Shaving my garden!! (Wilkinson Sword Power Plus Pruners)

Member Name: wendybull

Product:	Wilkinson Sword Power Plus Pruners
Date:	10/05/08 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good and reliable

Disadvantages: Have to be careful

Having just moved in to a new house at the end of summer last year, we have been faced with an outburst of new bushes and various plants shooting off incredible new leaves and so on in the garden this spring.

I needed something to keep it all under control before all the pathways were overtaken by Triffid lookalikes. So on a trip to Homebase, I saw the Wilkinson Sword products and picked up these pruners hoping they would be up for the job due to their good name in garden tools.

I wasn't let down either. The pruners fit comfortably in my hand and have soft grip handles for added grip. This just means the feel is similar to scooter or bike handles and is a soft foam type substance which clings to your hand and you won't slip down the handle if you get hot and sweaty.

It has a very simple safety catch on it which is designed to be easy to open and close but has enough of a mechanism and needs enough strength that a young child would not be able to pop it open easily which for me is good news, even though my children know not to go near things like this, sometimes curiosity over comes them at that age.

The blades are obviously one of the most important features on this and the curve of the scissor end makes it very easy to loop small branches and leaves and snip them off. I have managed to prune some quite thick branches and although this has required a fair amount of force on the pruners it went through with no problem, although I think if you were to consistently prune thicker than normal branches with these the mechanism would eventually break under the strain so advise you keep to smallish shoots and help your pruners live longer.

The blades are exceptionally sharp and you do have to be really careful when using these as accidents are all too easy in the garden. Thank fully I have had nothing worse than a blister when using these but it could happen.

Another thing I like to do is when I am pruning roses, it means I can trim, off the prickly stem and let it fall to the floor. I then pick it up very gently with the pruners, by closing the blades around the stem but not putting too much force into it and I can then lift it to the garden bag I am using for disposal without getting stabbed by thorns.

The final little feature I like that does seem to be universal with pruners, is the fact that they are on a sprung hinge which means every time you close them around something and snip, they will open again automatically. Anything labour saving is good and it does help avoid blisters as you are placing less pressure on the handles. Although in addition to this if you then place them on the ground to pick up debris or something, remember they will be open unless you have locked them shut.

Overall I am very pleased with these pruners and I clean them and keep them in their case when not in use to prolong their life. They are easily available in Homebase and other garden outlets and Wilkinson Sword is a name I trust, although don't attempt a shave with these!!!

Summary: RECOMMENDED xx