Branch loppers

[Johny London]

Hoping to forage a few branches this year (having decided against going down the log ie axe/chainsaw/petrol/saw horse rout). I picked up a pair of 55mm ratchet loppers in Wickes the other day, only for the handles to bend immediately I tried testing them on a dry old bit of 40mm branch So, they're going back.

Wonder if anyone knows a type that are still properly manufactured? I used to have a fairly basic pair from Homebase and you could practically stand on them - never bent and always cut.

Maybe the ones with extending handles are not the way to go? What is the difference between Anvil and bypass? I had hoped to get a pair that would give me some  sort of leverage advantage over the standard type. Everything seems like Chinese poor quality metal these days.

[tree monkey]

Depends on how much you want to pay,

Fiskars or felco come well recommend but sandvick or bulldog should be ok.

Anvil, have one blade that presses down on an anvil

Bypass have an action similar to scissors. 

Anvil are rather dependent on a sharp blade but tbh for rough branch foraging I would go bypass

[rasputin]

40mm is a bit on the big side for loppers, I always used to tell my trainees, nothing thicker than your penis 

[Johny London]

24 minutes ago, rasputin said:

40mm is a bit on the big side for loppers, I always used to tell my trainees, nothing thicker than your penis 

Yes well you see... actually... no never mind.....

There's not much point in something opening up much wider than it can cut though, is there?

Hey Tree Monkey, thanks for that - the good pair I used to have were scissor type so might go for those again. I don't think anvil suit my style. Will definitely look at the brands you mention - after all I want to get a good bit of use out of them so don't mind spending a bit.

PS: some seem to have like a dual pivot point type mechanism - is that so you can apply more pressure or something? I guess if I just get a big expensive pair I'll be ok.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Johny London

[mark99]

You may need a lot of lopping to keep you warm. My rule of thumb was two carrier bags per night when I used to scavenge only branches when dog walking.

[Mac of Cygnet]

Really dry wood is much harder to cut with loppers, and  you wouldn't want to be cutting or burning live wood, would you?   A saw, hand or chain, deals with dry wood far, far better.

[X Alan W]

As M of C says you don't want to be lopping off live branches & then burning more or less straight away a saw is a much better bet for dead wood Have you thought about a" Leccy" chainsaw they will cut wood better than loppers

[WotEver]

Cordless chainsaws are quiet and convenient if you’re only going to use one for short-ish periods. 

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p16796?r=googleshopping&rr=marin&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=syH8YTgWQ_dm&pcrid=142476648874&pkw=&pmt=&product=16796&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgb3OBRDNARIsAOyZbxC5WZEqLywu4Z4m4sUmuZb-ndoSL196Zj-nlNBQ5FWVXyoP_5qYLKgaAukvEALw_wcB

[Johny London]

My plan was to pop out each morning for an Ikea bag full - only takes about ten mins as I've already been doing that. Currently I just snap the bits and chuck them in the bag, but I wanted to "scale up" production a little, hence the loppers. A little and often strategy also saves on storage plus most people don't bother with branches so there's lots around.

Didn't think of the electric chainsaw - that would work for me but the battery and charger adds another £100 to it, so maybe something to go to if the loppers don't work out.

I should add that I want to use a bit of coal plus branches - so I have flame from the wood and staying power from the coal. I've got a bow saw too so can tackle slightly bigger bits of wood It's nice to cut it all up in situ then bring to the boat, to save making a mess - I've seen people at the towpath using chainsaws and saw horses but personally I think that is a tad inconsiderate to other users. It's a bit messy, noisy and potentially dangerous.

[Guest]

Or arm yourself with a good quality pruning saw, they are fiercely sharp and will go through reasonable sizes branches rapidly. Light to carry, quiet and easy to store. 

[Jess--]

31 minutes ago, Meanderingviking said:

Or arm yourself with a good quality pruning saw, they are fiercely sharp and will go through reasonable sizes branches rapidly. Light to carry, quiet and easy to store. 

I use one of these when gathering wood from local woodland (with permission) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231836513356 

anything up to 8 inches is quick and easy to cut and the blade doesn't get pinched easily.

they come with a clip on plastic blade cover, use it at all times as the teeth on the blade are ridiculously sharp

[Johny London]

Excellent idea - infact someone I came across a while ago had something similar and said it was very good. Definitely putting one on the list.

[tree monkey]

If you want the dogs in pruning saws

http://www.silkysaws.com

Be very careful,  after many years of using I have decided they demand a blood sacrifice everytime they are used

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Jess-- said:

I use one of these when gathering wood from local woodland (with permission) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231836513356 

anything up to 8 inches is quick and easy to cut and the blade doesn't get pinched easily.

they come with a clip on plastic blade cover, use it at all times as the teeth on the blade are ridiculously sharp

I use the Wolfgarten saw for work, superb quality for the money.

1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

If you want the dogs in pruning saws

http://www.silkysaws.com

Be very careful,  after many years of using I have decided they demand a blood sacrifice everytime they are used

I usually stick to cutting branches not body parts ............... 

Definitely the mutts nuts of saws though! 

[mark99]

At home I use an extendable lopper, must extend to 20 foot, on which you can remove lopper and screw in a saw pruner. Will extend your range!

 

 

[Ssscrudddy]

That greenworks chainsaw is excellent, & not scarily powerful like a petrol 1, but powerful enough. Uses an Oregon chain. The 45 mins runtime works out at about 2 hours work, & by the time you've then finished splitting that lot as well you'll probably want to call it quits for the day.

Just 1 comment about the chain, it seems to be a weird sized 1 only available in asian (oriental) countries.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Ssscrudddy

[tree monkey]

20 minutes ago, Ssscrudddy said:

That greenworks chainsaw is excellent, & not scarily powerful like a petrol 1, but powerful enough. Uses an Oregon chain. The 45 mins runtime works out at about 2 hours work, & by the time you've then finished splitting that lot as well you'll probably want to call it quits for the day.

Just 1 comment about the chain, it seems to be a weird sized 1 only available in asian (oriental) countries.

If its bog standard oregon chain any decent dealer would be able to make one up

2 hours ago, mark99 said:

At home I use an extendable lopper, must extend to 20 foot, on which you can remove lopper and screw in a saw pruner. Will extend your range!

 

 

Can I just make a geeky request to leave deadwood in the trees and not cut it out

Ideally deadwood would be left on the ground and not burnt but I am pragmatic enough to understand how important keeping warm is

[matty40s]

13 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

 

Can I just make a geeky request to leave deadwood in the trees and not cut it out

Ideally deadwood would be left on the ground and not burnt but I am pragmatic enough to understand how important keeping warm is

This must be a sitting on a wooden fence moment for you.

 

[Johny London]

Just a quick update - I had a good look around the shops and got to handle a few different types of lopper. aw a few models of fiskar but I didn't like them as the handles bend a bit and gave me the impression they might suddenly snap - though I bet someone will tell me its the same stuff as used in F1 so they wouldn't snap - but that's how it felt to me. Wilkinson Sword had some pretty tasty ones but then I remembered some garden snippers I had that soon rusted so I decided to keep away from chinese steel.

Bunnings (the new version of Homebase and coming to a store near you, soon) had the best selection and I settled on a pair of Gardena, German made loppers. Not come across the brand before but could easily feel the quality - I won't break these.

So far very successful and they cut up to and beyond their stated max - as a good tool should, not the other way round.

I also picked up a cheap folding pruning saw - Draper £7 and going strong - if I get a season out of it I might go for one of those £30 ones next winter, just wanted to prove the usefulness of it first.

Currently snug and warm with todays forage

Sorry about all the trees and that...

[Murflynn]

I have 2 Fiskars loppers, one is a simple lopper and one is a ratchet lopper - both of them broke (the plastic head) when I tried to cut something too thick (not my d*ck ) and twisted them to try to break the branch off.  I sent Fiskars a photo of the broken loppers and both of them were replaced without any hassle.  I would buy again, but as said before, don't try to cut dry wood or anything wider than can be accommodated by the throat of the loppers (as opposed to the open end).

[bastion]

The nursery where I used to work at started stocking fiskar tools and quite frankly they were rubbish not what I expected from such a famous brand. They must of been taken over for the brand name.

[matty40s]

just nip up the Trent and Mersey East of the Alrewas river section or the North Oxford, wood lying everywhere.

[Johny London]

Hmm, glad I went with my instinct - I'm sure I won't break the Gardenas, they are stronger than I am.

[BWM]

On 30/09/2017 at 13:27, Meanderingviking said:

Or arm yourself with a good quality pruning saw, they are fiercely sharp and will go through reasonable sizes branches rapidly. Light to carry, quiet and easy to store. 

Good quality being the key, the cheaper ones don't last when regularly used to cut dry timber. 

[bizzard]

Fix a small sharp panel saw to a long stick, while standing on the ground offer up to branch and pump it up and down.  Electricity boards use this method with a little saw on the end of, like screw together  aluminium sweeps rods for really high branches that are interfering with the overhead power cables.

Edited November 7, 2017 by bizzard