Hello does anyone use the Okatsune 104 pruners? I bought some off of Amazon I think from the seller Vervejoy some Co. located in Japan. All the writing on the package is in Japanese and the metal stamp on the handle also looks like Japanese. Are these legit or should I return them?
I see no red flags. Just looks like it was packaged for the domestic market. What’s the back of the package look like?
I’ve never had a pair and there are so many fakes via Amazon of different brands. I was just hoping someone who has a pair of these 104’s could confirm for me that what I bought was legit.
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The characters on the back confirm that it’s Japanese writing and not Chinese ( the dead giveaway is the more circular characters). I don’t have direct experience with this brand, but I’d be surprised to see all this detail in a counterfeit product. I think especially since you bought this from a seller in Japan, I’d be shocked if it weren’t legit.
All that being said, what really matters is how they perform for you. Original or copy, if it works well for you, then it doesn’t matter.
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I have one of these and love it, looks legit. I have purchased telescope eyepieces from Japan amazon site and have got the legit items.
Do yours have Japanese stamp on the shears vs English ?
i own 103 and 104. On the picture looks the same as mine. So i think they are legit. (or i also own an counterfit one)
Pretty sure mine are legit. When sharpening you notice the high hardness/quality of the steel.
I must warn you though. The 104’s are quite large (my favorite) most people who’ve held my pruners prefer the 103 size.
An useful skill with these pruners is to open them by moving the back part of the handles (locking mechanism) against your trouwers/legs to open/close. That way you can open/close them while having your other hand hold the pruning’s or something else.
I constantly lock/unlock mine for safety reasons. Where with my old pruners i walked around with them unlocked. Because i couldn’t be bothered to mess around with the bad locking mechanism.
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Great thank you for your reply I wanted to open them but was a bit apprehensive. I compared them to my Felco F2’s and they are smaller more like the Felco F8 in size. I’ll try the trouser trick today when I open them up and try them out. Do yours stay sharp for a long time?
stay sharp extremely long imo. But i haven’t run a comparison with a felco or something. And i value razor sharp tools. So i sharpen mine out of precaution once ever 1-2 years. When i sharpen my grafting knives.
The pruners have a very satisfying “snap” to them when pruning. That i have not encountered in other pruners.
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Thank you for your feedback I greatly appreciate it and happy growing season!!
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I have a real old pair I got from a friend and then I have a set of the smaller ones I bought either off of ebay or amazon. I haven’t compared my two but the recent bought ones seem good quality. Yours look like mine?
I got a fake pair or felco’s off of amazon and you could tell the quality was not there after using them awhile. Felco had a nice guide on how to ID the fakes. I wonder if Okatsune has something similar? I was hoping they were obscure enough that they wouldn’t be faked.
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I guess ARS is a brand that really gets knocked off as well I could see Felco being so popular that happens too!! Amazon lets too many fake products through but I agree on obscurity of the Okatsune.