A good pair of pruning shears can make work in the garden much easier and faster. That being said, finding good pruning shears is easier said than done. This is what we are here for today, to help you find the best pruning shears of 2022 for your needs.
Best Pruning Shears Reviews
Comparison Chart
Power Drive Ratchet Anvil Hand Pruning Shears – 5X More Cutting Power Than Conventional Garden Tree Clippers.
Felco F-2 Classic Hand Pruner
Right off the bat, this is one of the more expensive pairs of pruning shears on the market right now. They may be a bit on the expensive side, but you get what you pay for, and here you get a very high-quality pair of shears.
Review
This is a pair of pruning shears made of high-quality metal, so one thing that we can say is that they are some of the more durable shears around. The blades are made of high-quality hardened steel, so they are extremely strong, they are highly resistant to bending, cracking, and denting, and they are very sharp.
Because they are so sharp, they can make quick work out of small bushes and tree limbs, and they don’t need to be sharpened very often.
What is nice here is that there is a high-quality cutting blade combined with an anvil blade to create a good backing for an easy cut. The anvil blade includes a sap groove to allow tree sap to easily flow out without getting in the way or creating too much of a mess.
Keep in mind that the Felco F-2 Classic Hand Pruner has a cutting capacity of 1 inch, which is not too bad for a pair of handheld pruning shears. The blades also include a wire cutting notch.
It’s also worth mentioning that the handles are made of lightweight metal, which is durable, but still doesn’t weigh very much. They feature great balance and also come with a rubber coating to provide a better grip.
To make things simpler for you, these shears also come with a steel spring in the middle, so you only have to squeeze them shut, and they’ll open up all on their own. Perhaps the coolest part here is that the head of the pruner can be adjusted for position.
PROS
- Sharp and don’t need to be sharpened often
- Good cutting diameter
- Rubber handle covers for good grip
- Spring loaded
- Safety lock
CONS
- Expensive
Fiskars Steel Bypass Pruning Shears
Here we are going in the opposite direction, because whereas the last shears we looked at were expensive and very high quality, these are much smaller and more affordable shears designed for small and basic pruning jobs.
Review
These Fiskars Steel Bypass Pruning Shears won’t cost you more than $10. Therefore, they make for a good option if you are operating on a limited budget. Keep in mind that these particular pruning shears have a cutting diameter of 5/8 inches, which is not bad.
Of course, there are larger shears out there, but these ones will do fine for small jobs, such as pruning small bushes.
These pruning shears feature precision ground and hardened steel blades which stay sharp for quite long, and they have a decent cutting edge. Moreover, although these are not the most durable blades, they are still quite resistant to damage such as bending, although they may break if you try to perform jobs with them that are out of their weight class.
However, we like how the blades on the Fiskars Steel Bypass Pruning Shears come with an anti-friction coating to make cutting much easier.
We also like the soft foam grip on the handles. While this foam coating is definitely not the most durable in the world, it is very comfortable to hold and it provides for good grip.
As a whole, the Fiskars Steel Bypass Pruning Shears are also very lightweight. What is also really cool about these shears is that they come with a lifetime warranty, quite surprising considering their rock-bottom price.
PROS
- Ergonomic and lightweight with good balance
- Steel blades with a great cutting edge
- ListElement
- Stay sharp for a long time
- Very affordable
CONS
- No safety lock
Power Drive Ratchet Anvil Hand Pruning Shears
This is a moderately priced pair of pruning shears that in terms of price come closer to the Fiskars reviewed above than the first very expensive pair reviewed. In other words, they are middle of the line pruning shears, at least in price, and they also come with a very awesome feature that brings great value to the table.
Review
What is so cool about these pruning shears is that they come with a ratcheting mechanism. When you got to make a cut, there is a ratchet that has 5 different levels. Every time you squeeze the handle to a certain point, one of those ratchet points will lock into place and maintain the current position and pressure you have applied.
You can then let go of the shears, reposition your hands, and apply 100% pressure once again to allow for more force to be applied.
Simply put, this helps to provide over 5 times the amount of cutting power of other pruning shears, and all with minimal effort and energy expended on your part. This ratcheting mechanism is a very unique thing not often seen in pruning shears, especially for a model that comes in at such a moderate price.
The Power Drive Ratchet Anvil Hand Pruning Shears have hardened steel blades which are exceptionally strong and resistant to all forms of damage. Moreover, the blades here are large enough to make their way through branches about 1 inch thick, or even slightly thicker for that matter. They are strong blades that will last a long time to come.
On that same note, to make pruning even easier, the blades come coated with Teflon, a non-stick material that works to reduce friction.
It is also worth noting that the Power Drive Ratchet Anvil Hand Pruning Shears feature a very ergonomic design. They might be solid and made of metal, but they’re also fairly lightweight and comfortable to hold.
They come with a bit of padding on the palm side of the handle which helps keep you comfortable while pruning, plus it also helps provide better gripping power. All in all, the Power Drive Ratchet Anvil Hand Pruning Shears are some of the most powerful pruning shears around, and it’s all thanks to the ratcheting design.
PROS
- Good for small and medium jobs
- Sharp blades
- Very durable
- Ergonomic design
- Ratchet mechanism for 5x cutting power
CONS
- Not spring loaded
Felco F6 Pruning Shears
Here we are going back to the more expensive Felco brand name, and these shears are actually the most expensive on the list today. However, just like with the first pair of Felco Shears reviewed, you get what you pay for, and here you get a super high-quality pair of pruning shears with a few cool features to help make gardening easier.
Review
The Felco F6 Pruning Shears feature a cutting diameter of 0.79 inches, which means that they are ideal for fairly small jobs. Now, the blades on this pruner are made of hardened steel, so they are extremely durable, they won’t bend, and are very resistant to damage.
They come with a super sharp cutting edge, which thanks to their hardened steel build, don’t need to be sharpened very often. The blades also come with a small wire cutter notch, and they have a sap groove as well.
It is also important to note that the Felco F6 Pruning Shears are spring loaded, so they will open up automatically after you squeeze them shut. The head on these shears is also adjustable for position, so you can adjust them to find the ideal cutting position. They also come with a safety lock to ensure that they stay closed when not in use.
These are some nice shears, especially due to their lightweight design. They weigh less than most other pruning shears, and this makes a big difference when it comes to fatigue.
One important thing to know about the Felco F6 Pruning Shears is that they are designed for smaller hands, but probably won’t be too comfortable for people with medium size or large hands.
Speaking of comfort and ergonomics, the Felco F6 Pruning Shears are made with very ergonomically friendly handles with a shape that matches the shape of the hand. Moreover, they also feature an excellent balance between the handles and the blades.
The handles are made with durable and lightweight metal, and also feature a rubber coating for shock absorption. This rubber coating also helps to provide good grip so your hand won’t slip when looking to prune a small bush or something like grape vines.
PROS
- Sharp and durable hardened steel blades
- Ergonomic and hand-friendly design
- Lightweight and well balanced
- Good grip with shock absorption
- Safety lock
CONS
- Very expensive
Basilica Botanica Pruning Shears
This is a moderately price pair of all-metal pruning shears, the super sharp and durable Basilica Botanica Pruning Shears. They’re not the lightest pruning shears around, but they are ergonomically friendly, durable, and they can cut through some pretty thick branches with relative ease.
Review
The Basilica Botanica Pruning Shears feature a very durable metal on metal design. Everything on these shears that can be made of metal is made of metal, which is of course much more durable than plastic. When it comes down to it, especially for the reasonable price, this might just be the most durable and toughest pair of pruning shears out there.
The blades are made with hardened carbon steel, and this makes the Basilica Botanica Pruning Shears super resistant to all forms of damage. The cutting edge on this blade is very sharp and comes with a cutting diameter of 1 inch.
Therefore, cutting through some fairly thick branches is made easy. These are both sharp and strong, so even if there is a tough branch in your way, you can apply a good deal of pressure without fear of them breaking.
The handles here are designed to be ergonomic and comfortable to hold, which is true in terms of their shape. That being said, the metal handles don’t feature any kind of extra padding or grip, so they can be a bit slippery to hold when wet.
Something we appreciate about these pruning shears is that they are spring loaded, plus they also feature a lock for safety, so they don’t open up when not in use.
PROS
- Super durable
- Very sharp blades
- Spring-loaded
- Safety lock
- Ergonomically friendly handles
CONS
- No padding or grip on the metal handles
FINAL VERDICT
The bottom line is that there are plenty of good pruning shears out there. You want to compare the size of the shears with the size of job at hand, and an all-metal design is always nice. Other than that, the choice is up to you.