I was at my local Lowes the other day and saw a display of a new tool, at least I think it is new......it is a two pack one takes utility knife blades and the other takes the longer snap off type razor knife blades. Just seems a good tool for taking cuttings and it will always be sharp.

The bottom jaw swings down and locks back so you can use it as a utility knife or swing the bottom jaw up and locks in to place as super sharp scissors or pruners.  I tried it out today and it works flawlessly.  

For someone like me who is hard on pruners this is a perfect tool.  

http://www.lowes.com/pd_498922-22328-87167_0__?productId=50074273

Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam

Thanks for Tam-ing.  (or is that Tamming?)  :-)

Wills,

What diameter branch / twig have you cut with this?  Wondering if you try to cut a 1-inch brach if the blade will break?

Steve,

No I have not tried it on anything that thick.  I cut some 1/2 diameter bamboo though and that is pretty tough stuff.  

Craftsman makes one also. Ive been using it for the last couple of years and it is fantastic for pruning and cutting. Very sharp and accurate cuts. Highly Recommended !!.
Steve, the blade won't break but it has a tendency to bend the jaws with larger branches.

How durable is it?  Seems like a nice idea, but will it last?  Coop, you've been using it for a couple of years... what part of the jaws became bent?  

Mike

Mike,

I would think it will last forever.....the weakest point is by far the blade and it is replaceable.  The frame is pretty heavy, I can't see how it would be possible to break the frame.   It won't cut paper as it is a blade and anvil arrangement but I have tried it now on peach limbs, bamboo and figs and it works great, clean cuts.  

seems like a great product for small diameter branch and ropes. i need something to cut ropes clean. does the bottom and top jaw close tight on each other?

Pete,

The frame at the bottom is a sandwich type deal, steel on the outside edges and the middle looks to be some sort of hard nylon......the nylon is where the razor blade edge touches.  It does close tightly to the nylon.  If I had designed it I would have had the tool close in to a shallow narrow indent in the nylon as I think that would have improved it.  

The cleaner a cut is the better the chances of a cutting growing.  There is nothing worse than a jagged cut when trying to propagate any plant.

This morning we shall see how they do on duck feathers:)  The ducks have molted and can now fly again.....while they won't leave one did land on my truck yesterday so that is that.  It is a bad day to be a duck.  

WillsC wrote "It's a bad day to be a duck."

Will you be mounting their heads above the fireplace, Wills? Those would be impressive, I'm sure. The big question is, which will be more impressive, your collection of duck noggins or your racked cuttings in their window frames? I need pictures!

I'll be looking for these today when I'm out shopping for other man stuff at Lowes; I've got lots of quail in the backyard and plenty of room above my fireplace.

pete your a scout leader. isnt your handy dandy pocket knife sharp?  get that stone out and get her sharpened up real good.  scouts best friend.

Neil,

As a rule I open the duck house door and they all run out happily....today I opened the door and stepped inside with the one thing they fear more then any other......the dreaded fishing NET....err duck net.  It is pandemonium and rather amusing but one by one the feather tips were snipped.  It is painless but you would think I am killing them with the fuss they put up. No stuffed duck heads over the fireplace...they are my very organic bug patrol.  Use to have huge issues with grasshoppers and stink bugs but the ducks keep them very  thinned out as well as eat the weeds.  I rather like the silent ducks (mscovies) so much better than the dang chickens.

For me it's the classic Felco #2, but the #11 is good also. The tool very similar to the one mentioned above would be the felco 31, but I have never used it. Live wood is always easer to cut then old, but I have cut 4" branches with my #2 starting with using the blade as a knife and bending the branch as I go. Easily cuts 2" fig branches.

It would be like #31 but the difference is you could use this one to cut whatever and just by changing the 10 cent blade have brand new factory sharp clippers....like I said I am hard on clippers so for me it is a great product. 

Wills,

Birds just hate having their feathers snipped. We've (wife, kids and I) had parakeets for more than a decade. Just as with your ducks, when we pull out the scissors and the towel, pandemonium breaks loose. Oh, the drama of it all! We might as well be taking their heads for the uproar caused by the loss of a couple of flight feathers. I've bled for the privilege.

lol.........thankfully the ducks don't bite and they are mute by nature so other than a bit of hissing it is a quiet process.  They are still eyeballing me when I walk by them in the yard.