[eli]

hi all :-)

i'm gonna get some secateurs as a Christmas present.
the person has around fifteen or twenty quid to spend at most, so what do you folks recommend?
they need to be general all-rounders for my allotment and garden and bought from the internet, and i have average-sized guy-hands, if that makes a difference :-)
 cheers in advance :-)

[JayG]

If your buyer can stretch to about £22 you can get the Felco "essentials" model; Felco are considered by many people to be the Rolls-Royce brand so even this entry-level model should be good quality (available in large and small sizes by the way.)

Failing that, I would recommend buying a by-pass rather than anvil design and to spend as much as can be afforded (really cheap secateurs usually distort the first time you cut something a bit too large and are a pain in the whatever thereafter!)

[savbo]

not completely as a joke - but 20 pairs of cheap secateurs would also last most of us a long time....

I love my felcos though

[Kleftiwallah]

I know this is no great help but. . . . I picked up a great pair of secuturs at the Ideal Home Exibish many years ago. (They are long gone now).

They had a ratchet action so if the branch was too large, they used to 'change gear' somehow and excert more power.  If anyone recognises my description.   Please let me know the name.   Cheers,   Tony.

[Lee1978]

As JayG pointed out you can't go past Felco secatuers, they will last you an age if you look after them. i would'nt have anything else

[Paul Plots]

Mrs L gets through secateurs almost as fast as she demolishes hoovers (3 this year to date!) so I hide mine. 

Cheap pairs simply don't last.... if your Christmas present buyer can't run to Felco perhaps, if that's what you really want, you could chip in the balance.... worth it in the long run! 

[Yorkie]

I have Gardena secateurs and, as I have small hands, I went for the model which were adjustable for different hand sizes.

[Paul Plots]

I have Gardena secateurs and, as I have small hands, I went for the model which were adjustable for different hand sizes.

Mrs L busted hers!    :blink:     

[Junie]

I love my Felco's too, I did have some ratchet  ones, they were cheap and did break easily, the boys tend to use those if they help!
My dad still has his originals, he has had them for what must be over 40 years, for about 10 years he had over 800 roses in the garden for showing purposes so you can imagine how much they were used!!
He did send them off for a good service last year and now says they are like new..

Also they have Red handles, a bonus if you are not thinking and put them down, why does everyone make green tools!

[eli]

thats a lot everyone :-)
felcos it is :-)
i'll pass on the info and look forward to Christmas ;-)

[8doubles]

And if santa is generous a dremmel type rotary tool would be handy for sharpening them.

[Paul Plots]

And if santa is generous a dremmel type rotary tool would be handy for sharpening them.

Birthday? 

[kenny199]

And if santa is generous a dremmel type rotary tool would be handy for sharpening them.

Birthday? 

I would go for a diamond whetstone far better and you can sharpen tools when ever they need it

[Slowgrind]

Don't like to spend too much on tools that can get lost or stolen.
I've bought several pairs of cheapo ones from the supermarket and leave them in all the places that I might look for them, sheds etc. Those Felcos look good but I'd cry for a year if they got lost! 

[Paul Plots]

I've got a cheapo set on the plot - but only the one set buying loads begins to get too dear so I just take lots of care with them. 

It's spectacles that I leave all over the place - found a pair in with the carrots a few weeks back - very useful as I'd lost the pair I started out with that morning  Just as well they are really cheap ones (Good old Pound Shop!!)