Garden Guru Professional Dual Mode Garden Clippers - Ratchet Hand Pruning Shears with Ergonomic Grip - Makes Tough Cuts Easy

I recently bought 3 garden shears, these are easily the best. They make a marvelous sound when cutting through my blackberry bush, so satisfying.

The overall quality was poor. An undersized pin broke the first day using it. An okay tool for light work like trimming rose bushes, etc. but won't last for the kind of work I bought a ratcheting pruner for.

I just turned 70 and my issue is arthritis. I struggle with the trigger squeeze after a short while. The only hand I can use tires, so I have to adjust my grip & clip. On the other hand, it does provide needed physical activity for me. But it's a hard squeeze.The lock mechanism requires a tremendous squeeze with the unit to clear the lock slide when open/close.The clippers are well built and fit well in the hand. The blade is tight and sharp and they clipped everything I needed. They are colorful and appealing, and fit right in with my other yard tools.In my world today it's hard to open prescription bottles, cut a steak, or even get both hands to work together. But overall I can manage, maybe they'll loosen up. I'm just saying for the older folks to be aware, and maybe engineering/design will look into it.

good value for the price

Okay, cons first. After the first couple of cuts (below ground level, almost digging in the dirt), the lock became harder than hell to lock. Next, the little green plastic piece fell off-but popped right back on. This, to me, is silly stuff for what you get. I've cut through over 1" tree branches. These cut through them like butter. I will admit that some give me a bit of a hard time, but usually that happens because I'm on a weird angle, the branch is to high to get a good grip, or stuff like that. I have these weird weed branches that can get to well over an inch. My old cutters, as great as they are, even sharpened, had issues with these stems. These new clippers, snap!, tree branches, snap! Are these a good deal? Oh yes! Would I buy again? You betcha! They came fast. If you don't mind the silly stuff, (lock or no lock, they still can go in my back pocket, and, like I said, the plastic grip came off once, and snapped back into place in 2 seconds or less-literally) these are absolutely the best deal out there.