Felco #2 Classic Hand Pruner. They have a shock absorber, and replacement cutting blades. I don't have a picture; however, they're available from any green industry such as Gempler's.

You know -- sometimes I really do get tired of the sound of my own voice -- or, rather the tap, tap, tap of the sound of my fingers on the keyboard. I know. Hard to believe, isn't it? Or, not. I'm currently in the middle of some projects which are making me pretty weary -- as if that wasn't blatantly obvious. But, I was wondering: Do any of you ever feel like this?

I love my Florian fine nose floral shears(Hand pruners). They have changed them this year so that there is a lock on the side as well as the loop for hanging them that used to serve as the lock.

The important things is that your scissors fit your hand and have a good blade that can be easily sharpened. I also like a pr of shears that was sold by a dahlia company for dividing dahlias. I don't know the name of the brand but they have one red handle and one white one and a longish blade and are very sharp. THey hold the edge nicely.

Thank you both! I figured I couldn't go wrong with Felco, but I wasn't sure if a regular pruning scissor was okay or if I should be using some other kind of scissor. I suppose anything would be better than regular $2 kitchen scissors! I will do some looking into both of your recommendations.

Thank you!
Dee

P.S. Flowerfarmer, I hope all your projects are finished up soon and successfully. I don't get tired of sound of your voice here - you've been a lot of help to me and I'm sure to many others. Good luck with your work!

I like using the Fiskars softouch microtip for most cuts, and for larger stems, like sunflowers, also use the Felco #2.

If I may ask in this thread, does anyone use a stem stripper? I was planning to get one this year as so far I've only been using my fingers to strip the leaves. Some stems strip easy this way, but some don't (Zinnias comes to mind).

At the recent NW garden show one of the lecturers used just a "Rose glove" to strip the thorns and leaves with her fingers. I have used a stripper but it is rather tedious when doing a lot of roses for a wedding. I believe the rose glove would be very useful for stripping foliage off zinnias and things without ruining our fingers. I think the aforementioned glove is a heavy nitrile.

Thanks, pudge, for the recommendation, and for bringing up the use of a stem stripper. As you can probably guess, since I was using my kitchen scissors to cut, I don't have a stem stripper, lol. I've often wondered about getting one, especially when cutting zinnias, as you mentioned.

lizalily, those gloves must be pretty heavy if you can use them to strip thorns. I don't have rose gloves either...

Dee
the ill-equipped gardener :)

I have been cutting for years and my daughter and I love Japanese garden shears for cutting. They stay sharp for years and cut everything even hard woody stems. There are a couple different types we prefer the long ones with both handles white. I'm not sure what the color means but I bought an orange pair and the grip was not right, my mom uses the ones with one handle white and the other red and they seem to do well. I saw them in Peaceful Valley's catalog for $9.99. P.S. I just found this web site and I love reading all of your wonderful expertise, it really helps the spirit on these cold rainy days when I'd rather be gardening!

Felco's #7 and the ARS Needlenose Pruner (I have three of this one), I love it.

I sharpen the blades of these with my mum's handed down sharpening steel.

Kim - BFFF

Here is a link that might be useful: Equip for cutting