I agree. This is their weak link if there is one. The thing about is that I open the pruners and then flip the locking arm forward again (there’s 2 positions or three if closing the tool counts) until the arm flips up against the inside handle. I can certainly take a picture. The rest of it is bang! It cuts so well and fiercely. I haven’t tried your ARS suggestion but I’m only 50, so I will give it a shot one of these times to own (2) pairs of differing pruners.
I’m interested now in your saw. I’ll probably buy one. Thanks, @alan
The closure on the okatsunes is way better than in any other pruner I have used. The spring in it is very strong. It opens and closes with a good solid snap. Operation is easy once you get used to it, either brush it over your thigh to open and close or flick it off with your pinky finger if it’s strong enough. There is zero chance of it accidentally locking mid prune as with some other types of lock.
As others has said, the steal is fantastic, they feel bombproof and noise they make in use is fantastic.
Pros tend to use either a high quality Felco or the ARS model mentioned around here. I started using the ARS when everyone was using Felco but once they tried the ARS the majority prefer it- the only people I know of that use the Okats prune bonsais professionally.
However, even pros sometimes have their own idiosyncratic favs, but usually when a tool is popular among people that use it constantly to make a living there is something to it. .An individual may prefer a certain tool only because they are used to it.
I have one, but don’t often use it. I like to be close to my work as it’s quicker and more accurate. However, not everyone is on ladders or in trees all day long so that extension pruners can be useful, but I prefer a long reach lopper so I can cut more than fine stuff.
That’s a fallacy. “pro’s” usually learn from someone. And buy the same tool there teacher or mentor or other “pro’s” have. Pro’s also copy or get something because they are used to it.
It is also very location dependent. I think in japan the “pro’s” use okatsune more than felco. Probably tool “culture” has something to do with it to. Some cultures take good care and cherish there tools. Others just want them to be bullet proof. Or trow away. If had both felco’s and okatsune in my hands. I prefer the okatsune. But would not advise it to some one who does not take great care of their tools.
No, it is an opinion and like all opinions it is not a statement of pure truth, but is nevertheless generally true as any skilled tradesmen knows. We tend to use tools that last and work well because our livelihoods depend on it and frequent use aids evaluation (my own hours of experience pruning fruit trees with hand tools is higher than anyone you’ve likely met, most commercial fruit growers have a comparatively short pruning season, mine is full time, 7 months per annum). For instance, landscapers who do a lot of pruning will most likely use a Felco or ARS unless they are equipping a crew at their own expense and can’t afford to because of lost, stolen and broken tools. Both are quality tools that cannot be purchased at big box stores.
If you go to a store like OESCO which provides tools and other equipment for commercial orchardists in the northeast you can see a very wide range of hand pruners, Almost every one of them with a design that has been introduced in the last half century has a clever closure mechanism that can be operated by the hand holding it.
All that said, experts often disagree, but I want you to make an argument about the closure of your tool and how it compares to the one on the ARS. Then tell me about the comparative nature of their cutting ability based on your experience.
Felcos have softer steel than Japanese pruners like ARS or Okat so aren’t quite as sharp, but Felcos are quicker and easier to sharpen. I suspect it was a conscious choice by the engineers.
Incidentally almost no one I know ever leaves their pruning tools in the rain, that isn’t something even the weekend hobbyists I know tend to do. It can happen if a tool is set down and forgotten, but all the top of the line pruning tools have parts that rust, as far as I know.
Also, Japanese culture is pretty steeped in tradition- they were pushed towards a more innovative approach as a result of western competition, but their agricultural sector is well protected from that competition with very steep tariffs. Maybe when you are paid $5 for a single ripe Fuji apple you don’t have to prune especially quickly .
I have not used the ars model so can’t compare directly to that. As I have not used it its perfectly possible i’d end up preferring it! I’ve used felco, stihl, fisksrs and countless others though.
Locking mechanisms can sometimes be accidentally caught with the thumb when snipping away and a pruner that locks itself like this really annoys me. Other locking systems work perfectly and don’t have this problem.
I’ve used pruners that have a similar closure to the okatsune and you’re right, they are often a weak set up made of plastic with a pathetic spring. The okatsune closure is very strong, all metal with a spring that very definitely means the lock is either on or off. Once open that is it, they are open. One handed operation is easy and quick. I wouldn’t rule them out because similar looking systems have failed you previously.
I also like the fact that they are so simple with fewer parts than the average pruners which may be part of the reason they feel so bomb proof (I appreciate that may make little real practical difference).
The steal is fabulous. One of these days I need to try the ARS and maybe they’ll become my new favourite but if you have the chance to play with the okatsunes you should give them a whirl too, I’d be very interested to see what think.
If you use your pruners without alternating to a loppers and or pruning saw than the locking mechanism needn’t be one hand operation. The best pruner is entirely based on what it is needed for. For instance, for a pruner I keep in my pocket the ARS can be dangerous because it can open accidentally, at the very least it is a PIA to extract from ones pocket when it opens accidentally. I keep a cheap Felco (because it is very light and usually stays locked) in my pocket these days. I keep my ARS in a holster.
How can the hand operation of your pruner be onehanded? Your fingers can’t reach the base of the handles when you hold it.
For many hobbyists and some pros the best choice may be different than mine. That said, the ARS locking mechanism doesn’t tend to interfere with pruning and lock unintentionally. But then, I don’t find the Felcos do either. My main issue with locking mechanisms is unintentional opening.
I just looked at the model and the description claims it is easy to operate with one hand, so I really don’t know what I’m talking about if that is true. They are probably similar to ARS in cutting ability and might be as good or better a pruner if as good as advertised, but the ARS holds up for many years of constant use so it will be a while before I’m likely to try it. Incidentally, one contractor compared it to ARS and said your pruner doesn’t hold up nearly as well but cuts as well- one claim cannot be trusted, of course.
Maybe it should be my pocket pruner, though- I like the harder steel and you claim when it’s locked it’s locked.
If handled okatsune and felco’s so i can compare those. I’f not seen ARS in real life.
They are easy to operate with one hand, that is true.
Usually you swipe the locking mechanism against your trouser (thighs) but anything works. (some also operate with pinky finger)
the steel is amazing. You feel when sharpening it’s quality steel. If also sharpened a felco once. It’s softer steel. But felco’s don’t rust. And that’s a major advantage.
Pruners live in my pockets too. I’ve been using okatsunes 4 or 5 years and have been trying to remember if they’ve ever accidently opened in my pocket. I wouldn’t like to guarantee 100% that they never have but I can’t honestly clearly recall it happening so it is a million miles from a recurring issue. As for 1 handed operation, I can hand on heart say that that is as easy as pie.
Felcos do rust, the screws are not stainless. I have found a dropped pear of Felcos exposed to our humid climate for months- they were a mess. The advantage, I think, is easy sharpening. You keep referring to the steel and all I’ve been endorsing is the ARS ES series which I suspect use the same hardness of steel as yours.
We are equally ignorant of the other’s favorite, but looking at your tool, I doubt it would feel as good in my hand as the ARS. However, I’d like to hear from someone that actually knows what they are talking about in the sense of having used both tools and also being an experienced pruner.
I found some side to side comparison. Interestingly, the NYT article chooses Felco 2 as the best while saying if you can find an ARS it might be better because it is sharper. Your pruner is also highly rated.
In the end, any quality hand pruner is perfectly adequate for someone that doesn’t spend most of their life pruning.
well I’m not the one making inaccurate claims about pruners or claiming to know best…
you say you think they use the same steel (ARS and okatsune). What proof or reason do you have for this claim?
You claim the okatsune locking mechanism to be “bad” or primitive, while having never had it in your hand… how did you come to this conclusion?
anyway i have no intrest in this going into a “i know best and your wrong” way of discussion.
I’ll just leave it at, i personally prefer the okatsune over felco. Both for the hardness of the steel and quality of locking mechanism. (i much prefer the okatsune mechanism over the thumb lock most pruners have)
One advantage for example on the okatsune mechanism, you can easily operate it with thick gloves. Especially nice if you want to wear gloves while pruning. Some thumb lock pruners can also be locked/unlocked with gloves. But it’s usually a bit finnicky.
I prefer felco’s in a case where I’m not going to be cleaning my pruners regularly. Or where it might stay wet for a few hours.
I’m guessing you didn’t read my comments very carefully and you are being offensive, really. I said I didn’t know what I was talking about, actually, once I looked into the matter more deeply and I also stated that I was comparing the Okat with ARS and never Felco. I also said from the start that I was stating opinion and not fact, albeit the opinion of a very experienced pruner.
I jumped to the conclusion about the closure because I have used very similar looking Japanese pruners and seen photos of the Okat, but apparently it is different. I took the trouble to look it up because Dave wrote that it has a great closure system and so realized my mistake and stated it before you decided to insult me. Actually you insulted me twice, all I did was contradict you.
One thing that I forgot to mention is that when I used Felcos, including their rotating handle model, I regularly got RMS to the point where it was painful to brush my teeth during the winter pruning season. It hurt like hell. The issue disappeared when I began using the ARS model which makes me a pretty loyal customer. There is something about its shape that works for my hands.
.