- Shears are used for topiary, cutting back herbaceous plants and trimming hedges and small areas of long grass. Although some shears have a notch at the base of one blade to facilitate the cutting of the occasional tough stem, shears are best reserved for their specific, light 'hair cutting' work. Use proper pruning tools to tackle heavier stems and branches.
- A good pair of shears will be light, strong and comfortable to operate. Check their balance before purchasing, to ensure that the blades are not much heavier than the handles, which makes them tiring to use.
- As with all cutting tools, clean and lightly oil after use, and sharpen regularly. Specialist shears, such as topiary shears are also available from good garden centres.
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- Cutting branches and stems thicker than about 1 cm (½ in) quickly damages secateurs and shears, and is dealt with most effectively by specialist tools.
- Loppers (long-handled pruners) are essentially secateurs with additional leverage and reach, making it easy to cut stems up to about 2.5cm (1 cm) thick and branches that are difficult to reach. Loppers should be well balanced so that you can use them comfortably at full strech and overhead.
- Tree pruners also cut branches up to 2.5cm (1 in) thick. The cutting, operated by a lever a cord, is housed at the end of a long pole, sometimes an extending or telescopic one.
- A good pair of loppers should be light, strong and comfortable to operate. Check their balance before purchasing, to ensure that the blades are not much heavier than the handles, which makes them tiring to use.
- As with all cutting tools, clean and lightly oil after use, and sharpen regularly. Specialist shears, such as topiary shears are also available from good garden centres.
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- For branches more than 2.5cm (1 in) thick, use a pruning saw. A general-purpose pruning saw will be sufficient for most needs. Its small blade, usually no more than 46cm (18 in) long, means that it may be used even in confined spaces.
- A Grecian saw has a curved blade, which cuts on the pull stroke only - particularly useful fo pruning in a tight area. A small, folding pruning saw is ideal for those with limited storage space and pruning needs. However, it is not as strong and effective as a bow saw, which wil cut through even the thickest branches quickly.
- All types should have heat-treated, hard-point teeth, which are tougher and stay sharper for longer than regular saw blades, although they still need regular sharpening to remain fully effective.
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- The general-purpose gardener's knife is possibly the most essential garden tool. Use it to open bag of compost, cut twine and cane to length, and for taking cuttings, pruning small plants and deadheading.
- A plastic or wooden handle is not as cold to handle in winter as a metal one. Choose a carbon-steel blade for longevity, wiping it dry and rubbing it over with an oily rag after use.
- Specialist knives include budding and curved pruning knives; multi-purpose knives have several different types of blade folded into one handle.
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