arthritis or generally struggle to cut with regular secateurs, a ratchet-type might be a good option. If you have been pruning diseased plants then we strongly recommend washing them in disinfectant, something like Jeyes fluid will do the job, this just helps stop you from transferring diseases. Use the non-slip, soft-grip handle as you guide your tool through branches of up to 15mm – you can alter the locking catch for a wide or narrow cutting width. Due to its unique ratchet mechanism , this pair of ratchet anvil secateurs take less effort when pruning stems and thicker branches and so, perfect for gardeners that find pruning painful and tiresome. However, if you do ask for goods to be left on your property while you are out, the courier will be unable to get a signature, so this is at your own risk.

I was reasonably impressed: they come with a 10 year guarantee and are made with fairly good quality SK5 Japanese steel blades. Oil sponge: It’s quite rare, but some pruners feature an integrated oil sponge which you can use to clean and lubricate the blades after use. Compared to the Model 2, the handles are slightly smaller, they are also slightly lighter and have a slightly smaller cutting diameter, but still wide enough to cut anything we tried them on.They require less pressure on the handles because they have small springs and mechanisms to ease the efforts. Our winning anvil secateurs performed well, especially when cutting thicker branches in ratchet mode. Personally, we preferred the Felco model 7 but we know some gardeners prefer these, it’s just a personal choice I suppose, both are fantastic choices and way ahead of most other models. Felco has been manufacturing secateurs since 1945 and the Felco Model 7 Classic Secateurs is a great example of what their decades of experience can produce. They can also be sharpened using a tungsten carbide blade or ceramic stone when needed and this should be done as soon as they start to feel less effective and take a little more effort to use.