I asked 2 questions on the gardening forum for recs on secateurs circa £20.

Felco is a brand suggested by some. Ok but the 2nd Q was regarding the
springs themselves.

Not sure I'm going for Felco, more likely a cheaper make. Plenty of time for
decisions.

Ok I'm aware that replacement springs are available :-

http://tinyurl.com/mbuooe9

My experience with the cheapo Homebase, B&Q, Kingfisher etc brands, is that
the springs go, long before the blades.

So the question is : Would the springs last longer if the secateurs were not
stored (in my shed) in the locked position? Perhaps kept unlocked, wrapped
in an old sock?

Ok for safety reasons, the makers recommend keeping them stored locked but
doesn't this keep the springs permanently under tension, thus reducing their
longevity? What does the team think? TIA

Bertie Doe wrote:

I asked 2 questions on the gardening forum for recs on secateurs circa £20.

Felco is a brand suggested by some. Ok but the 2nd Q was regarding the
springs themselves.

Not sure I'm going for Felco, more likely a cheaper make. Plenty of time for
decisions.

Ok I'm aware that replacement springs are available :-

http://tinyurl.com/mbuooe9

My experience with the cheapo Homebase, B&Q, Kingfisher etc brands, is that
the springs go, long before the blades.

So the question is : Would the springs last longer if the secateurs were not
stored (in my shed) in the locked position? Perhaps kept unlocked, wrapped
in an old sock?

Ok for safety reasons, the makers recommend keeping them stored locked but
doesn't this keep the springs permanently under tension, thus reducing their
longevity? What does the team think? TIA

My Felco No 2 have now had over 30 years of normal domestic use,
and are showing little signs of ageing.

At the same time, I have another pair I picked up about 15 years
ago on a market for £2, clearly a foreign copy of the design,
though they did change the handle colour to green. ;-)

They have had lighter use, don't feel as if they take quite as
sharp an edge, but remain perfectly serviceable.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.

"Chris J Dixon" wrote in message
...

Bertie Doe wrote:
Ok for safety reasons, the makers recommend keeping them stored locked but
doesn't this keep the springs permanently under tension, thus reducing
their
longevity? What does the team think? TIA

My Felco No 2 have now had over 30 years of normal domestic use,
and are showing little signs of ageing.

At the same time, I have another pair I picked up about 15 years
ago on a market for £2, clearly a foreign copy of the design,
though they did change the handle colour to green. ;-)

They have had lighter use, don't feel as if they take quite as
sharp an edge, but remain perfectly serviceable.

That interesting what you say about forgeries Chris. When ur.gardening
recommended the Felco and wait till Amazon are doing a sale, where you could
get one for £30.

I countered with the ebay first search page http://tinyurl.com/mbuooe9 lot
cheaper but some posters mentioned the possible forgery aspect.

http://tinyurl.com/mbuooe9

Mind you, some of the sellers have almost 100% feedback rating. Would have
thought someone would have spotted a duff one by now?

No rush to buy at the moment. The allotment will stay covered in black weed
matting and tarp until Spring.

The question remains, if I opt for a cheapo set of secateurs, should they be
stored unlocked?

"Bertie Doe" wrote in message
...


"Chris J Dixon" wrote in message
...

Bertie Doe wrote:
Ok for safety reasons, the makers recommend keeping them stored locked
but
doesn't this keep the springs permanently under tension, thus reducing
their
longevity? What does the team think? TIA

My Felco No 2 have now had over 30 years of normal domestic use,
and are showing little signs of ageing.

At the same time, I have another pair I picked up about 15 years
ago on a market for £2, clearly a foreign copy of the design,
though they did change the handle colour to green. ;-)

They have had lighter use, don't feel as if they take quite as
sharp an edge, but remain perfectly serviceable.

That interesting what you say about forgeries Chris. When ur.gardening
recommended the Felco and wait till Amazon are doing a sale, where you
could get one for £30.

I countered with the ebay first search page http://tinyurl.com/mbuooe9 lot
cheaper but some posters mentioned the possible forgery aspect.

http://tinyurl.com/mbuooe9

Mind you, some of the sellers have almost 100% feedback rating. Would have
thought someone would have spotted a duff one by now?

No rush to buy at the moment. The allotment will stay covered in black
weed matting and tarp until Spring.

The question remains, if I opt for a cheapo set of secateurs, should they
be stored unlocked?
Logically if stored unlocked there will be no stress on the spring. Having
said that, my old Wolf secateurs (now at least 35yo) have always been stored
locked. Still working but the knife edge is becoming too short to meet the
anvil due to repeated sharpening over the years. Spring is in perfect
working order.
As with all things, I suppose you get what you pay for. Hopefully.
HTH,
Nick.

"Nick" wrote in message ...
Bertie Doe wrote

The question remains, if I opt for a cheapo set of secateurs, should they
be stored unlocked?

Logically if stored unlocked there will be no stress on the spring. Having
said that, my old Wolf secateurs (now at least 35yo) have always been
stored locked. Still working but the knife edge is becoming too short to
meet the anvil due to repeated sharpening over the years. Spring is in
perfect working order.
As with all things, I suppose you get what you pay for. Hopefully.

Thanks for that, will go for crossover rather than anvil. Will have a look
at Wolf.

http://tinyurl.com/mw6tyby

I see there's a slotted bolt. Is this for wear and tear overtime or for
thickness of branches?

On 12/01/2015 15:03, Bertie Doe wrote:


"Nick" wrote in message ...
Bertie Doe wrote

The question remains, if I opt for a cheapo set of secateurs, should
they be stored unlocked?

Logically if stored unlocked there will be no stress on the spring.
Having said that, my old Wolf secateurs (now at least 35yo) have
always been stored locked. Still working but the knife edge is
becoming too short to meet the anvil due to repeated sharpening over
the years. Spring is in perfect working order.
As with all things, I suppose you get what you pay for. Hopefully.

Thanks for that, will go for crossover rather than anvil. Will have a
look at Wolf.

http://tinyurl.com/mw6tyby

I see there's a slotted bolt. Is this for wear and tear overtime or for
thickness of branches?


I have had a pair of Felcro for years, no problems, until 5 months ago
the spring disappeared. I was going to replace it, but as the last thing
I had been doing was cutting branches up to fit in the Council's rubbish
bin I emptied it out, scrabbled around and found it. I replaced it and
his has been working fine since. I don't think the age is relevant,
surely it is how much they are used, that is hard to estimate.

On Monday, January 12, 2015 at 3:03:12 PM UTC, Bertie Doe wrote:
"Nick" wrote in message ...
Bertie Doe wrote

The question remains, if I opt for a cheapo set of secateurs, should they
be stored unlocked?

Logically if stored unlocked there will be no stress on the spring. Having
said that, my old Wolf secateurs (now at least 35yo) have always been
stored locked. Still working but the knife edge is becoming too short to
meet the anvil due to repeated sharpening over the years. Spring is in
perfect working order.
As with all things, I suppose you get what you pay for. Hopefully.

Thanks for that, will go for crossover rather than anvil. Will have a look
at Wolf.

http://tinyurl.com/mw6tyby

I see there's a slotted bolt. Is this for wear and tear overtime or for
thickness of branches?

the sliding bit is the lock.


NT

"Broadback" wrote in message ...

On 12/01/2015 15:03, Bertie Doe wrote:
http://tinyurl.com/mw6tyby

I see there's a slotted bolt. Is this for wear and tear overtime or for
thickness of branches?


I have had a pair of Felcro for years, no problems, until 5 months ago the
spring disappeared. I was going to replace it, but as the last thing I had
been doing was cutting branches up to fit in the Council's rubbish bin I
emptied it out, scrabbled around and found it. I replaced it and his has
been working fine since. I don't think the age is relevant, surely it is
how much they are used, that is hard to estimate.

Yes it seems to be a choice between Felcro (lifetime guarantee) and Wolf (10
year).

Suspect they'll both outlive me :-) or (more likely) outlive my enthusiasm
for the allotment.

wrote in message
...
On Monday, January 12, 2015 at 3:03:12 PM UTC, Bertie Doe wrote:

http://tinyurl.com/mw6tyby

I see there's a slotted bolt. Is this for wear and tear overtime or for
thickness of branches?

the sliding bit is the lock.

Ah thanks for that. I'll probably keep it locked in transit but store it
unlocked - best of both worlds.

On 12/01/2015 12:56, Bertie Doe wrote:
I asked 2 questions on the gardening forum for recs on secateurs circa £20.

Felco is a brand suggested by some. Ok but the 2nd Q was regarding the
springs themselves.

Not sure I'm going for Felco, more likely a cheaper make. Plenty of time
for decisions.

Ok I'm aware that replacement springs are available :-

http://tinyurl.com/mbuooe9

My experience with the cheapo Homebase, B&Q, Kingfisher etc brands, is
that the springs go, long before the blades.

So the question is : Would the springs last longer if the secateurs were
not stored (in my shed) in the locked position? Perhaps kept unlocked,
wrapped in an old sock?

Ok for safety reasons, the makers recommend keeping them stored locked
but doesn't this keep the springs permanently under tension, thus
reducing their longevity? What does the team think? TIA

I bought a pair of these on ebay:

Stihl Garden Pruners


My only complaint is that there is no hole to make a loop to hang them up.

Stihl are a good brand, better known for their chain saws etc.


--
Michael Chare

"Michael Chare" wrote in message
o.uk...

On 12/01/2015 12:56, Bertie Doe wrote:
Ok for safety reasons, the makers recommend keeping them stored locked
but doesn't this keep the springs permanently under tension, thus
reducing their longevity? What does the team think? TIA

I bought a pair of these on ebay:

Stihl Garden Pruners


My only complaint is that there is no hole to make a loop to hang them up.

Stihl are a good brand, better known for their chain saws etc.

I'll add those to my watch list, together with Wolf and Felco.

I've heard of Stihl but there's very few on Ebay :-
http://tinyurl.com/mbj2l9z




--
Michael Chare