Best Quality Secateurs

If you want to give a gardener a really special present then a pair of Felco secateurs must be the first choice.

These classic Secateurs have been copied by all and sundry. Felco is the choice of the professionals and you can literarily SMELL the quality when you open the packet. At about £35 and up they are quite an investment but can be serviced and repaired to last your lifetime. (Please contact Burton Mcall who have been the main service agent for decades)

Many professionals that I know,  and most of the gardening celebrities on TV tend to use Felco secateurs.

There is a large range to suit your  hand size and pruning requirements. Unless you lose them these secateurs really will last your lifetime. Model no 2 are the original ones. Felco also pioneered the use of rotating handles to reduce RSI and skin chaffing. See models no 7, 12 and 10 for left handed use.

The only small criticism I can make of Felco secateurs is that the small metal safety catches can be hard to access by people with arthritis or large cold fingers.

Felco Secateurs are made in Switzerland

A Cheaper alternative present

These Bulldog Alan Titchmarsh bypass secateurs are incredible value for money and give a great cut due to the blade made from the high grade Japanese steel. I use these a lot as I find them to be more comfortable than my more expensive Felco secateurs. After 2 years of hard use by myself and my gardening team they are still functioning well with no more than a quick occasional sharpen and a spray of GT85.

My Classic no 2 's

buy Felco secatuers online from a discount supplier

The GT85 lubricant is superb - and is Lavender scented!

Use link in box above - (may not work with Firefox browser)

Ratchet Secateurs for Easier Cutting of Thick Stems

(Ideal for older gardeners or people with reduced strength)

In my work former work for the NHS as a Horticultural therapist I recommended ratchet secateurs to hundreds of patients with arthritis or who had a weak hand grip.

 This enabled many people to carryon gardening when they would otherwise have given up. However anyone can benefit from using ratchet pruners as you will be able to cut larger stems more easily.

The ratchet action will enable you to cut woody stems up to 25mm with 30% less effort and reduce the chance of damage to arthritic knuckle and finger joints.

The downside to ratchet pruners is that they only come with Anvil blades, not bypass and the pumping action required takes slightly more time  (were talking nanoseconds).  However the improvement you get with cutting thick stems is lost if you want to cut thin or soft stems so please remember that ratchet pruners are specialized tool and not the best secateurs for general work. My preference is to have two secateurs , one bypass type for soft or thin living stems , and an anvil type for use on the thick or dead stuff.

There are many versions of ratchet secateurs available but these new ones from Bulldog Alan Titchmarsh range are as good as any and are made from Aluminium. They also have a finger guard built onto the lower handle which quite often saves you from a prickle if you don't wear gloves.

Diamond Sharpeners for Secateurs and Knives

Another tip-

Clean and dry your Secateur blade before using this sharpener - don't clog the diamonds with crud!

Red is fine whilst black is a coarser grade for blunter edges and larger blades

If you have both then use the black one first and finish off with the red one for the sharpest edge!

Fredshed tip - clean your Secateur blade with metholated spirits to prevent disease spreading to other plants.

To keep your secateurs sharp just lightly rub the diamond sharpener across the cutting edge 3 or 4 times, taking care to keep the same angle as the edge of the blade. This is made easier with a flat sharpener as you can adjust the angle to suit. 

Remember that bypass secateurs have one flat side and one angled  whilst  anvil secateurs have 2 angles sides

Fred's Favourite Telescopic Loppers

In my experience many telescopic loppers either snap or the twisting mechanism gets jammed after extensive use.

These  Wolf Garten  telescopic loppers are the ones that I  recommend for serious work based on 8 years of hard work with them. They genuinely cut a  40mm branch with ease and have an easy adjustment method.

The difference between these and other telescopic loppers is that the handles are oval in section and are stronger than round section handles. Also these handles lock in position with a sliding catch with a locating pin. Inferior telescopic handles twist to lock - most of the time!

Wolf RS650T Anvil telescopic Lopper,  RRP £59  (often discounted to around £40 inc postage)

Use my links opposite for discounted prices from my recommended suppliers. If you want a cheaper option that includes a ratchet mechanism then the Bulldog made loppers endorsed by Alan Titchmarsh are great value and good quality too.

A Cheaper Alternative

My assistant Vern uses the Wolf Telescopic Loppers whilst wearing his Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Click to see prices of Wolf Loppers from Fredshed's recommended supplier

Some recommended books

These are 3 books that think are worth their weight in gold.

Any book , CD, DVD or product bought via my links to Amazon will help support my work independently testing and reviewing products

The Warmest Thermal Socks in the World!

The Best Socks For wearing with Wellingtons

As I am a paraplegic and cant feel my feet I have poor circulation and can easily get hyperthermia. So keeping my extremities warm is so important to me that I go the extreme lengths to keep warm when gardening in the winter. My battery powered heated socks and hand knitted willy warmer were not a great success and some people say I was the inspiration for Wallace from Wallace and Grommet

One of my greatest new product discoveries are the Heat Holder Thermal socks. These brilliant new socks use the latest fleece flocking technology to produce the highest tog rating of any sock so far. 2.3 tog. They are available in many colours and sizes and are so soft and comfortable that I even wear them in bed!

Heat Holders Thermal socks are a must for Gardeners and anyone who works outdoors. I also think they are the best bed sock too!

Buy the Extra Long Ones if you use Wellingtons!

Men's and Women's Normal Length   

Men's and Women's  Extra long for Wellies!

AVAILABLE IN 9 COLOURS

My Favourite Fork and Trowel

Whilst my readers know that I am not a fan of stainless steel for full size forks and spades I am more enthusiastic about its use in small hand tools.

As stainless steel is not as strong as normal carbon steel  it is more suited to the smaller tools that suffer less strain.

At about £8 each these tools are very good value and will probably outlast wooden handled tools as the plastic and rubber is good quality and seems not to be affected by hot or cold weather.

These Spear & Jackson E series tools are a joy to use as they are well made and have comfortable soft grip handles.

If you are using handtools a lot then you will really appreciate these handles. I have left these tools out in the garden to see how durable they are and they are doing well. Wooden handled tools would have started coming apart by now as the changes in temperature and moisture shrink and crack wood.

I also like the hole in the handle for a hanging strap.

If you prefer traditional wooden handles the Draper range are a good price for the quality supplied

 Traditional Dutch Garden Hand Tools

Which are best - Sneeboer or Dewit?

Not many tools are made in Europe now but 2 family businesses in Holland are thriving and now export to the UK.

Sneeboer and Dewit tools have been around for generations but have only recently found there way to these shores as quality garden tools get harder to find. I know both of these manufactures personally and am happy to recommend their products. DeWit tools are made from high grade carbon steel whilst Sneeboer make similar tools but from stainless steel. In terms of strength and price Dewit come top but if you want a shiny finish and don't mind paying a premium then Sneeboer are for you.

The fork and trowel shown right are hand crafted from a special type of stainless steel and have seasoned Ash handles. I will also be testing many other Sneeboer tools including Mattocks and large digging tools.

Using hand crafted quality garden tools is a revelation and helps make your whole gardening experience more enjoyable. The tines of the fork are extra strong and the flat profile helps lift more soil.

The Ultimate trowel is longer and thinner than normal and just what you need to dig small planting holes with ease and less bending.

Below are the Dewit Onion hoes that come in left and right handed version. The range of Dewit tools is enormous and they are especially strong on small hand tools and cultivating tools.

 Click to See the Dewit range of Garden Tools

 See the Award winning Dewit long handled corkscrew weeder 

see the Sneeboer Ultimate Flowerbed Trowel

see the Sneeboer Stainless Steel hand fork

 Click to See the Dewit range of Garden Tools

Traditional British Made Fork and Spade

This tool has been in production for decades and is now available with the old fashioned block type wooden handle.

 National Trust Version in brown with Ash, Victorian style handles.

These are the smaller width "border version" tools

For the large digging size fork and spade see the Alan Titchmarsh tools opposite

Use My Links opposite for D handled Alan Titchmarch  Versions

The Bulldog Solid Forged Fork and Spade

This tool has been in production for decades and is now available with the old fashioned block type wooden handle.

They are available in 2 versions

1 In the Titchmarsh range - with brown metal parts, and D handle - use link below

2 In the  National Trust range with brown metal parts and old fashioned block handles.

use links on left side of pages

Classic English Garden Tools

Made in Wigan - used by Fred

Traditional Metal Watering Cans

Still Available - Still British Made!

Whilst plastic watering cans have the advantage on weight they don't have the durability of metal watering cans and this is proven by the amount of old fashioned galvanised steels can that are still being used today after being passed down from a generation or two of gardeners. A good quality plastic can may last a very long time but the majority of plastic cans sold today are cheap and nasty.

The traditional British metal watering was galvanised to stop it rusting,  grey in colour, with a copper rose. Being round, and bulky these cans caused a fair few bruises on my legs when I lugged one around as a youngster - many moons ago.  This style of can is still available but the coating is now titanium coloured galva-gaurd, which looks similar.

Modern British made metal watering cans come in a range of sizes and now you can get the slimmer profile ones that are easier on your legs and back.

All of the Haws watering cans are available in a range of colours and 2 sizes.

Modern Haws Watering Cans

These are my 2 modern Haws watering cans that I use in my garden in Oxford.

The silver one is metal and has a slimline profile that is easy to carry. It is galvanised steel so it wont rust and looks totally natural in a garden.

The green one is made from top quality plastic so it is very light to carry. It has 2 little spigots that are used to keep the rose and another small spout safe and always at hand when you need it.

click here for traditional metal watering cans