Garden Shears

Bachistricky

Hi,
Can anyone recommend a good quality pair of hand-held shears. I seem to get through a pair every year.

Thanks

magicbastarder

do they break on you? or get blunt?

Bachistricky

I hope I can explain this properly; but it's usually where the blades come together so they eventually don't seem to cut sharply, the blades themselves are fine.

I do tend to go hell for leather on the hedges.

lk67

Bachistricky wrote: »

I hope I can explain this properly; but it's usually where the blades come together so they eventually don't seem to cut sharply, the blades themselves are fine.

I do tend to go hell for leather on the hedges.

CK brand shears are the best I ever came across, the wavy bladed version. Once you keep them cleaned, sharpened correctly and tensioned they will cut and last a lifetime.

I think they're a hardware more so than garden centre brand.

Not cheap but great value.

magicbastarder

Bachistricky wrote: »

I hope I can explain this properly; but it's usually where the blades come together so they eventually don't seem to cut sharply, the blades themselves are fine.

do the blades consistently rub together as you close the shears? and have you tried sharpening them?

Roselm

Is there a place to get shears sharpened or how do people do it?

Jimmy_M

Bachistricky wrote: »

I hope I can explain this properly; but it's usually where the blades come together so they eventually don't seem to cut sharply, the blades themselves are fine.

I do tend to go hell for leather on the hedges.

Are you saying they loosen at the junction of the 2 blades?
You should be able to just tighten the nut there.

my3cents

lk67 wrote: »

CK brand shears are the best I ever came across, the wavy bladed version. Once you keep them cleaned, sharpened correctly and tensioned they will cut and last a lifetime.

I think they're a hardware more so than garden centre brand.

Not cheap but great value.

+1 if these are the ones you mean http://www.amazon.co.uk/C-k-5029-Legend-Golden-Shears/dp/B003KMX2YG

They'll last a life time provided you aren't cutting chain link fence with them but I would warn that some people find them heavy to work with.

Bachistricky

Thanks everyone. I think it is time to make a quality investment. I have to admit my last shears were from the ubiquitous German supermarket and their throw-away prices are very tempting.

my3cents

Bachistricky wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I think it is time to make a quality investment. I have to admit my last shears were from the ubiquitous German supermarket and their throw-away prices are very tempting.

You could probably by 10 pairs of ubiquitous German supermarket shears for the price of the CK Golden Armour shears but the problem is you'd probably not look at it that way and hang on to one pair of cheap ones beyond their usefulness.

Nothing wrong with cheap gear if it does the work. The trick is to know when to throw it away and buy new, which is normally sooner than most people are prepared for.

Bachistricky

I know the CK shears are expensive, but I would hope they would be an investment. I bought a pair of Felcro No. 2 pruners and they are still going strong after at least seven years. So, hopefully the CK shears are of a similar quality, I would need to get at least eight years out of them to make it pay. Hard to know..

Has anyone had the CK Legend Shears for several years?

my3cents

Bachistricky wrote: »

I know the CK shears are expensive, but I would hope they would be an investment. I bought a pair of Felcro No. 2 pruners and they are still going strong after at least seven years. So, hopefully the CK shears are of a similar quality, I would need to get at least eight years out of them to make it pay. Hard to know..

Has anyone had the CK Legend Shears for several years?

+25 They have had various names over the years they were sold as Chrome Armour (written in gold on black handles) when I bought them but they are exactly the same as the ones I linked to on amazon.

Bachistricky

That's confirmed my answer.

my3cents

Not a massive amount but there is currently a fiver off when you spend fifty on gardening stuff on amazon.

lk67

As I already mentioned CK shears will last a lifetime if not a few livetimes. As someone else also mentioned, Felco secateurs are the best on the market imo. They are two investments every semi-serious gardener should make.

Just look after them and don't lone them to anyone!