Tree Pruning Hand Tools
Tooled Up Guide to Tree Pruning: Part 1
Trees bring a number of benefits to our living spaces: they can create much needed areas of shade during the peak of summer, provide a habitat for birds and other creatures, or even produce food for us to eat. But most of them will require a bit of maintenance from time to time as they don’t always grow in a way that’s convenient and overgrown trees can start to get in the way or cause other unwanted problems.
However, if you’re faced with tackling a tree that’s become problematic, you may be wondering how best to go about it as might look like a daunting task – if they’ve been left long enough, tree branches can grow to be pretty thick and tough, and on top of that they’re often way up out of arms reach as well. But never fear as there are plenty of specialist tools available which can help to make easier work of getting your trees under control and in this two part series we’ll be looking at some of them, starting with some of the simplest and cheapest options on the market: hand tools.
Tree Pruning Tools: Hand Tools
Hand tools have a number of things going for them: they’re quiet, convenient, relatively safe to use, often inexpensive, and you don’t have to worry about fuel or battery power running out halfway through the job. Just be aware that if you have a serious workload to get through, there’s going to be a limit to how much you can take on in one session before you become physically exhausted. Of course this is going to vary from person to person but unless its a matter of urgency it’s probably a good idea not to go too crazy on day one as its easy to overdo it and not really feel the effects fully until the next day.
Tree Pruning PPE
Tree pruning hand tools don’t pose a huge risk in themselves although obviously sharp blades should be treated with respect whenever using them. Handling offcuts and retrieving them from within brambles and other undergrowth often results in getting scratched so a sturdy pair of work gloves is generally a good idea. If you’re concerned about overhead branches coming down on to you, then you might want to also consider a safety helmet and some kind of eye or face protection (such as a face shield).
Bow Saws
Bow saws are a bit like hacksaws designed for tree branches. The solid frame makes them stable and easy to use, and one of their main advantages is that blades for green (young) wood or dry (old) wood can be swapped over as needed, giving you two types of saw in one. This also means that when a blade is worn out, you can replace it without having to dispose of the whole saw.
The standard bow saw has a “bow” shaped frame – that is it resembles the type of bow you’d use to fire an arrow. However some bow saws have a pointed frame and this is designed to allow better access in between tree branches and other obstructions.
The Bahco Heavy Duty Bow Saw is available in three lengths, from 530mm to 760mm. Supplied with a blade for dry wood, it features a knuckle guard on the handle and a handy blade tensioning control which makes it especially quick and easy to dial in the required blade tension, or to slacken it off completely when swapping out the blade for another one.
Pruning Saws
These days, pruning saws are probably more commonly used than bow saws. They are more compact, meaning they can get into tight spaces, and many have a folding design which means they can be packed down into a highly portable size. Since they are relatively lightweight, some pruning saws are also made to be mounted onto the end of an extension handle when required – enabling them to be used on branches which are well out of arms reach.
Many of the most popular pruning saws on the market are Japanese, or inspired by Japanese designs. They typically cut on the pull stroke, which can feel unusual if you’re used to western style hand saws (which cut as you push them though the wood). This may present a short learning curve when using one for the first time but its a good idea to get accustomed to the saw before using it on anything too demanding as the blades are often quite brittle and won’t necessarily stand up to much abuse. Use the saw as it was intended however, and you should be rewarded with a clean, crisp cut that doesn’t require a great deal of time or effort.
Made in Japan, the ARS PM-21 has a 210mm blade which is available with a pitch of 3mm or 4mm. The 3mm version has finer teeth which gives a more precise cut, whereas the larger teeth of the 4mm blade allow it to cut faster, removing more material per stroke. Both models are extremely lightweight, with a soft rubberised grip which makes them comfortable to use for longer periods, while the sharp impulse hardened blade saws cleanly through the wood with minimal effort.
Loppers
Loppers are much like secateurs you’d use for snipping plants close to the ground, only bigger and with long handles that enable a high amount of force to be applied to the cutting action. They have a more limited cut capacity than a bow saw or a pruning saw as they’ll only be able to cut through branches which will fit inside their jaws, but the long handles and quick, easy cutting action make them a convenient tool for pruning any thinner branches within reach.
Like secateurs they come as either anvil or bypass models – the anvil designs are intended for dry, dead wood, while the bypass designs are better suited to green, living wood. You’ll find there are also a few other features available, such as ratchet mechanisms for easier cutting, and telescopic handles which enable you to shorten or lengthen the tool for comfortable use at a variety of working heights.
The Wolf Garten RR900T has a telescopic action which enables the handles to be adjusted between 650mm and 900mm as required. The blades have a bypass action which is best suited to greener wood and they will cut through branches up to 50mm in diameter.
Tree Loppers and Tree Saws
The Tree Loppers and Tree Saws categories have a bit of overlap between them but what all these tools have in common is a long handle which allows the operator to access parts of trees which would otherwise be hard to reach. This means that higher branches can be pruned without having to leave the safety of solid ground. Commonly these types of tool will have a lopper style cutting head which is attached to a trigger on the handle via a cable under tension, and these can generally cut through small diameter branches without much trouble.
The Gardena 410BL has a telescopic action which enables it to be extended out to a total of 4.1 metres. This means you can easily reach high up into trees, or over the top of obstructions like hedges, to access branches which are hard to get to. Once the jaws are in place its simply a case of pulling down on either the orange grip or the handle at the far end of the tool, and the blades will snip cleanly through material up to 32mm in diameter.
Tree Saws
Alternatively, tree saws have a saw blade mounted on the end of the handle. These are not as easy to use, as the operator has to work the saw back and forth, usually without a very good view of what’s going on. If the branches are bendy and pliable they will also move around, making it difficult to get any purchase on anything that isn’t solid and well established. Consequently, it can be time consuming and hard to keep the blade in the correct position – the main advantage, however, is that you can cut through larger diameter branches this way. You may also find it a lot easier to saw through especially hard material if you come across any branches that loppers are unable to make a dent in.
The Wilkinson Sword Telescopic Pruning Saw consists of a detachable hand pruning saw combined with a telescopic handle which extends to a maximum length of 2.4 metres. The curved blade makes the saw easier to use while working from the ground and the hooked design helps to prevent the blade from jumping out of the cut before you’ve sawn all the way through. The blade is 330mm long and can also be used for jobs at arms length when detached from the telescopic handle.
2 in 1 Tree Loppers and Pruners
To combine the strengths of both of these methods, many of these tools are designed to be used with both types of cutting head: usually they’ll come as a jawed lopper with the option to affix a pruning saw attachment on to the end when required. If you’re unsure which type you’ll find most useful it may be well worth considering one of these more versatile designs so you’re able to try them both out without the inconvenience of having to go and buy an additional tool further down the line.
From the Spear and Jackon Razorsharp Advantage series, the Razorsharp Telescopic Tree Lopper and Pruner has a maximum length of just over 2.3 metres. The lopper blade provides a quick and effective method for cutting through smaller branches with a tug on the handle, while the integrated curved pruning saw can also be employed for sawing through the bigger stuff without having to resort to a different tool.
Conclusion
That’s it for our quick overview of some of the most popular tree pruning hand tools on the market, but if you’re thinking you’re going to need something a bit more powerful then stay tuned because our Tree Pruning Power Tools guide will be up next.
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