Pruning Loppers

Joined
Jun 11, 2003
Messages
1,226
Location
Hedgesville, WV
I know this is a tool question but it seems off topic for this forum. I am looking for a good pair of Anvil Loppers that can handle 2" branches. I have a pair of bypass but they really struggle on dead limbs of any significant size and I worry I will bend them. Normally I would go Fiskars because they are carried at the Home store but they only offer 1 model of anvil loppers and their system has you open the handles 180 deg to get max cutting width, that seems like it would not only be difficult to close but you loose all reach and any search on the web brings 50 pages of fake reviews and a dozen ads for the same china made lopper under different names. If anyone has experience with a brand or model that has held up on 1"-2" branches please give me lead.
 
I tried that but if I cant get a hand on the branch it justs dances back and forth. It does work on live branches better though
 
I have a pair of Fiskars bypass loppers with extendable handles. You do have to open them pretty wide, but they work pretty well. They're my best cutters for the bigger stuff.

I use a reciprocating saw for whatever they can't handle, into the four to five inch range. Pretty slow with that big stuff.
 
Recipicating saw. They have specific blades for pruning tasks. If you already have one you will seek out things to prune, just like people who buy a Dremel.
 
I have found Fiskars with extended handle to be the best for me until buying reciprocating saw last year. Mine came with a blade designed for pruning. Does clean cuts on branches dead or alive. The blade does make a difference.

Stihl was mentioned. Lady of the house wanted to prune and bought Stihl hand shears. They cut like butter. Stihl seems to use a high quality steel. I tend to bend the blade on other brands I have used. The problem with Stihl is the price.

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/gardening-tools/loppers/pl40/
 
Felco or Chikamasa for the small stuff, I use a Sawzall with a 3TPI “pruning” blade for big stuff.

Home Depot is discontinuing Bosch and its brands - including Diablo. Get yourself a Diablo carbide-tipped blade for pruning.
 
Dead limbs often turn very hard and are difficult to use loppers on. I dislike anvil loppers on live wood because they tend to crush the bark and live layers too much, causing damage that is harder to heal.

At two inches, you could also consider a hand pruning saw. Their special blades cut on the back stroke and go through branches like butter.
You can hold the branch with one hand and saw with the other.
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Those excellent Stihl loppers linked above are U.S. made by one of the three main U.S. manufacturers on the west coast (Barnel, Hickok, VACA).
 
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