Are the Felco 5s the best pruning shears for the backyard orchardist in hard economic times?
After doing some research i decided to get them. I like how every part can be replaced. The Felco 2 seems to be the gold standard, but im cheap lol.
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Felcos are outstanding. I own left-handed models and the loppers.
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Felco are very highly regarded and will last your lifetime. Some serious workers here prefer ARS and Okidata.
The important thing is that you’ll only regret paying for quality tools once, but you’ll regret buying cheap ones every time you use them.
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I was tempted to buy Japanese pruners but ended up going with Felco because the replacement parts are readily available, their great reputation over many years, and the Felco 5s were actually a little bit cheaper compared to the japanese pruners from what i saw.
I bought a new pair of fiskars every season for 4 years straight and i lost scionwood for grafting this season because of bad cuts smashing parts of the wood. I returned them to home depot at the end of each season, but im done. The scissors in the kitchen make cleaner cuts than fiskers. Felco all the way 
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A month or two ago I got a pair of Felco 300 snips to demote my old Fiskars to my community garden plot. I was surprised by the quality and power—have barely used my Fiskars pruners since I got them because these can basically do the job of both Fiskars. It’s still sort of off season, but I’m happy with the purchase for sure
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Right on. I know that model is from their less expensive product line, but in general Felco is a good tool investment, so I’m sure they’re pretty great.
Love my Felco stuff – years back, MIL got me a few pairs of Felcos for xmas when the local nursery was going out of business and they were on sale - #2, #13, and lefty #9. I never would have invested in them myself, but they’ve been FANTASTIC. Have a set of knockoff Kirkland pruners, and while they look near identical to the #2 and #13, the Felcos are noticeably better when you use them. Have also had a few Felco F600/603 folding saws, and the 910 and 911 holsters to store them all in.
Also love my ARS pruning tools - 4-7ft telescoping hand pruner (regular and grab/hold heads), 6ft lopper, and telescoping shears. They were expensive, but have been some of the best tools I’ve used. I’d say comparable to Felco, if not slightly better in some ways
All my previous Coronas and Fiskars, have been demoted to either get used for cutting stuff in the dirt, or they’re in the separate communal pile of pruners that my kids and our guests get to use when they come to pick the orchard, as I tend to find those pairs being left outside in the elements.
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Thats awesome to hear, the F5s are arriving soon and im confident ive made a good choice. Ive heard the felco loppers arent the best so ill check out ARS loppers now for sure. Thanks!
I didn’t know about the Felco loppers being not great - in what way?
I have been wanting to own some for a while, just because Felco - but have held off because of the price and the fact I don’t really use regular loppers very much anymore, my go-to has become the folding hand saw that I keep in the double holster with my hand pruners. The ARS 6ft lopper though, has become indispensable to me for bigger trees and for my hillside orchard. I got mine 6yrs ago, but now am seeing other brands and even cheaper knockoff versions. I’ve heard Bahco loppers are really good.
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I will look into the 6ft ARS loppers. Eventually i will need them. The goal is to keep pruning down to just a step ladders height. What would you recommend for a good quality shovel? Im tired of these cheap shovels. I want to get an all metal one like the one i had growing up, itll bend before it breaks. Cheap cheap low quality 
*O and sorry i got distracted early at work, ive just seen a few people basically say to get pruners from felco but there are potentially better options elsewhere when it comes to loppers. I didn’t mean to slam felco in anyway. The only complaint I have with my felco 5 is that it opens too wide, for me its fine but everyone else in my family won’t be able use them as efficiently without constant tension. They are great though, nicest pruners ive ever owned.
So VERY true. Cheap tools are the most expensive tools you can buy. You have to keep buying them over and over again OR just bite the bullet and buy good ones from the start.
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I have one and it’s not the best. The spring is the weakest link once it get sticky or rusted. I’m too lazy to take it apart and clean it. It’s in the box with the other clippers with the sign do not disturb. I now use a clipper from China. It have a bigger spring and they even give you a spare spring too. The locking mechanism is great. You just slide the knob to open it. All metal construction, except for the plastic sleeve for a comfort gripe. I have 3 Fiskars and all of them has flaw. 2 of them use too much plastic and one of them did break. The other one use a bad locking mechanism and a weak spring. Surprisingly, the cheaper Fiskar with a simple locking mechanism that use a clip is the best Fiskar. It’s also the oldest Fiskar and the least sharp. The newer Fiskar doesn’t cut it because it’s either broke or you can’t even open it to make a cut.
Inspire to wake it from the dead, I modified one of the Fiskar. It’s a shame if I’m unable to use it, since it’s the newest pruner and have excellent weight. It’s all steel construction, except for the the plastic sleeve and the locking mechanism. The locking mechanism and the spring is the major flaw. To save 1/2 a penny they use a smaller spring. To accommodate the plastic locking mechanism, they use a smaller spring. It’s a bad design. The major complaint is the spring can fall apart and it doesn’t spring back on the next cut. So, I modified it to accept a bigger spring, though the locking mechanism can no longer be used. It’s a spare spring from the pruner that came from China. The pruner from China, it’s labeled as Garden Tool. The name is so generic, but it’s so good.
The top one is from China and it’s the best. The spring is much bigger than the rest.
I modified the Fiskar from the dead. It got a new life and a bigger spring.
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I actually tried looking up to see if people had modified a compression spring to their felcos, but it wouldnt happen without serious modification. Then i forgot to respond with my thought…
I agree, the spring on the felco was a downside for me. Ive had off brand pruners in the past with that felco style spring and after about 3 years it started to rust on me… however i did mistreat the tool. So i figure ill just treat the felco pruners like carbon steel knifes, wipe off moisture when done and hit with a little oil.
For shovels, I’ve got a few I like. Bought one of the all-metal Fiskars on sale for like $30 and it’s pretty good and has a more oval handle that’s comfy, but on the heavy side, because metal. Best Fiskars product I’ve ever had aside from the fine tip bud trimming scissors. Not sure you can really make them any lighter, I’ve got some old fork tools I replaced the handle with a galvanized tent pole and they’re still weighty compared to wood. Another great shovel I’ve got is a knockoff version of the King of Spades digging shovel - this thing is D-handle all-steel with a sharp tip that will cut through bamboo roots (why I bought it), I think I got that one for $35 from the Bezos. For all my wood handled tools, the best shovels I’ve bought are Red Rooster brand, they weighed twice as much as a normal one and have lasted a few years longer leaving them out in the yard all year long. I try to keep them out of the elements if I can remember, or try to eventually apply some diluted boiled linseed oil again if I can remember, lol (I use a mix of BLO, mineral spirits, and oil-based polyurethane, about 1/3 each)
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You have to try a French Bahco Ergo Bypass pruner. You will NEVER go back. I have the right handed model, my wife has the left handed model. Beats Felco any day in my view.
https://www.bahco.com/us_en/products/pruning-tools/secateurs.html
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So I prune fruit trees, primarily apples, all day long, 5 days a week for at least 6 months of the year and in this workload, where the vast majority of my cuts are with a hand pruner, it takes me years to need to replace a blade on the ARS pruner I use. Those crowing about Felco having replaceable parts puzzle me- for most of you, an ARS pruner would last your lifetime without ever needing any new parts.
The Japanese use harder steel than anyone else, so the blades are sharper after sharpening and take much longer to become dull than the steel on a Felco or Bahco, but probably the most important thing when you are doing a lot of pruning is how the pruners feel in your hand, and that’s a lot like personal taste.
I used to get wrist injuries from overuse of my Felco pruners to where it was hard to brush my teethe. That stopped happening once I started using my ARS pruners, but that may be the result of my own construiction and one hand pruner may not fit all.
This one fits my medium sized hands. It also comes in a 7 and 9". Does Felco do that? Have any of you raving about other hand pruners tried an ARS? I have converted many a Felco user over the years and I’ve tried a great many brands and models. Bahco once gifted me a number of their tools in exchange for my evaluations- the only rave I could give them is for their long handled light weight orchard loppers- that’s a great tool. Rotating handles that are supposed to reduce stress from hand pruner use feel clunky to me and do not reduce wrist stress for my hands.
This one fits better in ones pocket and has the same sharp steel for a lot less money. Has to be the best deal on a hand pruner available. Amazon.com
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@alan awesome comment.
I saw the Felco 5 was $38.70 shipped with home depot. ARS in the link is $39+ tax so i thought why not, Felco has a great reputation.
Im probably going to make less cuts in 1 year than you make in 1 hour on a sunny day.
I also have huge hands so they actually fit me just right and the action feels smooth like a nice pair of shears (scissors) for cutting hair. They do open up WIDE and you pay extra for small felcos for sure. The felco 5s wont be comfortable for anyone else in my family.
The biggest drawback for me with the felco would be the spring. Ill treat the Felco pruner like a carbon steel blade and i should be okay for years… But when the spring inevitably starts to stick ill buy the ARS linked above and use the felco for back up. Someone mentioned that spring as a weakness, then i remember growing up we had a pruner with a felco style spring that only lasted 2 seasons before it got sticky. I remember the traditional spring pruner lasted many years. Thanks for the comment. Ill buy ARS from now on. You’ve convinced me.
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*sorry this comment was intended for another thread.
You’re right about that, my grandfather had wooden tools in the barn from the early 1900s that were still in great shape, shovels, pickaxes, sledgehammers and all the hand tools, chisels, hammers, hand drills etc. Wood was so much denser and of better quality. That would be cool to take a piece of almost petrified wood from the support beam of an old torn down barn and have the Amish cut it down into a shovel handle. That shovel handle would last for the rest of my life.
Just FWIW I make a habit of spraying a little WD-40 on my spring every spring.
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Cool, i always forget about WD40. I will occasionally spray the pruners with it then. thank you sir.
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