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Investing in the best garden shears will not only save you a ton of time and effort around the yard and in the garden, but they will also save you from aches and pains that come from using garden tools that need replacing.
Old and worn-out garden shears can cause strain to your wrists, neck, and back. What’s worse is that you most likely won’t even notice it until hours later… when it is already too late.
Even more, older garden tools that aren’t operating optimally are more prone to come apart and/or malfunction and cause a serious accident.
In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about garden shears, including how to use them, considerations to make before purchasing, and our picks for the best garden shears available this year.
What are Garden Shears?
Garden shears are oversized scissors that have the power to cut through branches and trim plants with ease. The most popular garden shears for use in the home and garden are hand-held models (for light trimming and clippings) and versions with heavy-duty telescoping handle (for harder tasks like cutting thicker tree branches and pruning fruit trees).
Several sorts of garden shears are available on today’s market (surprise, surprise), and that’s why we’ve put this guide together; to help you pick the best garden shears for your home and gardening needs.
What to Consider Before Buying Gardening Shears
Knowing what sort of gardening shears you need for your gardening chores is important. As are several other important factors, like the materials they are made of, the blade quality, how hard they are to use, and more.
So, before sticking those shears in your shopping cart, consider the following factors:
Materials / Construction
The best gardening shears consist of sturdy designs including stainless steel, wood, heavy plastics, and other high-quality materials. Make sure you know exactly what sort of materials you’re getting yourself into with any possible purchase.
Blade Quality
Gardening shears with anything less than top-notch blade quality are not often worth your investment, because they will need replacing quickly if used often. That said, some shears may be worth replacing their blades from time to time.
Handles/Grips
Great gardening shears always include strong and long-lasting handles with comfortable grips. If you can pick up the shears and hold them in your hands before buying them, you’ll have a much better idea of which ones are right for you.
Ease of Use
The highest-quality garden shears will not help you if they are not comfortable and easy to use. Again, trying them out before buying them really helps take the question out of this factor.
Warranty Options
The best garden shears include some sort of warranty or guarantee from the manufacturer. If the shears you’re interested in buying don’t have one or the other, you need to ask yourself why that is the case. Hint: the product probably isn’t going to last as long as others!
Top 3 Best Garden Shears
Here are our picks for the actual best garden shears. They are based on the factors mentioned above, hours of research, customer reviews, and manufacturer product descriptions.
That said, we don’t believe in the 15 best anything, period.
We believe that one, two, possibly three products are clearly better than the rest. That makes them the current best products in our book (and on our blog – lol).
With that in mind, here are the three best gardening shears you can buy right now:
VIVOSUN 6.5 Inch Gardening Hand Pruner
If you are looking for straight stainless steel shears, these VIVOSUN Gardening Hand Pruners may be the best gardening shears for you.
The shears have long narrow tips, precision-sharpened blades, and spring-action handles.
The product is manufactured by a well-known and trusted company, VIVOSUN, that has a commitment to the highest quality standards.
Pros:
- Reduces hand and wrist strain.
- Percision blades for superior cutting.
- Safe, secure, and easy to use design.
- Multipurpose tool; works well for gardening, fruit picking, trimming, cutting, and more.
Cons:
- Not the best gardening shears for trimming thicker tree limbs.
What We Like About the VIVOSUN Gardening Hand Pruners
The long precision cutting blades of these snipping garden shears and the spring-assist handles make them a great pair of hand pruners for plants, flowers, and shrubs. We also like the fact that they have heavy-duty stainless steel blades.
Gonnic Titanium Shears
Another great pair of garden shears for clipping and trimming plants, flowers, and shrubs (among other things) is Gonnic’s Titanium Shears.
High-quality hand-clippers with a drop-forged body and spring-assisted cutting power, few garden shears are as rugged, powerful, and easy to use.
Our favorite feature of these shears is their ultra-fine polished SK5-Steel blade. Our second favorite is its 8-inch frame with grip.
Pros:
- Crafted with a drop-forged steel body.
- Cutting assistance (spring-action handle).
- Convenient 8-inch size.
- Out lasts most garden shears on the market.
Cons:
- Is not made for cutting large and high tree branches.
What We Like About the Gonnics Titanium Shears
With a drop-forged body, these garden shears are extremely heavy-duty and will practically never need to be replaced if cared for. They are also spring-assisted, which makes them great for gardeners with weak wrists.
TABOR TOOLS B212A Telescopic Hedge Shears
The TABOR TOOLS Telescopic Hedge Shears are a vast difference in comparison to the first garden shears on our list.
These long-handled clippers are the perfect choice of tool for cutting those thick branches high up on those trees you cant prune with hand-held cutters.
The shears have a sharp and curvy blade that makes biting through large branches easier. It also comes with shock-absorbing handles and adjustable blade tension.
Pros:
- Curvey blade with ultra-fine polishing.
- Handles extend up to 8-inches longer.
- Shock-guard bumpers.
- Blade tension is adjustable.
Cons:
- Much larger than the hand-held cutters on our list.
- Not convenient for flower trimming and plant clipping
What We Like About the TABOR TOOLS Telescopic Hedge Shears
These snippers are perfect for pruning shrubs, bushes, and even thick tree branches. The best part may be the shock-absorbing of the handles and how they make cutting through 2 and 3-inch diameters like cutting through weeds.
Which Garden Shears Are Best For You?
Garden shears should be comfortable, sturdy, and cut well. Anything less does not qualify as the best.
There are a lot of garden shears out there. Hopefully, our article helps you decide which is best for you and your garden.
Our pick for the overall best garden shears is the Gonnic’s Titanium Shears. They have a lightweight but heavy-duty design, are easy to use, come with a guarantee, and are highly recommended by those who use them!
Thanks for reading!
Did you find our picks for the best garden shears helpful? If not, why not share the love and give this article a share on social media?
Good luck picking out the best snipper for your home and garden!
Suggested Reading: Best Garden Hose, Extension, Nozzle, and Reel
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Jamie
Are these better than Walmart brand?
quinnfarkasmedia
They are very well-rated, but we haven’t tried the Walmart brand or researched it. I’d say the Walmart brand would do just fine as long as you don’t need them for many heavy-duty gardening/pruning activities!
Thanks for reading!