Cate’s Pruning Shears

By N. R. Mallery

Two pruning shears came in from Cate’s Garden for review. They are both of the highest quality and are available together on Amazon Prime for $61.94

I LOVE these pruning shears!! Oh my goodness – they’re just the best I have ever held in my hands!!

They are actually fun to use. I make others try them because I want everyone to see how great they are – and find myself cutting off branches everywhere. The ratchet pruners really surprised me, both because of how incredibly different its action is and how incredibly well it works. The ratchet pruners cut through really thick branches – ones I never would have attempted with pruning shears. There is even an oil well at the end of the ratchet pruners to lubricate the blades.

I’m looking forward to September (the next month with the “R” in it as a pruning month) to get some really good pruning done for the end of this season.

Both of these pruning shears are probably the last ones I will ever need to buy! They’re about perfect. I definitely recommend them to any gardener and homeowner.

Bypass Pruning Shears – Cate’s Garden 8″ Premium Hand Pruner – The list price is $42.99, but these shears can be purchased on Amazon Prime for $28.99.

These shears are forged with SK5 Japanese cutlery high-carbon steel blades for heavy-duty durability and hard chrome plating for rust resistance. According to Cate’s Garden, they are manufactured with the highest quality techniques for a sharp, clean, and precise edge, and they are manually tested and oiled.

The design is ergonomic for comfortable operation, with a specially designed 45-degree angled blade head to allow pruning at awkward angles and difficult-to-reach places while reducing wrist fatigue. The lightweight, curved aluminum handles have a shape that feels sculpted for comfortable use and anti-slip thermoplastic-padded shock absorbers for continued comfort over the long haul.

These shears have a 3/4-inch cutting capacity. They are built to be tools we would use day in and day out for flower and vegetable pruning and maintenance. A sap groove on the lower blade reduces gumming and is easy to clean. High-quality heat-treated tensile wire allows spring-back action. They have an easy-to-operate drop-forged aluminum snap lock for storage.

These are great light shears and are perfect for pruning and trimming flowering plants. They are easy to hold and use, and they are very handy. But they are also very sharp and cut surprisingly easily. Discovering that they did equally well cutting thick stems and the thinnest shoots came as a pleasant surprise. Another pleasant surprise was how easy they are to squeeze, reducing fatigue. The safety catch slides into whichever position I want very easily.

Easy Action Ratchet Pruners – Cate’s Garden 8″ Easy Action Anvil-type Pruners – The list price is $48.99, but these shears can be purchased on Amazon Prime for $32.95.

These pruners have three-phase, lever-assisted cutting power. To operate them, simply cut into a tree limb, press once, release, press twice for double the power, release, and press down a third time for five times the power. The ratcheting mechanism latches onto the limb, increasing the power with each step and slicing through a branch with ease.

The shears are also forged with SK5 Japanese cutlery high-carbon steel blades for heavy-duty durability. They are ground on both sides to maintain symmetry and to keep the cut straight, and are coated with nonstick Teflon® to resist sap and gumming up of the blade. They have the same sharp, clean, and precise edge as the bypass shears and are also manually tested and oiled.

The sculpted aluminum frame also has an antislip thermoplastic-padded shock absorber on the top handle for comfort over long use. There is a finger guide and protective loop on the bottom handle.

These are anvil-type ratchet shears with a 7/8-inch cutting capacity for all-purpose garden and tree pruning. A bottom serrated edge grips branches better while cutting. The shears have a high-quality spring-back action, an easy-to-operate thumb lock, and built-in oil well for blade maintenance.

Like the bypass pruning shears, these are sharp and strong, with a comfortable fit for the hand. They also have a self-oiling system.

For those who have never used ratchet pruning shears, they will come as a pleasant surprise. The idea of squeezing the tool multiple times may not come intuitively, but once it is tried, it will not be forgotten. These are heavy-duty shears, and they will cut thicker branches than the bypass pruning shears.

Cate’s gives a 100% satisfaction guarantee on these products, with no questions asked. You are guaranteed to love them!

NOTE: Cate’s Garden is offering G.E.T. Readers a 30% off discount for any of their products at Amazon.com. Use the coupon code “greene30” for any Cate’s Garden product at checkout, until November 3, 2015. The Amazon page is at bit.ly/Cates-Garden-at-Amazon. Their website is catesgarden.com. 1-877-959-1817.