Fiskars Power Gear Pruners – Product Review

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

More power with less effort



The PowerGear technology employed with those pruners optimizes cutting power, enabling the user to tackle thicker stems effortlessly, whilst reducing strain on wrists.

The rotating handle does take a little getting use to but once that has happened, about five minutes after you have started using it, you wonder how you ever have managed with any other kind of pruner.

The large bypass pruner that I got with the Press Pack at the Garden Press Event 2010, and which I had wanted to do a review on for months now, can cut, according to the information, stems up to 20mm in diameter and as that is given for green wood and I have managed to cut dead wood – though for that anvil pruners should, rightly be used – the cutting power is tremendous.

The pruners cut effortlessly through the given size and that nigh on even in dead wood and this style definitely could become the choice for the serious gardener and professional.

The PowerGear pruners are somewhat chunkier than most conventional ones and hence might not, as easily, be accommodated in belt holsters, I am afraid, but that is just a little side comment. Maybe Fiskars could design a belt holster specifically for the PowerGear range.

A very well designed Bypass Pruner that has really got some power.

A very interesting thing is the little screw at the PowerGear handle area that allows for adjusting the opening width. Something that could be handy for some size hands, pardon the pun.

Made in Finland.

© 2010

Bulldog Ratchet Pruning Shears BD31303 – Product Review

20mm cutting diameter ratchet pruning shears

Review by Michael Smith

I have to say that this is the first of those kinds of pruning shears that I ever really have had an opportunity to use and review.

Other manufacturers and vendors for some reason have been more than reluctant, to say the least, to part with one of those for a proper and thorough product review and I leave the reader to draw his or her own conclusions as to the why and wherefore of this.

Bulldog's representatives on IOG Saltex 2008 were more than happy to supply me with one of those and so far I must say that I am quite impressed with this tool.

It took a little while for me to get the proper hang of it as to the best way of using it but once that had been mastered it is just a great piece of kit.

The maximum cutting size, in my opinion, should not be exceeded when cutting hardwoods, whether green or not, such as apply, plum, oak, etc. While it may work alright with slightly larger branch diameters, I must say that I would not recommend doing it.

Once the “trick” of properly using the ratchet is mastered this pair of pruners cuts through quite thick branches without any real effort. Small pruning is best done with the topmost tip of the pruners as it is then just the single snip. This is very good for dead heading of roses and also general small pruning rather than using the cutting jaws further down that then still employs the ratchet, making the cutting process a little slower.

On larger material the ratchet makes cutting virtually effortless and I recently used it to cut back a Willow (Salix) and in this instance cutting material with diameters of 35mm and such without any problems. It must be considered thought that green willow is a rather soft wood.

I also used it to prune some apple trees and in that case I restricted myself to about the maximum given diameter for this pair of pruners and there as well very little effort and strength was needed for the cutting.

From what I have seen so far as to the performance and reliability I can, I think, very much recommend this model of Bulldog's pruners without any hesitation.

Once again another piece of kit that is of fine quality at a very reasonable price.

© M Smith (Veshengro), October 2008
<>

Bulldog Bypass Pruning Shears BD3152 – Product Review

Rollins Bulldog have been making quality tools for gardening and agriculture for well over 200 years by now and most of those tools are still forged at Bulldog's Clarington Forge in Wigan.

The pair of bypass pruning shears, that I have the pleasure in reviewing here, are from the Premier Range, and came to me via a press pack from the 2008 Garden Press Event that was held at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster at the end of January 2008, are no exception here. They are a quality tool at a very reasonable price. At around GBP 13 these quality pruners certainly are not expensive.

The blades are forget from high carbon SK-5 Japaneses steel and the handles are sold aluminium into which the blades are securely bolted. The handles have green “elastomer” grips, preventing the tool slipping out of your hands.

Locking together of the handles is achieved by an old method though with modern materials, that is to say that an ABS plastic hook acts as the lock at the bottom of the handles, locking the pruners safely and secure.

The spring is of the common “caterpillar” kind which is, unfortunately, often prone to jumping out and getting lost. This problem is overcome, as it would appear, on the BD3152 pruners in that the ends of the spring has been recessed rather deep into the handles and I should think that it is nigh on impossible for the spring to jump out on its own without help.

The BD3152 pruners appear very well made and well thought out, as are all Bulldog tools, and should give years of faithful service at a great value price. The length of service obviously depends greatly on how they are used or abused and treated or mistreated during and especially also after work. This often makes or breaks a tool.

Pros:
High carbon steel blades, forged
Bladed bolted into handles
Solid aluminium handles with rubberized grips
Safe and secure locking mechanism
Value for money price

Cons:
Still trying to find any.

The BD3152 Bypass Pruning Shears from Bulldog are equally well suited, in my opinion, for the professional gardener as well as the allotment gardener or the amateur at home.

© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008

The Storm Kettle – Product Review

Originally, the Storm Kettle was handmade in Ireland - often by travellers who produced them in copper - for fishermen, itinerant workers and tourists. John Grindlay, who with his wife owns and runs the Eydon Kettle Company, modified the design and implemented modern manufacturing techniques in the early 1960’s.

John Grindlay borrowed an original copper kettle and took it to England during the winter. Tooling was manufactured and the first 10 kettles eventually produced. These were very quickly sold for £10 each in 1979, the assembly work being carried out by Mr Grindlay’s children who were then 8 years and 10 years old. Popular demand meant that production had to increase. Since 1979 the numbers sold have substantially increased each year.

Mainly these Kettles, whether sold in the UK, Germany, or elsewhere, are used by sportsmen, holiday makers, expedition organisers and outdoor enthusiasts. They have even accompanied the explorer John Blashford-Snell, while he was searching for signs of early civilisations on a trip to Central America.

Nowadays they can be found in the Solomon Isles helping remote islanders boil water to purify it, in remote parts of Southern Africa, where dried cattle dung is used by the Zulus as fuel, or in the Sahara Desert on expeditions.

I am always amazed though that they never seem to have found a take up by the still travelling Romani in the UK and elsewhere. The Storm Kettle does away with the need for a fire for just the purpose of brewing a cup of tea or coffee or even for the making of some other hot beverage.

Using a Storm Kettle means you can boil water easily, in the wettest and windiest of weather, both rapidly and safely. They are also environmentally friendly as you only need a sheet of newspaper and a handful of twigs as fuel. So the simplicity of the Kettle ensures that boiling water is always available, without the need to use gas, petrol or any other artificial fuel.

Storm Kettles come in two sizes, the Original and the Popular. The Original will boil up to 2.5 pints (approx. 1.5 litres) the Popular up to 2 pints (approx. one litre) – that should ensure more than enough hot water is available for you within minutes - at any time.

The water boils rather quickly and can be kept going by just adding further small sticks into the fire that is going in the burner beneath the kettle via the “chimney”.

One word of warning even though it is mentioned more than once in the literature and also on a sticker on the kettle itself: NEVER EVER use it with the cork in place. While the cork is very handy for carrying the kettle with water in it when heating the water the cork must be taken out of the spout.

The Storm Kettle & the cook set that nowadays is available for it is the ideal kit for forestry workers, countryside conservators, and other such like, such as Parks & Countryside Ranger, especially those working on maintenance tasks away from the main base.

While the Storm Kettle and accessories do not come cheap I can but recommend them.

The Prices for the kettles are: £43.00 for the Popular and £44.50 for the Original. Prices include V.A.T. and carriage.

Reviewed by Michael Smith (Veshengro), February 2008