I use a pair of Felco ones for left handed folk. Just remember to keep whichever ones you buy clean and sharpened.

Wolf. I inherited a pair from my late mother-in-law. She had them at least 10 years and they have been mine for the last 12 years, what better can you ask? I also agree with M.G. keep them clean and sharpened. I 'service' mine at least twice a year.

I have a good 6-8 pairs , of varying quality . They can be easily mislaid when you're busy in the garden .
I use a penetrating thick oil on them whilst they are resting for the winter .

Hi, I agree with Mg, I have a pair of "felco", {not for left handed people}, which I have had for about 32 years, as said, keep them clean, sharp, and well oiled, Derek.

I have Felco 2's but...at £70, are they worth it ????

They are top secateurs though with a lifetime guarantee

Hi, well mine were certainly not £70, but again that was 32 years ago, but even at that price, I think they represent good value for money, {just over £2 per year}, and if I ever lost them, or they eventually wore out, I'm pretty certain I would replace them with another pair of the same, I always say buy the best you can afford, don't buy cheap, as the latter usually turns out to be anything but, Derek.

how do you guys keep hold of them for so long? i loose them all over the place. I have resorted to lots of the cheaper ones so I can always find a pair. However a few pairs seem to avoid the getting lost thing and could do with a clean up. How do you all sharpen them?

Hi Sandra, you can buy yourself a garden hand tool belt with a sort of holster on it, that you can put your secateurs into.
As to sharpening, you will notice that the cutting blade gets thicker as you move away from the edge, and has a bit of a curve on 1 side, and is flat on the other, use a whett stone on the flat side only, keeping the stone in contact with the full depth of the blade, don't be tempted to try and sharpen the curved side of the blade, as this will just make the secateurs useless, as there will be a gap when you try to cut anything, Derek.

Yup agree with Derek and, for me, keeping them clean includes dunking them in the sink and srubbing off the detritus...

I'd just loose the belt Derek...but i will give the sharpening a go. MG I always keep them clean...most important...thanks for the advise..

Sandra, paint the handles a nice bright colour, such as orange or red, I find that helps me to locate them, when I've popped them down.. Incidentally, I do have two or three pairs of 'cheaper' secateurs, for odd jobs, but I still prefer my Wolf.

I do usually buy bright coloured ones Waddy and I am getting better at not losing them quite so often.. my brother bought me a nice pair for my birthday but as they have wooden handles it's almost as if they are camouflaged in the garden...lol

Another vote for felco secateurs. Another vote for the left-handed version too :-)

Felco are great but I do 35 gardens a week and have a nasty habit of losing secateurs on a regular basis.

I find the £2.29p ones from Wilkinsons are pretty damn good and cheap as chips so losing them isn't too much of a problem. The only real problem is that the spring occasionally comes off but for that price who gives a fig.

Avoid pound shop secateurs like the plague. They're totally hopeless

One pair of Felcos or 20+ pairs of Wilkinsons.

I know which I choose( Wilkinsons) and would probably still do so even if I were only doing my own garden

I have to agree Anchorman...I'm sure the felcos ones have earned their reputation but I would be scared to take them out into the garden. I had a £20 pound pair once I tried extra hard...but where are they i know not. But I am going to try and sharpen the few pairs i have.

I've had a pair of black & decker anvil secateurs for best part of 25 years, still cutting well, never been sharpened, never let me down. Bought a pair of felco bypass (larger cut than the b&d) 18 months ago - cost no where near £70. My really old, very cheap ones were defeated by the privet hedge - not the blades - the ratchety pin bit went on them.
I don't think it's the cost or the make but how you look after them and using them properly - ie not trying to cut bigger than they're meant to.

I was looking through a back copy of Gardening which? magazine this week and the Wlkinson sword ones got the best review.

Checked yesterday in the local garden centre and the Felco 2's were indeed £69.95

you flower growers must be a clumsy lot of bugg####xxxxsteve

I absolutely loathe Felco secateurs - they're uncomfortable in the hand I find, but its what we had to use at college. Since then, I've tried various ones, but as I'm often losing them, I don't spend so much now, and after years and years of trying different pairs, I'm with Waddy - Wolf all the way for me. I particularly like the comfort grip ones they make and have had my current pair for over 4 years. They're good and sharp, and the handles are red, so easier to find when you've left them in the border. Wolf Garten tools have their own supplier website in the UK, easy to deal with - they're made in Germany, and that's always a good thing - they seem to be terribly good at manufacturing things. I'm equally impressed with my German made vacuum cleaner!

Interesting Bamboo I find my Felco's sit perfectly in my hand… I looked at Wolf in the GC but they didn't seem to have for left handed folk. If you go to Felco's own website they are cheaper than any GC and are made in Switzerland - I guess it is a case of different secateurs for different folk!

I was trying to say that they are lost on a regular basis , so paying too much ( in my case) would be bad news .
I currently have a "best" pair that are ratcheted too .

Mu favourites just say "Made in Germany" but the others are Spear and Jackson and also excellent. Take a stem with you to the shop and try before you buy.

The last time I needed to buy a jug kettle, I went into the shop asked for a left-handed one. The assistant looked very confused until I pointed at one and asked her to pick it up with her left hand - the water measuring viewer was at the back. Now they're made with it viewable from both sides

My neighbour has a pair of Felco's. I've tried them. they're no different at all to use than the £2.29 ones from Wilkinsons. They're virtually identical in design. I'm sure they last longer but I suspect not 20 times longer

These are the ones and they're now £2.50p (Extortionate!)

http://preview.tinyurl.com/oefhwx6

I give mine a lot of use and the only problem is sometimes the spring comes loose. That can be fixed by taking it off ,elongating it half a cm (by pulling it )and putting it back

Right, here you go, this is my top recommendation (in case you're interested!)
Wolf Garden Bypass secateurs RR2500, cuts up to 22mm thickness, right or left handed use, easy on the wrist, currently available at £12. I think I might order myself a pair now as the price is so good at the moment, and mine are getting a bit blunt after 5 years of almost daily use.

If you like anvil ones with a spring, then you won't like this pair... I always use bypass pruners, its easier to get an accurate cut on smaller branches, I've found.

I purchased my first pair of Felco secateurs for 7s. & 6d. over 50 years ago, that was trade price.
You can get spare blades for them, don't forget to know the size you have. They have red handles which makes them easy to find.
The plastic cover comes off with continual wear, the aluminium will make your hands black.
The blades are not stainless steel which gives you more chance of sharpening them correctly.
I have pruned 300 Floribunda roses without sharpening the blade, only oiling them when they get blocked with sap. Don't use your best pair for cutting out suckers or very large dead wood on anything.

Blimey! Bit overwhelmed by all your responses! Having read through them all I will be shopping around and will have to see what feels most comfortable. I have small hands and find a lot of the secateurs too heavy and too chuncky. Thanks for all your suggestions though. Have written some down and as it's my birthday coming up.......

I have smallish hands, Amsterdam, partially because I'm female I guess, and they've never been particularly strong, nor my wrists. Strong arms, but what's on the end has never been powerful, lol. That's why I like the Wolf ones, they seem to fit my hand comfortably and don't need a huge amount of pressure to make the cut...

I do have large hands so maybe the Wilko secateurs I use wouldn't be suitable for folk with small hands

Felco's come in different sizes...

They ought to at that price!

:^)

They are not nearly as expensive if you buy direct from the company rather than from a GC. A friend of mine has had hers for over 20 years… damned sight cheaper than buy a new pair of 'cheap' ones every year or so!

"damned sight cheaper than buy a new pair of 'cheap' ones every year or so! "

Couldn't agree more but they're a very expensive item to lose and in my job ,constantly moving from customer to customer, I lose at least 1 pair a year

Ah well Anchorman what can I say...

It has been interesting to get your opinion from people who garden profesionnaly or who have been doing it a while and some who swear by a cretain brand. Each to their own I suppose!

Yep, in the end, it's down to what fits your hand and strength best.

Agreed Bamboo...

This post has been handy to read through as I have to buy a pair of secateurs this week. I don't know what make mine were but they have served me well for 10 years. My son came to help last week and he tackles branches far too thick for my secateurs and as he is so strong, yes, he broke them. So reading these posts will now guide me the right way for a replacement - and I'll hide them from my son and give him a saw.
Hope you are all having good weather today and hope it's the start of Spring properly. x

This post has been handy to read through as I have to buy a pair of secateurs this week. I don't know what make mine were but they have served me well for 10 years. My son came to help last week and he tackles branches far too thick for my secateurs and as he is so strong, yes, he broke them. So reading these posts will now guide me the right way for a replacement - and I'll hide them from my son and give him a saw.
Hope you are all having good weather today and hope it's the start of Spring properly. x

Sprog - I have since bought a pair of Wolf secateurs and am very happy with them. I have also sharpened some older ones with a wet stone and they have come up beautiful! Spent today pruning my 7 buddleia shrubs with my new and sharp secateurs.