Small, HIGH QUALITY, general-purpose pruner?

February 22, 2014 9:32 PM

I'd like to buy a small (~6 inch), HIGH QUALITY pruner. It needs to stay LOCKED so that I can carry it around. I've been looking at Felco pruners, but they seem to be tailored for heavy-duty pruning and are pretty large to carry around all the time as a general purpose tool. Leatherman's Micra looks nice (I've been needing to get a multitool too...) but I'm looking for a dedicated pruner.
posted by gray17 to Shopping (9 answers total)

I had a leatherman micra and the scissor blades began showing knicks over time. They are pretty small, too.
posted by mecran01 at 10:26 PM on February 22, 2014

Most of the length of the pruners is in the handles to allow for leverage when cutting branches. What are you trying to prune with such small pruners? Maybe scissors pruners may fit your needs for a smaller size
posted by JujuB at 11:34 PM on February 22, 2014

Yeah, it would help to know what you hope to prune. I have a Felco bypass pruner and it's about the same size as any other handheld pruner you'd see at a hardware or garden shop. I suppose you could get away with something smaller if you're only pruning roses or other small-diameter growth.
posted by jon1270 at 4:30 AM on February 23, 2014

In terms of carrying around Felco pruners: I carry mine around in the tool pocket of my work pants. I've never felt that they were too heavy to carry in the leg pocket. And their usefulness makes them worth it. Other people I've worked with use a belt holster and like that.

Felcos are, in my opinion, pretty much the best pruners ever. Long lasting, replaceable parts, and they work.

Your other option is snips - I've linked some that Felco makes, and they use plastic in the handles to decrease the weight.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:32 AM on February 23, 2014

Felco is what people I know who do that work professionally all use (usually carried in a leather belt holster) and are worth the money. If even the small Felco models are too large for your hands though, there are other brands (including Fiskars) that have small-hands models; the best bet is going to be testing them in person to see what will work for your actual hands rather than guessing from photos.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:29 AM on February 23, 2014

Japan Woodworker carries some nice-looking pruning shears, including this 6" pair "for small hands." I've not used their pruning shears but I've bought woodworking tools from them & they have always been of the highest quality. They also have bud shears, ikebana shears, etc. which may also be of interest to you.
posted by mr vino at 7:10 AM on February 23, 2014

I own one of these and am quite happy with it.
posted by Nyx at 1:18 PM on February 23, 2014

Response by poster: What I thought was a Felco #2 turned out to be one of their larger models... I just had the opportunity to use the #2 in person. I'll probably get that.
posted by gray17 at 2:31 PM on February 23, 2014

Response by poster: Wound up getting a Leatherman Micra (sciessors, not pliers, makes a decent pair of spring-loaded pair of scissors) and a Bahco pruner for the heavy duty stuff.
posted by gray17 at 6:51 PM on April 1, 2014