All About Shears

The sheer joy of shears

A scissor-like tool of relatively large size, shears of various types aid gardeners with the trimming of everything from branches to tiny stems. Like scissors, shears combine slightly offset jaws to snip material through physical shear.  Featuring levers to apply leverage and create considerable shear force, this hand held tool can cut through material that ordinary scissors cannot. 

Tricks of the trade

Hedge shears shape and gently prune hedges. Lightweight hedge shears with serrated blades can cut through even the heaviest branches.  Look for a tool with a comfortable grip and heft.  All shears should come with replaceable parts to extend the life of the tool.

Bypass pruners handle the detail work of gardening. Like scissors do, the blade passes by a flat base and the cut is made as the blade passes over. A handheld bypass pruner can be used to trim vine stalks, to finish off hedges, or to manicure flowerbeds.

Anvil pruning shears do imprecise work such as thinning shrubs. Anvil pruners pinch the wood between the blade and a base, making the cut like a knife does. 

Use flower shears for cutting flowers. With an anvil blade that is pointed at both ends, this tool can make it through tightly packed stems. 

Use lopping shears (or "loppers") for cutting heavier wood. Look for light weight lopping sheers with a sturdy joint and comfortable grips.  Newer models feature ergonomic handles, rubberized shock absorbing handles, and clever shapes.  Loppers should have a bypass cutting head for making pruning cuts close to the trunk or stem.  Longer handles put higher branches and the tops of shrubs within reach.  Lopping shears also come with a shorter handle for pruning stems such as rose bushes that are too thick for handheld shears to accommodate easily. 

Use grass shears for trimming around sprinklers, fence posts or tree trunks. These make quick work of grasses but are inappropriate for cutting anything larger. 

Staying sharp
 
Clamp the hand shears in a bench vice in the open position. Most pruners have only one cutting blade, so that is the only side you need to sharpen.  Use a flat metal bench file to sharpen the blade.  Place the file at a 45-degree angle to the edge of the blade.  Keep the file at the same angle and sharpen in only one direction, not back and forth. A few passes with the file should make a sharp cutting edge. 

Cleaning pruning shears after each use will prolong the life of the tool. A solvent may be needed to remove sap from the blades, and they should be disassembled periodically to remove debris from under the blade or inside the joint.

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