I like the aluminum handled Bahcos I bought after Harvestman’s endorsement.
A couple of times on gnarly wood I could feel the aluminum handle flexing under intense pressure, but they never felt like they were going to fail.
I love the cut and hold for scion wood. It doesn’t just avoid bending over, although that’s nice. It also keeps me keep track of it.
If a tree isn’t over 30" tall I don’t ever used long reach pruners or pole saws so it’s not something that I have a lot of experience with. The only long reach pruners I’ve used in the last decade are extendable loppers.
One of my customers has forbidden me from climbing a 100 yr old, 40’ tall Macintosh starting this winter, so I will be on my tallest ladder with that loppers and she will pay for an extra hour or two of my work and the work will be more physically stressful.
I’m always confident of my ability to read wood and Mac has the strongest wood of any apple I manage.
I use loppers that I bought 30 years ago from a hardware store that went under.
Paid $15.00 each. Bought them all plus other stuff. Give away all except those three. I don’t use them all that much since I bought a small handheld chainsaw and a battery powered jigsaw. So much faster, jigsaw is used for small branches.
2 Likes
I don’t believe an electric chainsaw is noticeably faster than a good turbo bladed handsaw like a Silky. Using power tools doesn’t tend to be good for your body and involves less physical coordination and exercise.
But you don’t buy good hand tools on a budget, and my pruning saw blades are a big expense in my business because we go through about 15 a year. However, for the average homeowner with a few trees, a single blade can last a decade.
Those loppers has been excellent for me, they cost a lot more than what I paid for. Those were orchard quality tools, let me remind you. I have spend a lot of time in the orchard field. I believe that this forum has room for members that are plain home owners, like me. I am just coasting at my age.I buy everything on sale now, don’t have a budget like people in the orchard business. Chainsaw, $47.00, I can spare that. Happy with that purchase. This year I have use it a lot, I mean a lot. Clearing unwanted tree’s and pruning tall fruit trees. Try working of a tall orchard ladder with loppers. Save? No way. You should reread your previous reply.
I am just trying an option that I use.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the defensive- I was only promoting good quality hand tools- the only name I see on the ones you displayed is Corona, which is not a company that makes tools for professionals.
I haven’t even tried any of the new battery operated chain saws, but I bet my next chainsaw purchase will be one, but probably a Stihl.
But I prune all day long for about 7 months of the year and don’t use my chain saw very often in the process. If it was electric, I’d use it more, I’m sure. I hate 2-stroke gas motors- they destroy the peace.
What I wrote in my reply is accurate like many American tool companies are now importing tools from overseas, those Loppers are orchard quality tools, you don’t see them anymore. For me, that saw is super light.
That’s just a medium size pear tree.
Posted the wrong picture, this one with a chainsaw.
1 Like
I’ve been buying landscape tools for over half a century. When I tried the first Japanese turbo saw imported into this country (late '70’s I think) I was amazed- it was vastly superior to any pruning saw I had used before. None of the American tools I bought back in the '60’s are nearly as good as even the American knock offs of Japanese and Swiss designs are today.
You have to go back more than 50 year to reach the time when American homeowner landscape tools were the best in the world, IMO.
Price might be the only option for most none professionals.
Of course, but a serious hobbyist is often willing to spend $50 for the best hand pruner, about that for the best pruning saw and less than double that for the best lopper. We are all limited to what we can afford, but the title of the topic is Best, not most affordable.
1 Like
Most serious members don’t spend 7 months doing what you do either. My reply is not about the most affordable option. If you are in the orchard business, having a b. Account you can buy these wholesale. Not to many here I believe.
My point is just an other option .
As with many areas of life, you get what you pay for. It is rare to get a really good tool at a significant discount. The few times it happened to me a business was going out of business. Other than that, I often find a really good buy watching online and being patient.
I have a tablesaw blade that cost $300. It is not that exceptional, but cuts a kerf thinner than a dime. By using it, I saved almost enough money on wood to pay for it. I have a husqvarna 357XP chainsaw that is one of the best made as of 12 years ago that cost $450. It will cut circles around most chainsaws made today. I’ve used it to cut firewood for 12 years with no major issues other than occasionally needing a new chain.
I’ve seen a powered pole pruner that saved hours of time as compared with hand tools. I’ve seen hand tools used properly to do a job that power tools could not do. Pick the right tool for the job.
1 Like
I still use my chainsaw like yours, same brand, 18” in 2002, paid a good price for it. Clear my property, all hardwood trees with that saw, just to get a good view of the lake.
Still running but a little hard to start now. You buy what is needed to do the job, than price doesn’t matter. Most homeowners here, hire professionals with heavy equipment, spend thousands of dollars, I did it with my trusted saw.
I am well equipped for all my needs.
Now it’s overgrown with fruit trees, mainly persimmons and paw paws
3 Likes
I’ve heard one Sav-a-tree foreman say that when they tried to replace Stihls with Huskys the arborists rebelled. Never tried the latter, but the pros in my area almost always run with Stihl.
I have a tiny Stihl topping saw that cost about $550 and that’s my work saw. Another that cost a little more and is much bigger for when I need that for clearing land of big trees. As far as the topping saw, I don’t really need one that cuts that fast and the saw tends to be a bit eccentric if you are only making a few cuts a day. It always takes several pulls to start- so it may not actually be the best saw for me but it has the power to cut through anything not more than double the diameter as the length of the bar.
I have a slightly larger but less powerful Stihl that cost less than half that that is marketed more for home-owners that I use around my house for firewood and it is less eccentric.
I’ve used both Stihl and Husqvarna saws. Both make good saws. Both make “homeowner” saws i.e. cheap saws that weigh too much. Get the best professional saw either manufacturer makes and they give comparable performance. There are diehard Stihl users and die hard Husqvarna users.
The best I recall, my saw is about 12 pounds and 5 HP. This is a big advantage when cutting large diameter hardwoods. Professional loggers often use skip chains to avoid bogging down the motor. I’ve always used a full comp chain because my saw can pull it through just about anything so long as the chain is sharp.
What bothered me most when I bought my saw was a local saw shop that tried to sell me a “little bit bigger” saw that was actually a lower horsepower homeowner model.
On the same theme, I bought a black & decker skillsaw in 1986 for $136 that I still use today. It was a closeout special, last of the type in the store. If you guess it is a “professional” model, you are on point. Before that, I had a cheap $50 Craftsman homeowner saw that died after 2 uses. I learned the most valuable lesson of all. If I rely on a tool for heavy duty long term use, get the professional/industrial model.
I used to own a Sachs Dolmar with something like a 36" bar that was, at the time, the main lumberjack saw around the world, I think. It could sit for a year and still started right up with a pull or two. I sold it when its chainbreak broke and I couldn’t find a replacement part- too old.
I certainly felt manly when I was using that monster. It is still in use, I sold it to a colleague for $100 and he uses it at his own risk. He used to use one when he worked for a forest lumber company in Jamaica taking down big trees.
As far as my homeowners Stihl, I use it more than either of my commercial saws and it has yet to give me any trouble after 3 years of use. I burn a fire in my wood burner constantly for about 6 months a year and most of the wood is cut with it.