A trusty pair of garden shears or secateurs is one of the most effective weapons in your gardening arsenal. While they're invaluable during springtime's burst of roots and shoots, they're just as handy year-round, with many growers opting for a few different pairs to cover all bases. Whether you need an extendable pair with long handles for trimming the lawn or a telescopic one for reaching those high branches, there's plenty to choose from.
These tools will help you restrict rebellious plants, trim overflowing grass and hedges and promote healthy growth in your decorative shrubs. All you need to do is find the right set! We're here with our ranking of the best garden shears for roses, the best pruning shears and the best lightweight shears in the UK for arthritis and more, all available from Amazon and Argos.
Quick List - Top Garden Shears
Berger
A Regular-Sized Pair of Shears With Wavy 60 CM Blades for Hedges, Bushes and Shrubs
Spear & Jackson
Straight-Bladed Shears With an Intuitive Geared Mechanism to Make Your Work Easier
GRÜNTEK
Extra-Long Telescopic Shears Measuring 82.5 CM for Trimming Hard-To-Reach Greenery
JEOutdoors
High-Quality Short Pruning Shears Made From Robust Carbon Alloy for an Affordable Price
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Table of Contents
The rule to remember with handles is that the smaller the handle, the greater your control, though you will have less leverage. Likewise, longer shears are your best bet if you want good leverage, but you will sacrifice some control. Here are the three main types:
Need more than shears to shape your hedges? Take a look at our list of hedge trimmers!
The blade is essentially the workhorse of this whole tool, and its functional design is a vital factor in how they will work and what they’re best at. Depending on the foliage in your garden, you may only need one type of shear. However, most people find that they need both at some point in their gardening lifetime.
Your first choice is straight blades. These are two regular, flat cutting blades that produce clean, sharp cuts. They’re better when it comes to cutting grass at the base of trees, shrubs, young shoot-ups or just general greenery.
The other option is serrated or wavy blades, which have the same composition as the classic shears, only their shape is designed to grip twigs and stop them slipping from your grasp. They'll often be a little thicker because they’re designed for cutting through tougher and more resilient branches or hedges.
The material most manufacturers tend to use for the blades of their garden shears is carbon steel. We would recommend this for many reasons, such as its impressive durability and shock resistance. It’s also relatively economical and easy to recycle compared to other metals.
It's not the only option, however. You may see different alloys, which are essentially a combination of two or more metals. All of our recommendations that aren't carbon steel are still known for being robust and will perform well, but if you want to opt for a material you know, the best bet is carbon steel.
Another important thing to look out for is whether a coating has been applied. This additional layer lengthens the lifespan of the blades and helps maintain their cleanliness, which is especially useful if you're cutting a lot of deadwood. The coating essentially protects the blades from moisture which prevents them from rusting.
Keep your hands protected too with a safe pair of gardening gloves!
Looking for a pair of shears with a good safety catch will not just be advantageous in stopping accidents. That is the feature's primary purpose, of course, so it will be a useful addition if you have a home full of children or you'd just like some peace of mind.
However, there's more. As with many of the other components, the safety catch can affect how easy and comfortable the shears will be to use and how long they’ll last. This is because it will keep the shears taut, preventing any slackness.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Berger Hedge Shear Comfort|4590 | ![]() | A Regular-Sized Pair of Shears With Wavy 60 CM Blades for Hedges, Bushes and Shrubs | |
2 | Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Geared Hedge Shears | ![]() | Straight-Bladed Shears With an Intuitive Geared Mechanism to Make Your Work Easier | |
3 | GRÜNTEK Telescopic Hedge Shears Q-32 | ![]() | Extra-Long Telescopic Shears Measuring 82.5 CM for Trimming Hard-To-Reach Greenery | |
4 | JEOutdoors ZEM Pruning Shears | ![]() | High-Quality Short Pruning Shears Made From Robust Carbon Alloy for an Affordable Price | |
5 | Bahco P75 Edging Shear | ![]() | Precision Edging Shears With Smooth Blades for Concise, Clean-Cut Incisions | |
6 | Jakoti Hand Shears | ![]() | A Perfect Trimming Tool for Budding Topiarists to Neaten up Their Shrubs and Bushes | |
7 | Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Telescopic Edging Shears | ![]() | Angled Blades for Cutting Grass and Strong Steel Handles for Durability | |
8 | Okatsune 217 Shrub Shears | ![]() | Lightweight Japanese Steel Sheers Capable of Tackling Pretty Much Any Branch | |
9 | McGregor Telescopic Hand Shears | ![]() | Rust-Resistant Blades With Telescopic Handles for Trimming High Hedges All Year Round | |
10 | GRÜNTEK Garden Pruning Shears | ![]() | Small Shears Built to Promote Healthy Plants Without Them Growing Out of Control |
When it came to our top two, we opted for both of them to be standard size as this is usually the most sought-after variety from your everyday gardener. That said, they vary slightly. These from Berger have wavy blades that measure 60 cm in length and are designed to take on a range of hedges, bushes and shrubs.
What's more, they have high-quality beech wood handles integrated with what the company call a dampener. This means they'll cause less wrist fatigue, so you'll be able to work comfortably and continuously until the work is finished.
These standard-sized, straight-bladed shears from Spear & Jackson have a brilliant and intuitive geared mechanism that makes the work easier. Plus, not only do they have the perfect carbon steel material, but they're also coated for longer-lasting protection.
In addition to the mechanism and blades, the cutters utilise lightweight but strong handles to give you extra oomph when slicing away unwanted greenery. However, there is still comfort there, thanks to the inclusion of some cosy, non-slip grips.
These professional-grade shears once again show that you don't always need to fork out to get something high quality. The first thing to mention is the four adjustable lengths that take the shears up to 82.5 cm. These are the longest of our ten picks, so if you have some hard-to-reach PeeGee hydrangeas, these will be spot on.
Moreover, they have strong and coated 24 cm steel blades that are great for cutting dry wood or fresh greenery. Best of all, they have shock-absorbing handles, so you can get stuck into dogged branches and not worry too much about rattling your bones.
With robust carbon alloy steel blades, spring-loaded and comfortable wood-imitation handles, you'd be forgiven for thinking that these short pruning shears from JEOutdoors were going to set you back a pretty penny.
Fortunately, you'd be wrong, as they are extremely wallet-friendly. Besides the well-designed blade and handles, these shears also have a reliable and sturdy locking mechanism, which is ideal if they accidentally fall into the wrong hands.
There's nothing like a neatly trimmed lawn to bring all your hard work together and make your garden pop, and these excellent edging shears from Bancho will help you achieve just that. They produce concise and clean-cut incisions thanks to their smooth and frictionless blades.
The handles come in at 90 cm, which should be ample length for most folk to trim away in total comfort. Additionally, they have a self-locking nut and collar that protect the tool from jarring when in use.
These hand shears from Jakoti are chiefly designed for shearing sheep. However, many gardeners find them to be a useful tool for giving their shrubs and bushes a good short back and sides too. Plus, the high-quality carbon steel blades are self-sharpening, which is a nice bonus.
Due to their size, these cutters are ideal for pruning and clipping perennials and other small-leafed bushes, and the ergonomic handles are comfortable to use for long periods. An excellent choice for any topiary enthusiasts out there!
The angled blade of these shears indicates that they're designed to assist you in trimming the edges of your lawn. However, while that might be their principal purpose, due to the size of their handles, they're also well equipped to carve any overhanging branches that might be too tall for you.
In addition to having hollow ground carbon steel blades for lasting sharpness, the cutters also have steel handles. This is said to provide the user with extra strength and durability, but while that might be true, unfortunately, they aren't going to be as comfortable to use.
Yes, they are expensive, but the blades on these shears really are something else. Okatsune uses only the highest-quality tempered Japanese steel, so while they might look thin and feel light, they're easily tough enough to tackle pretty much any branch you can throw at them – perfect for those with weaker hands.
The company also offers these in various sizes, but we think the versatility of this regular-handled, long-bladed pair makes them the best choice. As we mentioned, these are pricey, but if it weren't for that, these brilliant shears would find themselves much higher up in our ranking.
These nifty shears from McGregor will keep your garden looking neater, quicker. The blades are 22 cm in length, and the telescopic handles extend from 38-53 cm, so they'll have you covered when it's time to reach the tops of high hedges.
Furthermore, the non-stick blades are rust-resistant, which is handy for year-round gardening on our slightly damp British isle. While the adjustable handles are a good feature, some have found that the locking system to keep them in place isn't too great, so they can slip out from time to time, which can be pretty frustrating.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a pair of pruning shears more straightforward than these from GRÜNTEK. Their main aim is to promote healthy growth by pruning, which they achieve by using a girdling effect that alters the movements of nutrients in the plant. This benefits leaf growth while preventing overall plant growth.
The shears are only small, coming in at 19.5 x 5.5 cm, so you'll want to keep these for branches that aren't too difficult to reach and that don't require much strength as you'll have no leverage. If this sounds like what you need, though, they're a great economical option.
No. 1: Berger|Hedge Shear Comfort|4590
No. 2: Spear & Jackson|Razorsharp Geared Hedge Shears
No. 3: GRÜNTEK|Telescopic Hedge Shears Q-32
No. 4: JEOutdoors|ZEM Pruning Shears
No. 5: Bahco|P75 Edging Shear
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