Garden Tools Pruners -

I am a professional blueberry farmer from central Illinois. Pruners are our go to tool, especially in fall and winter months when we prune for weeks on end. Our experience with pruners is vast. Because pruners are so vital to our operation I am always looking for new or improved design. Not long ago I purchased the ML Pruners. These pruners are the very best we have ever used. They have held up extremely well in heavy use, and the blade retains its sharpness to a remarkable degree. The ratchet mechanism is formidable, cutting through heavy blueberry canes, up to nearly an inch, with relative ease. The pruner is so effective on thick heavy blueberry canes that the need for loppers has been all but eliminated. The ergonomics are also exceptional. The pruners are quite compact in design, have a large throat, yet fully open within a hand span. They comfortably fit large and small hands. This is my go to pruners--period.

These shears are pure junk. They should be removed from sale by Amazon. I thought Amazon had some sort of quality control. This is the first item that I have ever sent back to Amazon. The shears hang up and just don't work very good. The bolt that holds them together is very sharp on the end. Not knowing the end of the bolt was sharp cause me to get a very good cut on my finger. I ordered two pairs of these clippers and both were no good. All the rachets did was jam them up when I tried using them. They weight just about 7 ounces vs. the stated weight of one pound.

You get what you pay for. I went shopping after and found these on sale for $10. I would say they are even worth less than that. I was looking for something that would cut mature bamboo culms and these won't last anytime at all. The mechanics in the item are very flimsy. I bought three of these as gifts and I would be embarrassed to give them away. This is a problem with online impulse shopping. You don't get to see the item in your hand and evaluate it prior to purchase and the effort to return stops the consumer from holding the seller accountable....

The design is good, but the manufacturing is a bit off. Had to do a bit of work to get the handles lock to work. I also had to sharpen it.

These shears do a good job, they fit the hand nicely, are sharp, and the ratcheting action works well. Its a wait and see how long they stay sharp.

I am pleased with these shears. I knew little about shears and the various types having only briefly used borrowed shears from time to time in the past. I was considering the http://www.amazon.com/Ratchet-Pruning-Shears-Ratcheting-Conventional/dp/B00CH9TS9G/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1407522901&sr=1-5&keywords=pruning+shears when I saw these which appeared to be the same except no name on the name plate for about $19. As luck would have it when I ordered the price had been lowered to $15.57. The price attracted me but I liked the fact that there was more detail given about these shears including using SK-5 steel that I know is a good metal. However, it looks like only the working surfaces use this and the rest appears to be aluminium with some plastic. I immediately gave them a go at a bush that I was saving for this purpose. The largest branch I cut measured .703” and cut cleanly. A 1.198” proved too large for the jaws, but they then were advertised for up to 1” branches. I did find that the lock slide bar on the right irritated my thumb and no doubt would have caused a blister in short order. This was quickly corrected using a flat and round file to knock off the corner running down the top edge. I wear a man’s medium size glove and these shears fit my hand nicely.

Good quality and easy to use. Doesn't require a lot of hand pressure to cut thick branches. The lock requires a gentle handle squeeze to engage/disengage, which makes accidental opening hard.

Aluminum casting cracked, returned for credit. Item appears flimsy, and I think I will not purchase this as a replacement.