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Best Pruners For Arthritic Hands [2023 Top Picks]

Plants need regular pruning to remove deadwood, which hinders their growth. Pruners have only one job; to make even cuts with your hands intact afterward. Making uneven cuts hurts plants and makes it difficult for them to heal, so you need a pruner you can trust. When choosing a pruning shear, you need to make sure it can get the job done. Not all pruners are comfortable to use, especially for people who have arthritis. Hence, we’ve aggregated what we believe are the best pruners for arthritic hands.

Sale
Gonicc Professional Titanium Pruning Shears
26,495 Reviews
Gonicc Professional Titanium Pruning Shears

Pruners are pretty easy to use, but if you have arthritic hands, they can cause you a great deal of discomfort, especially if you end up with one that’s smaller for your hands. For this review, we chose the Gonicc Professional Pruner as the best pruner for arthritic hands. It’s easy to use, it’s affordable, it’s lightweight, and it’s a bypass-styled pruner, but it’s not suited for tougher pruning tasks. For tough tasks, we recommend the Felco High-Performance Pruning Shears.


Contents

Comparison Table: Best Pruners For Arthritic Hands

Here’s a collection of the pruning shears we recommend for people who have arthritis.

Pruners For Arthritic HandsBest For
1Gonicc Professional Titanium Pruning ShearsFor smaller hands
2Garden Elite Premium Pruning Shear For women/all
3Honmamon Onoyoshi Pruning ShearsLeft-handed users
4Felco High-Performance Pruning ShearsFor men/all

Buying Guide – Best Pruners

The type of pruning shears you invest in and its features determine your pruning experience. Pruners are designed to shape and trim dead branches or damaged foliage. You must consider the features, size, metal quality, and ergonomics of the pruner you decide to buy. Since they are among the most used gardening tools, this means you may spend hours using them. 

Let’s take a closer look at the things you need to consider carefully before choosing your shears. 

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Pruner Style

There are three types of pruning shears you can choose: Anvil, bypass, and rachet. Anvil garden pruners for small hands have a single straight blade that closes down on an anvil hence the name. They are very similar to your regular knife as they share the same slicing acting action but work better for pruning sturdy or dead wood. Unlike bypass pruning shears, anvil pruners are somewhat bulkier, making it challenging to make crotch cuts with them. 

Bypass pruner shears are the most popular pruners in the market. They have two curved blades that help you make clean cuts when they move past each other. This pruner works the same way as a pair of scissors. One of the blades is sharpened on the inside edge and cuts as it moves over the unsharpened blade. Lastly, a rachet pruner is an anvil pruning shear with a mechanism that performs cutting actions in stages. People with weak or small hands will appreciate this pruner as it offers more leverage. 

Which of them is best? Each style of pruner is designed differently for a reason. However, if you want to make clean and close cuts, then a bypass pruner is your best bet. 

Ergonomics 

Pruning your plants means you have to invest a lot of time to trim your plants that will tire your hands. An ergonomic pruner requires less effort to close, reduces wrist strain, and improves your pruning experience. Also, ergonomically designed models make it easy for gardeners with arthritis or carpal tunnel. They are designed with rotating handles that reduce wear on your wrist and cushioned handles to reduce pressure. 

Some features horizontal inclination that keeps the pruner in a neutral position for smooth hand movements. Left-handed gardeners find it difficult to use some gardening tools, but they are not forgotten. Some models are designed for them to help them clean the damage caused by the winter comfortably. 

Pricing

When picking the right pruning shear for your garden, invest in a pruner that fits your budget and one that will last for a long time. Once you get this right, it will save you energy, money, and time. Start by searching for famous brand names such as Felco, Gonicc, and Garden Elite. Next, you have to search for keywords like “Ergonomic,” “Professional,” or “Rugged.” The last keyword refers to the quality of the metal – Titanium steel – which you can easily sharpen. 

Replaceable parts 

Not all pruning shears come with replaceable parts that wear out or break. From our research, we discovered that higher-quality pruning shears for small hands come with replaceable parts. Before you invest in a pruning shear, you need to understand that you will get what you pay for a pruner. Cheaper pruner products may not survive regular use and will require frequent replacement of parts. On the other hand, investing in a higher-quality pruner will be less expensive in the long run. 

Quality of the steel blades 

Pruning shears blades are made of steel and sometimes coated with sticky material or non-stick substances. When searching for the right pruning shears for small hands, look for a pruner with high-quality blades. Carbon or hardened steel last longer, require less sharpening and hold their sharp edge for multiple pruning jobs. Inferior blades, on the other hand, will not keep their sharp edge for lengthy trimming tasks. 

The next thing to consider is the space between the pruning blades – the close the blades, the better. Quality pruning shear brands allow you to adjust the tightness of the blades to ensure you always make clean cuts. 

Strong spring 

Pruning shears for small hands come with two types of springs. First is the wired spring, as seen in Honmamon, and second is the coiled spring (volute spring), as seen in Felco. The spring force the blades/handles apart when pressure is relaxed and reduces fatigue and workload on the hand. You might want to ask which is better. Both springs work well, yet you need to ensure the spring is firmly attached to the handles to ensure it doesn’t pop off when pruning. 

A loose spring can be pulled off when trimming shrubs or trees. Note that a pruner without springs is no different from scissors, as they will rely on you to pull the handles apart. You will have to pull the handles apart with every cut – it means you can only make few cuts and spend more time pruning.


Best Pruners For Arthritic Hands Reviewed

Below, we shared our thoughts about the best secateurs for arthritic hands. You’ll also find the best secateurs for small hands here. We’re certain that these pruners will make cutting plants a comfortable experience for you.

1. Best Pruners For Arthritic Hands – Gonicc 8″ Professional Pruning Shear

Sale
Gonicc 8
26,495 Reviews
Gonicc 8

Features: Quality blade made of Ultra-fine polishing technology, ergonomically designed non-stop handles, ultra-strong drop forged body, wired spring, and handles.

The Gonicc 8″ Professional Pruning Shear is a small-sized bypass pruner suitable for small hands. It’s lightweight and sports an ergonomically designed body that makes using it easy. The rugged blades in this pruner are designed from premium titanium steel and finished with ultra-fine polishing technology. It makes the blades durable, comfortable, and capable of making the required lightweight cuts with the utmost ease. 

Concerning sharpness, the blades are very sharp and prevent free pulp adhesion caused by rust on the blades. The sturdy handles in this pruner are made of quality aluminum and wrapped with foam for an ergonomic feel. This pruning shear has a cutting diameter of less than 3/4″ size tree branches or shrubs. It also comes with a sap groove that channels off saps trickling out from plants and prevents the blades from sticking. 

This pruner is reliable, sharp, and very comfortable for long hours of lightweight pruning jobs. The blades of this pruner allow you to cut the firm and spongy stems of live plants quickly with the bypass motion of the blades. The price of this Gonicc pruning shear is very reasonable for the quality that you will get. The blades are sharp, and your plant canes won’t turn sideways when cutting.

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2. Garden Elite Premium Pruning Shear

Sale
Garden Elite Premium Pruning Shear
719 Reviews
Garden Elite Premium Pruning Shear

Features: Hard and sharp non-stick steel blade, lifetime warranty, long-lasting, durable, and reliable garden primer, coiled metal spring, and an ergonomic rubber grip.

The Garden Elite Premium Pruning Shear is best suited for women with small hands. It helps you make every minute you spend in your garden count by offering you the best comfort. This pruner is an excellent choice to buy if you want a high-quality pruning shear for your plants. The blades are made of high carbon Japanese SK-5 steel that creates clean and fast cuts, thereby making your gardening enjoyable. 

Additionally, the blade is also coated with non-stop Teflon, which makes it rust-resistant and prevents sap and debris from sticking to the blade. The blade of this pruner is corrosion-resistant as it is coated with PFTE or Teflon. Furthermore, the blade features an anodized finishing that guarantees its reliability and durability for every season. Concerning warranty, this pruner also comes with a lifetime warranty along with Garden Elite customer support.

The handle is designed ergonomically for comfort by coating it with non-slip rubber grips and an easy-to-use thumb lock. The blades on this shear are molded by the best craftsmen for optimal cutting and sharpened easily for perfect cuts. With a cutting diameter of 25 mm, you can prune flowers, bushes, hedges, and branches smoothly with this pruner. 

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3. For Left-Handed Users – Honmamon Onoyoshi Pruning Shears  

Honmamon Onoyoshi Pruning Shears
4 Reviews
Honmamon Onoyoshi Pruning Shears

Features: Left-handed pruning shear, 200mm total length, wired spring, bypass pruner, button lock. 

Honmamon is a Japanese cutlery specialty that manufactures and sells quality kitchen knives. Honmamon Onoyoshi Pruning Shears is best for left-handed users with small hands handmade by Japanese craftsmen. The whole blade is heat-treated and passed through the process of forging and edging by the best craftsmen. This process of forging steel into a blade makes them extra strong and durable.  

This pruner is a bypass pruning shear, and the blade length is 55mm. The blades are made of carbon steel for making clean cuts. It comes with a wired spring that pulls the handles to each other after every cut and allows for long hours of pruning. 

Honmamon Onoyoshi Pruning Shears features a button lock that allows you to lock it after use. This feature protects the blades when they are not in use and ensure you don’t accidentally cut yourself. In all, the Honmamon pruner is a good pruner for left-handed users.

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4. Felco High-Performance Pruning Shears

Felco High-Performance Pruning Shears
1,795 Reviews
Felco High-Performance Pruning Shears

Features: Revolving handles, modified for large-sized hands, limited lifetime warranty, forged aluminum handles, and hardened steel blades.

Felco was established over 70 years ago in Switzerland to provide tools from the best available materials. Their products have remained durable over the years and are always made with the utmost precision for comfort and an impeccable user experience. It has an ergonomic design with a cushioned spring that reduces the impact of trimming plants on your hands. Also, it has a revolving handle for better comfort and suitable for any type of pruning. 

This pruner is a high-performance pruning shear and comes with a wire cutter for thin wires. The pruner also comes with a sap groove that reduces blade sticking while trimming plants and sports blades made of hardened steel that promises high performance while pruning. This pruner features an anvil pruning shear with a screw-mounted blade for clean and smooth cuts.

The blade gives you access to twiggy branches and allows for close cuts, and the swivel action in this pruner requires thirty percent less effort than conventional models. This pruner’s blade has a 200mm length and a cutting diameter of 25mm. It’s sturdy and feels durable.

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Conclusion 

Investing in a pruning shear for a small hand is not an easy decision to make. There are a lot of features you have to consider. When you plan to invest in any gardening tool, you need to take your time and do your research. Having read through our review and noted the essential features to look out for, you need to take out time to do your research before making a purchase.

Jessica Zander

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