Secateurs

[wardy]

I was reading in KG mag (I think) about a lady in there who uses Fiskars which are cheaper than Felco but she preferred them  :)   Fiskars are on the Carry on Gardening web site  :)

[wardy]

[redimp]

Googled Fiskars and their site has resources for teachers.  Now going to have a look at Felco, Bahco, Sandvik and Faithfull.  None of the others do and the resources on Fiskars site are multi-cultural too so a bonus. 

Faithfull are British which is a plus point but appear to be a budget range whereas all the others are imported.  Are there any premium British brands?

[wardy]

Burgon and Ball are manufactured in Sheffield I understand

[redimp]

Thanks Wardy  :)  Spear & Jackson do them as well.

[Derekthefox]

I have googled and can't add any more UK manufacturers. Be aware that Bahco was formerly Sandvik ...

[redimp]

Both names still exist Derek - as do their respective websites.

[powerspade]

I have wilkinson sword for 38 years - lost sharping stone down lottie last year go to get another but where? I asked aroound but no one can help me . Anyone here help me please?

[djbrenton]

We did field testing of secateu. for KG mag last year. The sharpest ( probably only for a week or so ) were some £3.99 ones which easily cut things even the felcos struggled with. Having said that, when I got to pick I chose felcos.

The key points we decided were..

Handle width, find a pair you're comfortable with.

Colour. Never, ever buy a pair that are green, black or brown. No matter how good they are, they'll only last a week before being turned into a feature somewhere on the garden. Dayglo orange would be good.

One other thing to bear in mind is what sort of tool carer you are. The best blades are carbon steel and need looking after better than stainless, so if you're a 'leave them lying round when I finish' sort, then felcos will pretty quickly lose their advantage by have rusty blades. I tend to have a few pairs of cheapos like Derek as tbh I'm always struggling to find a pair, so having them dotted in every greenhouse etc is sometimes useful.