Ratchet Pruning Shears Gardening Tool – Anvil Pruner with Assisted Action – Ratcheting Pruners for with Heavy Duty, Nonstick Steel Blade – Garden Tools by The Gardener's Friend

After trying two pruners from a different manufacturer and returning both of them, I ordered this. It arrived today and it works great. The lock mechanism works with just my thumb and the sharp blades and ratchet action cut through small limbs quickly.

Very easy to use

What a great design!I purchased a similar device on Amazon recently. It worked fairly well. That item "disappeared", so I searched for a different design. It's not easy to judge a device like this until you start using it.The new clipper looked fine. I started using it, I was astounded at the difference between the two devices. The new device has a ratcheting system that works as it's supposed to work! I had to train myself to let the device do what it's supposed to, and not struggle to get the device working.I'm glad that the design and operation of this clipper is so well done, that it's not work that I'm doing. I'm enjoying this new "partner" in gardening. No more: "Oh no, I have to trim bushes!!" I have "The Gardener's Friend 3-Stage Ratchet Pruner" I've loved good tools from the time I was taught to use them properly by my grandfather. This pruner is a gem!!

If you want just one pair of garden pruning shears to do it all from delicate herbs and blossoms to chopping off 1.5 inch limbs and saplings, this is the one. Here’s why: don’t waste your time reading the reviews from gardening posers who whine about unpacking an item, the color of its paint job, or a sticky sliding latch. You are smart enough to cut open plastic clamshells, spray or tape your tools with bright orange or loosen the slide screw and then put Loctite on it. I take the ConsumerReports approach to buying tools: I defined my needs, research the options, buy the best sounding one, try it out for three weeks and I am quick to return it and move onto the next best if it fails my needs. The Gardeners Friend deservedly has the best reviews on the Internet. Luckily it earned those. 1) lifetime guarantee. 2) SK5 cutting blade. 3) Very light but strong aluminum body 4) 4 step ratcheting mechanism 5) Much better quality control than the other alternatives on Amazon as they are all cheap & riveted.I’ll talk more about the ratchet mechanism and what to look for in my review of the Garden Guru and EZKut competitors but Gardener’s Friend has a better size, smoother rachet, better quality control, $10 cheaper than EZ Kut and that all-important real LIFETIME GUARANTY. I will try to update my review in a month. JBM

Performed as advertised,I am happy with item!

Not suitable for small hands or actual use. It doesn't open very wide and when it is fully open it's hard for small hands to close. I do not know how well or even if it cuts because we opted to return it within hours of receiving it.

I have had several of these over the years and the are very good for pruning shrubs and small branches. The rachet feature is very effective when cutting thicker branches.

I expected better for the price and quantity of the 5 star ratings I saw. 1st and foremost, toss the majority of 5 those star ratings. Anyone who’s used shears before, or used these to any extent would not in their right mind give 5 stars for this product.As soon as I saw the packaging, I was disappointed. The shears were packaged in a typical Taiwanese plastic/cardboard package that did not convey any sense of quality. The label on the shear was crooked and not firmly affixed. There was a spare blade oiler in the package and now I know why. But you’re not reading this to see if the package was up to snuff, are you?Construction: The pivots are all rivets, there are no bolts and nuts holding it together but there is no noticeable looseness or wiggle of the cutting blade. The handle was able to accommodate my normal sized hand with a medium duty glove on. I see others had issues with gloves using this, I did not.Performance: The shears were razor sharp out of the package and initial cuts were effortless. The ratchet mechanism worked fine and there was no blade flex when trying to cut large branches at an awkward angle.I found the ratchet mechanism worked well and with each squeeze and release it indexed properly allowing quick cuts. There was never a time where this did not work. I was able to cut the smallest twig to about 1 inch saplings without any problems.As cutting progressed, i did have to exert slightly more effort, but the shears did not exhibit any major change in its ability.As others mentioned, the blade oiler that is stored in the handle disappeared along the way (thus the spare in the package) and locking the blade is difficult.They did the job today and hopefully they’ll continue to do the job in the future. But in the end, they’re just okay.