Fiskars Pruners - Fiskars Bypass Pruners - Fiskars Anvil Pruners

When working in the garden or landscape, we all run into the need for a hand pruner at some point. We take a look at different pruner types, and suggestions for which types of pruners work best in different applications. Referred to as secateurs at times, these are versitile tools to have in your gardening arsenal.

Types of Hand Pruners

There are three types of hand pruners or pruning shears. The general class of pruners called hand pruners will be used to trim branches and plants that are sometimes up to 3/4 inch in diameter. Smaller in size than other pruners, they are generally sized to be held in one hand when being used.

The most common might be the bypass pruners. These look somewhat similar to scissors in that they have 2 moving blades that will cross past one another when they are operated. Examples of this style pruner include Fiskars UltraBlade Traditional Bypass Pruner or the Fiskars Power-Lever Bypass Pruner This style is preferred because it gives a clean cut, and is great for cutting flowers and smaller branches. It’s limitation is that it won’t cut larger branches, and in the extreme case if you try to cut too large a branch it can cause the blades to separate and instead of bypassing one another they push out and bend the pruner.

The other fairly common style is the anvil pruner. This style has just one moving blade, which cuts against the anvil surface, which often has a slight indentation to seat the cutting blade. This will cut somewhat larger branches than the bypass pruners, but it can sometimes just smash the branch against the anvil, so the cut is often not as clean, and will still work when the blade is somewhat dull. Examples of this style include the Fiskars Traditional Power-Lever Anvil Pruner or the Fiskars PowerGear Anvil Pruner

One other type of pruner is the parrot-beak pruner, which is not seen as often. They have two moving blades, which are concave, and will trap the branch or stem to cut.