1. a little context

I’ve been working in gardens & with roses since I was 10, with the necessary break for higher education. I started with by-pass pruners like everyone else during the 60s and 70s. My hands did get strong when I was young, for sure – but I couldn’t work for 10 hours even then due to the repetitive ligament & muscle action.

2. some full disclosure

For about 4 years, I used to work for Ironwood Tools / Horizons LTD selling belly-to-belly with a cutting table in my booth. I would set up, work the shows, then pack it all back up into a heavy van at the end of a long weekend. We aimed at Home and Garden Shows, State Fairs, County Master Gardener Shows, and other venues like city events, when invited.

The response was amazing when people got their hands on the tools and started to practice with the limbs – especially the big loppers.  Occasionally I would have a solution to someone who was out of the garden due to surgery on a shoulder or hand.  Those sales all felt good.

Here is an example of the cutting table after 8 hours of Show time.

Through years of doing this on a weekly basis during the growing season from January to October, I rarely had a tool returned or broken.  I would shock the people who would return one occasionally, by pulling one off the booth wall & hand it to them, with a thank you for letting us prove that the lifetime guarantee worked.  Impactful – and no questions asked.

That’s why I liked selling these belly-to-belly. 

My own use of these tools was extreme too. I had to start each show with 2 large bins filled to breaking with limbs for the table, plus I used them at home & in volunteering projects connected with The Jardiniste. 

Keeping my own set working required rebuilding them only 1 time each year around Christmas, when I wasn’t working outdoors. I’d just disassemble one, clean it, lube it, then put it back together.  Low headache.

Inevitably, a surgery

So after 55 years of using hand tools on a weekly basis in all parts of my curiosity-filled, befuddled life, arthritis started up. I was so limited in function from 2013-14, that I opted for a Proximal Carpectomy on my right hand.  Sounded expensive then, too.

That meant they took out 2 bones and cleaned out some of the arthritis that had grown on other bones. Good thing I was asleep.

All went well, and thanks to insurance, it didn’t break the bank. Here’s the post-op x-ray. The white spots below the knuckles are where the bones were taken out.  What a huge change it has made.

I don’t have much limit on my hand work now, plus I’m less afraid of cold weather. And my outdoor endurance is better, too.

In fact, for the following 3 years, I was trimming ~1000 rose bushes in Washington during February for the Spring budding, and then deadheading them weekly from May till November.

Fast Forward to 2018-2023.  Without the ratchet tools these days, I wouldn’t be able to work the long days in the garden the way I want to.  These tools are my working secret, and I think more people would benefit from them if they knew about them.  If you don’t see them at a Home & Garden Show, you might not ever know about them.  So here I am as a blogger with pruning experience, suggesting them.

Modular design for easy parts replacement

Aircraft 6063-T6 aluminum alloy

The ball-bearing bolt in the hinge for easy oiling (shown)

Robust steel springs

Very strong coated mild steel blades

Cuts small limbs with the tip of the blade too, without using the ratchet mechanism

Thick steel ratchet mechanism for strength

Allows cutting of anything I can fit into the jaws

8 ft reach lopper with extending handles that lock

Small, cushioned hand grips for working all day

Big lock buttons on the pruners that limit surprises in my pocket OUCH . .

#IW 1405 ratchet pruners

Solid aluminum pruner with finger guard & curved coated steel blade.  Will cut up to 1 in. green limbs all day long.

# IW 1500 secateurs

 These long nose bypass cutters are my basic deadheading tool. Good reach into the bush & fast cutting.

IW-1425 lopper

• This is the big guy.  You can literally cut anything green that you can put in the jaws.  Extended handles give you serious leverage, which helps you work overhead.
• spring tree pruning
• storm clean-up
• winter emergencies
• hardwood pruning
• fire-break clearing
• warning off a neighbor

Features I like

• Massive ratchet
• Extending handles
• 3 inch jaws
• Replaceable parts
• Tough enough for farms
• Works quickly
• You can lead a clean-up
• It’s fun to demonstrate

Model # IW1421

Sometimes called the “Lady Lopper” because of its light weight and ease of use.  Will cut almost anything green put in its 2 in. jaws.

Features I like 

• lightweight aluminum
• 2 in. Coated steel blade
• beefy 5/8 inch ratchet
• cushioned handles

# IW-1401 mini ratchet pruner

This nylon ratchet pruner is lightweight and designed for small hands, but is surprisingly tough and economical.  Coated steel blades will cut 5/8 in. green limbs.

IW-5210 folding saw

The handiest 210 mm folding saw with nastiest teeth I have ever used.  It also has clearing notches in the blade to carry out sawdust, and the blade is replaceable. If the lopper doesn’t get it done, this will.

# IW 1490 sharpener 

This 10 inch diamond sharpener brings 400 grit on the round side, and / 600 grit on the flat side, and a cord loop.

10 pulls on the flat side and your pruners are ready for about 3 hours of work.

IW 7500 & 1700 pole saw

This 19 ft pole saw won’t get hung up like many others because of the clearing notches on the blade and the uber-aggressive teeth.  It can also work separately from the pole for hand work.

Works well for limbing, of course, but also does well in cutting vines out of trees, pulling widowmakers out of fir trees, & threatening the idiot neighbor kid

Features I like

• adjustable length to 19 ft
• double-lock pole
• clevis pin lock
• insane steel blade
• limb hook on tip
• blade eyelet for cord pull