With ARS hard steel I’d expect it to be less prone to bending, and hold an edge better, but be more prone to chipping when abused. I’d expect brittle failures rather than ductile failures.
I’m happy with the fit and finish of mine. They cut very well when sharp and feel like they have tight tolerances and good finish quality. I’m not sure if mine are real or fake, but look much better than wdingus’s pictured pruners in overall quality. And I like them better than my expensive, genuine Felco’s.
Oh yeah, I’m convinced they’re not actually produced by ARS. Their “packaging” was just a clear plastic bag containing nothing but the pruners and a spare spring. Nothing that actually claims “ARS” other than on the Amazon listing itself…
https://www.arscorporation.jp/product/detail-index.html?id=280
I’ve never had any trouble with the latch on any of mine. I prefer that to the Felco’s too. I really like it. But I probably do less than an hour of cutting a week, and have several pair.
Think @alan said ARS corrected that years ago now but some of the old pruners are still out there. These ars looked good after thousands and thousands of cuts. They are dirty but the blades look and work great Thornx Pruners - #62 by clarkinks . Those are over 5 years old now.
Got my Amazon fake ARS pruners in the mail today. They are the same as @wdingus from above. They don’t even say ARS on the package just brand: vs8. These are definitely knock offs. I already called my credit card company to get a refund.
This is there newer model VS-8XZ
I bought mine last August using the same link but with Amazon, LLC as the seller. Based on the feedbacks above, I think it’s genuine.
Yeah, those are just like mine. The blades are precisely machined and the surface finishes are consistent and good. You can see striations on the blade bevel and they are uniform and radial. The bevel angle is consistent the whole length.
We have this whole convoluted thread on fake ARS pruners, yet not once do I see a mention of what distinguishes the authentic ARS from the fake ARS? I’m just really confused and frustrated reading through this thread for some answers. It seems like eveything is made more complicated in this forum rather than simplified.
False
I think when I ordered my last pair a few months ago the newer model was also available for slightly more money. It looks like the newer model has an improved fulcrum set-up. The originals are extremely difficult to tighten, loosen or remove the blades. Almost requires a vice to hold them.
I think you must have missed murky’s post where he shows a picture of the discrepancies between the real ones and the fake ones.
Here it is:
A couple other things which distinguish the fake pruners:
The "Made in Japan is oriented different on the blade on the fake ones vs. the real ones.
The fake ones have “Made in Japan” vertical with the handles, when the blades are closed. The real ones have the “Made in Japan” more toward the side, when the blades are closed.
Also the “Made in Japan” is stamped on the real ones, vs etched on the fake ones, which is what I would expect for counterfeit pruners, since it’s cheaper to etch vs. machine a stamp.
I don’t see a lock nut on the “Made in Japan” side of the fake pruners. Maybe the locknut is on the other side? Either way, there is a lock nut on the side of “Made in Japan” on the genuine ARS pruners.
Plus the VS-8 is on the opposite side of the “Made in Japan” on the real ARS pruners.
The vs8 and made in Japan are on the same side if they are authentic in the cases ive seen but im not sure the newer ones are like that. Am Leonard is an authorized dealer ARS 8-Inch V-Series Heavy-Duty Pruner
That’s not what your picture shows.
The VS-8 and ARS CORPORATION are on the same side. Made in Japan is on the reverse.
I’ve not seen any pics, or on my own where Made in Japan is on the same side as VS-8, except on the fake pruners.
Mark,
Sorry that was my mistake it’s the ars corporation and vs8 on the same side your correct I had to look at my own again and the picture. @NovaPhamily are definately authentic. The latch on the back of the vs8 is the one I mentioned that can be a bit sticky. Have to push that latch pretty hard at times its a for sure way to know with older ones. @murky pointed out that darker colored blade and other obvious problems. The raised areas in the housing that hold the spring and other huge problems are evident.
But so much more expensive than legitimate sources on Amazon, if you can just figure out who they are. Look for the company that sold me mine. Gempler’s charges less for them than AMleo, unless you have a pro account with the latter.
Another discrepancy in the above photo from a legitimate tool is the exposed part of the the handle near the spring should be completely smooth. But are all the counterfeits that poor?
Yes I buy my pruners through Amazon they are very inexpensive for authentic pruners. The knockoffs quality might be significantly different. If you want more specifics ARS heavy duty come in several sizes 7", 8" , and 9" are common eg. vs7 vs8 vs9 ARS Heavy Duty Hand Pruner-OM-M0
Light duty can come in many colors. The 130dx if you want white pruners they are 130dx-w or green would be 130dx-g
Here are the specifics on measurements Products | ARS CORPORATION
VS_Flyer.pdf (493.4 KB)
The knock offs are very easy to distinguish from the real deal. I don’t understand what the discussion is all
about.
I suppose because most people have never seen the ‘real’ ones.
Think it’s because we have a real problem with knock offs in this country now. If Amazon does not police their own store that’s concerning. When did we start having to worry about fakes and counterfeits at the store level on this type of scale? This is a new problem and it’s a big one. As several here have mentioned they want to go to Amazon buy ars pruners with no concerns. If that was our store and we were selling illegal counterfeit goods or handing out illegal counterfeit money there would be people in big trouble. Let’s say this differently you can only claim it was an accident so many times. The attorney generals office aka consumer protection agency might do things different than they once did but i doubt it. If not to protect the consumer what is the job of agencies like the bbb ?Amazon seems like they are allowing refunds so far. Counterfeiting is still a serious crime in the USA and it should not be permitted. There are agencies that protect the consumer specifically in these type of situations e-Allegations Program | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
