What is the difference between anvil and bypass loppers

If you are using an anvil pruner for most of your pruning needs — you are using the wrong tool. Anvil pruners work similar to a knife where a blade is pushed through the plant material onto a cutting board, ie the anvil. Bypass pruners work more like scissors where two blades pass by each other. At first glance there does not seem to be much of a difference between these tools, but the difference is significant. Anvil prumers tend to crush soft plant tissue. When you use a bypass pruner correctly see below , you will do almost no damage to the plant.

Anvil pruners do work a bit better than bypass pruners for cutting up old dead wood but for most of us, that is not a very common job in the garden.

You are usually pruning live plant material or wood that has recently died. Think about cutting back a branch to a fresh bud. The diagram below shows the correct cut, which is just above a bud. In order to make the cut this close to the bud, the pruner needs to be held very close to the bud. With the anvil pruner there is a risk that the bud or the tissue around the bud sits on the anvil and gets damaged during the cut.

Using bypass pruners, you can hold the pruner so that none of it touches the bud during the cutting process. The diagram below shows the proper way to hold the pruner to cut off a branch from the trunk. The right side of the diagram — the wrong cut — will result in a stub and the metal parts of the pruner will touch and damage the stub — neither is good for the plant.

The important point to understand is that the secateur should be held so that only the blade touches the wood or stem that will be left on the plant.

This does mean that you might need to turn your hand depending on your relative position to the bud. If you follow this rule, you will have very little damage to the plant. I tried out a large anvil type pruner a couple years ago.

Next day it started hurting pretty bad, and took a few days to get worked out. So that is something else to consider as an advantage for by-pass type pruners. That is very clear including pics. The guy in the garden center unfortunately knew no difference between anvil and bypass pruners. Looks like you need to take out a bolt…. Tightly closed now. Thank you. No one in the garden centre knew the difference between a bypass and anvil secateurs.

Probably because I needed a set of anvil ones! Fabulous information. I finally understand the proper way to prune. The diagrams are priceless! Thanks of this it add up to my knowledge. Thank you! I was using an anvil pruner and recently bought a set with both anvil and bypass pruners. Whereas bypass pruners, with their slightly more scissor-like appearance, feature a sharp blade and a counter blade. When in use, the two blades bypass each other to create a clean cut.

Traditionally, the term anvil describes a metalworking tool that is forged or cast from a large block of steel. Its distinctive flat top is used as a worktop upon which another object can be struck or hand-hammered.

It mirrors the way a kitchen knife works when chopping onions, carrots or garlic on a cutting board. Its distinctive design ensures the blade will never twist or allow for resistance.

The cutting mechanism displayed in bypass pruners, shears, loppers, and secateurs lives up to this notion of circumvention. It consists of two blades, with the top blade moving downwards to bypass the counter blade, creating a scissor-like motion. Front and back view of Davaon Pro Bypass Secateurs. On the downside, this movement creates room for resistance and allows the blades to twist when faced with materials that are too large or hard-wearing.

On the other hand, however, the bypass cutting mechanism allows for pristine and smooth cuts. By now we know anvil pruners create more of a crushing sensation than a traditional, scissor-like clean-cut. Understandably, this eliminates anvil pruners as the preferred option for precision cutting. It also makes them unsuitable for most living plants, as its slashing mechanism can damage the small tissue found in stems, petals and branches and interfere with their healthy regrowth.

On the other hand, however, the powerful slicing motion most similar to chopping makes anvil secateurs an ideal tool for trimming hardy branches and deadwood. To make it comfortable to use, its top handle is covered with rubber. Regardless of whether you are right- or left-handed, the tool should work for you because its blade latch is accessible from both sides of the handle.

This small, lightweight pruner is a study in mechanical efficiency. Made by the same manufacturer as the ratcheting lopper, it's designed to have a cutting force seven times that which you apply to the handle. The reason is the blade. In a process called austempering, the high-carbon steel blade is treated to make it very tough and chip resistant, yet able to be resharpened.

The tool's body is glass fiber-reinforced nylon. This tool takes a basic approach to providing maximum cutting power and performance. First, its ash handles are about 2 ft. Suedelike rubber grips on the handles' ends help you get a good grasp of the tool. When you close the handles together, the branch is trapped by the hook-shaped lower jaw as the scimitar-shaped blade makes a shearing cut through it.

The blade has a nonstick coating to keep sap from accumulating on it, and this not only reduces the drag on the blade, but it makes the blade easier to keep clean, which ensures that cuts heal properly. To reduce the jolt you feel when the branch is cut through, the lopper is equipped with a heavy rubber bumper at the base of the cutting head. A thoroughly modern and very powerful lopper, this compact tool uses a compound hinge to multiply cutting force.

The result, its manufacturer says, is that it will shear through a 2-in. To reduce the blade's tendency to twist under load, a pair of hinged straps connect the blade and lower. Likewise, the handles are less likely to twist because they are oval-shaped aluminum, with their long axis in the same plane as the shears.

A pair of finned rubber grips and rubber bumpers are designed to absorb cutting shock and make the tool comfortable to use. Its bright yellow color will make it easy to find in a pile of brush. This is the latest version of a professional-quality bypass pruner introduced 30 years ago. The Swiss-made tool has relatively straight, forged aluminum handles that are rubber-dipped for a nonslip comfortable grip. It comes right out of the package with a razor-sharp blade. The lower jaw has a sap groove - this space allows the sticky material to drain away so that it doesn't stick the blade and jaw together.

Another professional-quality feature is the small notch in the lower jaw that allows the tool to cut the thin, comparatively soft wire that is used in plant packaging. The entire tool can be disassembled for cleaning, sharpening and repair. Box , Ogdensburg, NY ; To use it, hook the stainless steel lower jaw over the branch and pull either the orange midhandle or the orange knob on the end of the tool.

The chain drive pulls the tool's steel blade through the branch. The blade has a low-friction coating to reduce the cutting force required, and to make it easier to keep clean. Type keyword s to search.