Secateurs, Loppers or Pruning Saw? How to Choose the Right Pruning Tool
- Bypass secateurs handle stems up to 20mm and make clean cuts on live wood, the single most-used pruning tool in any UK garden
- Loppers give you the power to cut branches 20-40mm thick without a saw, ideal for fruit trees and shrubs
- A folding pruning saw covers everything thicker than 40mm, from removing dead branches to shaping small trees
- Bypass beats anvil for live wood, anvil wins for dead material, and ratchet mechanisms save your grip on tough cuts
- Related reading: our best secateurs UK guide and best hedge shears and loppers roundup
Walk into any UK garden centre and you will find a wall of cutting tools: secateurs, loppers, hedge shears, pruning saws, and all sorts of specialist gadgets. For a new gardener, it is genuinely confusing. Do you need all of them? Which ones actually earn their space in the shed?
The short answer: most UK gardeners need three cutting tools at most. A pair of secateurs for everyday trimming, a set of loppers for thicker branches, and a pruning saw for anything the first two cannot handle. Here is how to pick the right one for each job.
Secateurs: Your Everyday Pruning Tool
Secateurs (or hand pruners) are the tool you will reach for most often. Deadheading roses, cutting back perennials, harvesting herbs, trimming dead growth from shrubs, taking cuttings. Secateurs handle it all. If you only buy one pruning tool, make it a good pair of bypass secateurs.
When to Use Secateurs
Use secateurs for any stem or thin branch up to about 20mm in diameter. That covers most pruning tasks in a UK garden: deadheading flowers, harvesting vegetables, cutting back herbs, trimming dead stems, removing small suckers from roses, and tidying up perennials after flowering. They are also the tool of choice for taking softwood cuttings where a clean cut matters for rooting success.
Bypass vs Anvil: Which Type?
Bypass secateurs work like a pair of scissors. Two curved blades slide past each other, creating a clean cut without crushing the stem. This is what you want for live wood, where the plant needs to heal cleanly. A clean bypass cut on a rose stem or shrub branch reduces the risk of disease entering through a damaged wound.
anvil secateurs have one cutting blade that closes against a flat metal surface. They crush as they cut, which sounds bad but is actually useful for dead or diseased wood where you do not need a clean wound. Anvil secateurs also handle thicker, harder stems more easily because the crushing action requires less hand strength.
For most gardeners, bypass is the default choice. Add an anvil pair later if you find yourself cutting a lot of dead wood or thicker material that strains your hands.
Our Top Secateur Picks
Best Overall: The Felco 2 Classic Bypass Secateurs are the gold standard for UK gardeners. Swiss-made with hardened steel blades, a sap groove to prevent sticky residue build-up, and a wire-cutting notch. They are the secateurs you will see professional gardeners using across Britain, and they are built to last decades with basic maintenance.
For gardeners with smaller hands, the Felco 6 Compact Secateurs use the same blade mechanism as the Felco 2 but with shorter handles and a narrower grip. If you have struggled with standard-sized secateurs feeling too large, this is the fix.
The ARS HP-VS9Z Secateurs offer a Japanese alternative with a lighter overall weight and extremely sharp blades straight out of the box. ARS secateurs are popular among bonsai enthusiasts and professional landscapers for their precision, though the handles are simpler in design than the Felco range.
Tip: If you are choosing between bypass and anvil and you are not sure, start with bypass. You can always add an anvil pair later, but you will use bypass secateurs for 80% of your garden pruning tasks.
Loppers: When Branches Are Too Thick for Secateurs
Loppers are essentially secateurs on long handles. The extra length gives you two things: more cutting power through longer handles, and more reach for branches that are hard to get to. Once your garden has established shrubs, fruit trees, or any woody plants with branches thicker than 20mm, loppers become essential.
When to Use Loppers
Reach for loppers when you need to cut branches between 20mm and about 40mm in diameter. That includes pruning fruit trees (apple, pear, plum), cutting back overgrown shrubs like philadelphus or buddleia, removing low-hanging branches, and tackling thicker dead wood that would stump your secateurs. The long handles also mean you can reach into the middle of a dense shrub without forcing your hands into the thorny interior.
Bypass vs Anvil vs Ratchet Loppers
The same bypass-vs-anvil choice applies to loppers. Bypass loppers make cleaner cuts on live branches, while anvil loppers handle dead wood and thicker material more easily.
The third option is ratchet loppers, which use a gear mechanism that lets you cut through thick branches in several squeezes rather than one. You squeeze, the ratchet locks, you reposition your grip, squeeze again, and the blade advances further. This dramatically reduces the hand strength needed and is a genuine help for gardeners who find standard loppers hard to operate. If you have any grip strength issues, ratchet loppers are worth the extra cost.
Our Top Lopper Picks
Best for Tough Cuts: The Gardena Comfort Ratchet Lopper SmartCut has a 4-stage ratchet mechanism that handles branches up to 45mm with surprisingly little effort. The anvil cutting principle crushes through dead wood easily, and the ergonomic handles reduce fatigue during extended pruning sessions. A strong choice for fruit tree maintenance.
For cleaner cuts on live wood, the Wolf-Garten RR750 Power Cut Bypass Loppers offer a bypass blade that makes neat, precise cuts on branches up to 45mm. Wolf-Garten is a German brand with an excellent reputation among UK gardeners, and their multi-change system means the heads can be swapped onto different handles if you already own Wolf-Garten tools.
Pruning Saws: For the Cuts Loppers Cannot Make
When a branch is too thick for loppers (over about 40mm), you need a pruning saw. These are compact, sharp, and designed specifically for cutting branches and small trunks. Do not confuse them with carpentry saws. Pruning saws have fewer, wider teeth that clear sawdust efficiently from green (wet) wood, and they cut on the pull stroke for better control.
When to Use a Pruning Saw
A pruning saw comes out when you are removing entire branches (not just trimming them), cutting through trunks up to about 150mm, dismantling a dead tree, or doing any substantial reshaping of established trees and large shrubs. If you have got a wisteria that has gotten out of control, a fruit tree that needs serious reduction, or a dead elder that needs removing, the saw is your tool.
Folding vs Fixed Blades
Folding pruning saws are the standard for garden use. They collapse into a compact shape that fits in a toolbox or belt pouch, and the folding mechanism protects the blade (and your fingers) when not in use. Fixed-blade saws are stiffer and often cut faster, but they are harder to transport safely and take up more shed space. For most gardeners, a folding saw is the practical choice.
Our Top Pruning Saw Picks
Best Overall: The ARS 210DX Turbo Cut Folding Saw is a favourite among UK arborists and professional gardeners. The 350mm blade handles branches up to 150mm with ease, and the impulse-hardened teeth stay sharp through heavy use. It folds flat for safe storage and the curved blade pulls through wood with minimal effort.
If you want something more affordable that still performs well, the Bahco 396-LAP Laplander Folding Saw is a versatile all-rounder. Originally designed for bushcraft, it handles garden pruning just as well. The 191mm blade is compact enough for tight spaces, and the XT teeth cut cleanly on both the push and pull stroke. It is the saw many UK gardeners reach for first.
Quick Decision Guide: Which Tool for Which Job?
| Task | Best Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Deadheading flowers | Bypass secateurs | Clean cut on soft stems, quick one-handed use |
| Harvesting herbs and vegetables | Bypass secateurs | Precision cuts that do not crush the stem |
| Cutting back perennials | Bypass or anvil secateurs | Depends on stem thickness and whether growth is live or dead |
| Pruning rose bushes | Bypass secateurs | Clean cuts help roses heal and reduce disease risk |
| Cutting shrub branches (20-40mm) | Loppers | Longer handles give the power to cut thicker wood that secateurs cannot |
| Pruning fruit trees | Loppers or saw | Loppers for individual branches, saw for removing whole limbs |
| Removing dead branches (40mm+) | Pruning saw | Saw handles thick dead wood that loppers cannot manage |
| Cutting back overgrown hedges | Hedge shears | Long straight blades for shaping, not individual branch cutting |
| Taking hardwood cuttings | Bypass secateurs | Clean cut below a node for best rooting results |
Building Your Pruning Kit: A Practical Approach
You do not need to buy everything at once. Here is how most UK gardeners build their cutting tool collection over time:
Start with bypass secateurs. A single quality pair covers the majority of garden pruning tasks. The Felco 2 is the safe choice, or the Felco 6 if you have smaller hands. This one purchase handles deadheading, harvesting, light pruning, and taking cuttings.
Add loppers when your garden grows. Once you have got established shrubs, fruit trees, or woody perennials with branches over 20mm, loppers become necessary. The Gardena Ratchet Lopper is a solid first pair that handles both live and dead wood.
Get a pruning saw when you need one. Most small urban gardens can manage without a saw for years. But if you are dealing with mature trees, removing dead wood larger than 40mm, or doing serious reshaping, the ARS 210DX or Bahco Laplander earns its spot in the shed.
Maintaining Your Pruning Tools
Good pruning tools last decades with basic care. After each use, wipe the blades clean, especially after cutting diseased wood where pathogens can transfer between plants. A quick spray with a diluted bleach solution (1:10 with water) or rubbing alcohol between plants prevents disease spread.
Oil the pivot joint occasionally with a light machine oil or even WD-40 to keep the action smooth. Sharpen bypass blades once or twice a year with a fine diamond file or whetstone. Store tools in a dry place, and if you carry them in a holster, make sure the blade is protected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Verdict
Every UK garden benefits from at least one good pair of bypass secateurs. They are the tool you will use weekly, sometimes daily, and a quality pair lasts decades. The Felco 2 remains the benchmark, but any bypass secateur with hardened steel blades and comfortable handles will serve you well.
Add loppers when your garden has branches that defeat your secateurs, and a pruning saw when you are dealing with serious tree work. Build the collection gradually, maintain what you have, and you will end up with a pruning toolkit that handles everything from deadheading petunias to reducing an overgrown apple tree.
Sam writes about garden tools and equipment for MyLushGarden, comparing products for real UK conditions using owner feedback, manufacturer specs and independent reviews.
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Last reviewed: August 17, 2026 - Evidence-based content - Contains affiliate links