Hand Pruners - 8 Inch Bypass Pruning Shears - Garden Scissors - Tree Clipper - Carbon Steel Blade Hand Pruner

I received this tool today and had a chance to use it. It was good for trimming berries and Kiwi vines up to 1/2 inch. Worked fine and seems to be built strong. Grip is easy on my hand. I am happy with this purchase for the price.

I'm always looking for high quality and easy to use tools for yard work around our home in Southwest Florida. This year in particular has seen rapid vegetation growth caused by almost daily rains that far exceed what we've received in summers past. Hand pruners are a "must have" and very important to use when trimming fast growing plants--especially the "non-native" varieties like Brazilian Pepper Trees, Melalueca, and Potato Vines. Most hand pruners I've tried have failed with little use because of extensive use of plastics in their construction.So I was happy to order and try these 8 inch Bypass Pruning Shears. They seemed well-constructed and I was willing to pay a little more for better quality. They fit the hand well, are efficiently designed to maximize cutting power, and have an effective lock so that you can carry them in your pocket without exposing yourself to the hard cutting edge. But therein lies the rub, the lock on these shears engages on its own with no input from the operator.There is obviously a design flaw with the lock because it engages every time I use the shears. It's very inconvenient to have to release the lock every time it engages, especially when you've properly positioned the shears for your next cut. Anything that you have to do twice really cuts into your efficiency and doesn't play well in hot and humid Southwest Florida summers. I should probably give it two stars but it does have a lot of other things going for it. For me though, it's similar to having a car that won't come out of "Park". It's not very useful if it won't stay in "Drive".

These pruners are sturdy, but would not buy again as I like pruners which snap back open to a larger diameter than these do. These are engineered for small-branch pruning only. If you wish to use on a larger diameter, you have to constantly pry them open manually to accommodate the branch and it is very annoying.

These cut fine, and I'm happy to know they won't rust. However, the handle is not that ergonomic. They are thin and dig into your hand after a while. Good for occasional pruning, or wear padded gardening gloves if you have a lot of yardwork to do using them.

The blades cut wonderfully, but the shears feel uncomfortable in my hands. The days of a simple metal bar as a handle is long gone. The handle should be more form fitting and comfortable.

Can't complain. Have been needing to prune branches that were encroaching on my porch and driveway for a long time, finally got it done thanks to this little tool. Must be sharp because it works effortlessly.

Based on the great reviews posted, I bought these shears, but feel they aren't that much sharper or better than the 20+ year old ones I got rid of, that never had sharpened.

I must have superhuman strength, since the very first time I tried cutting a branch, the silver metal brace broke rendering the shears unusable. Very surprising and disappointing given the overwhelmingly positive reviews here.