Best pruning saw [UK]:Top garden saws and electric pruning saws reviewed

This is another professional standard pruning saw, this time with a straight blade and so better suited to dealing with branches and logs at upper body height. That’s not to say it can’t be used for cutting through roots and such, it’s just that this saw is at its optimum performance when used at waist to shoulder height.

The 240mm blade is razor sharp, has a teeth ratio of 8 per every 30mm, and will have you sawing through an 8 inch thick log in minutes if you are willing. The blade has been hardened and chrome plated to improve its durability and to make sure it lasts a long time. Silky are a Japanese brand that receives a lot of praise from gardening experts and it’s easy to see why. The quality of all the components of this garden saw is top notch and inspire confidence from the user, especially the curved handle, they’ve spent a lot of time working on the ergonomics of that.

The rubber handle feels so comfortable in the hand and much of that is to do with the rubberised handle that really helps stop slipping. 
Included with the saw is a polypropylene sheath with a belt clip.
 This is more expensive than the Wilkinson and certainly equals the cut power. So overall a decent alternative.

If you do piny up the extra for the quality it makes sense to look after the blade. this lovely Aussie lady takes a while to get into her video but how to look after a Silky blade gets started where I’ve set you on the video:

Pros:

• Japanese attention to detail makes this a very high quality product
• Recommended by professional gardeners
• Razor sharp 240mm straight blade
• Chrome plated for longevity
• Extremely comfortable to hold

Cons:

• Price is right up there
• No better at cutting than the Wilkinson or Draper
• Hard to justify the extra expense for an occasional user

First off the bat, their demo sums this saw up pretty much spot on. This is the ideal sized branch to be trimming:

When it comes to value for money, it’s hard to beat this for £8.09. Despite the lo price point, the makers are so sure of its quality they have given it a lifetime warranty.
 So actually it’s a longer warranty than the Wilkinson I have been raving about!

The 8 inch saw blade has 9 teeth per inch and does a great job of slicing through branches thanks to the Japanese style ‘cut on pull’ designed to reduce friction.
 the handles worth a mention too. The feel is nice and you can expect to hold on reasonably well. However, theres no chance of me using a pruning saw without gloves as per their demo image.

Also on the point of reducing friction, the blade is uncoated, but this also means that it is susceptible to the elements and partly explains the low price. The blade is constructed of Manganese carbon steel for extra hardness and long-lasting sharpness but that does mean it’ll rust easily as I say. So make sure you wipe it down after use and squirt some oil if you have some handy.

One feature I’ve not mentioned much but should on the openable blade saw – the blade is locked at the top once fully opened for safety and preventing it snapping back closed adding to stability and reducing the likelihood of injury. A definite design plus. The thumb trigger is easy enough to use when you want to close the saw back down too.

Pros:

• Foldable hand saw is compact and lightweight
• Bargain in terms of quality
• Sharp Manganese carbon steel blade
• 9 teeth per inch great at finer cutting too
• Locking mechanism for safety
• Non-slip handle

Cons:

• Will rust
• Not the best build quality but still excellent value

In case you’re wondering, this is a huge great big reciprocating saw rebranded as a tree cutter and it works superbly, mainly because a recip saw will rip just about anything effectively, even metal tube, so as you can imagine, cutting wood is a doddle! This was a seriously smart move by Black and Decker.

In fact, before we get started let’s watch their demo. They show you a scaffold pole being cut through with ease funnily enough as I just mentioned above. I’ve saved you two seconds wasted life starting at the right point to see the cut ability:

Let’s start with the few bad ish points I can find. With the cable only being 3 metres in length you’re going to want a waterproof cable reel as they didn’t even try to add a cable long enough to this unit. I actually think that’s a wise move. Most trees could be anywhere up to 80 ft down a normal garden. It would increase the price of the unit beyond sensible costs to add that length of cable. A smart move really to accept the cable issue off the bat.

Some have had issues pushing too hard and sheering off the blade that’s held in with screws. Guys, once you dull the blade replace it! They give you three blades after all for a reason! You will need replacements at some point. There is no need at all to be forcing this unit. Used correctly it can cut scaffold tube, let alone branches! Also on that note, I’ve heard complaints it cannot cut more than 4 inch branches. That is news to me. Carefully used it’s going to cut 6 inches plus, no question.

Also, some have had issues in the past with build quality, this is something they have rectified on newer models as the percentage of unhappy campers has dropped considerably.

Now for some advantages. One of the biggest advantages of using an electric pruning saw over a conventional one is the stroke length. You only need 1 cm clearance in front of the blade as it only pushes forward this far to make its cut. This is a serious advantage in tight spots.

You don’t need to force this cutter, it’ll do the work nice and gently for you. Sure lean into the cut a little, but make yourself comfortable as it’ll take a little while to get through larger branches and certainly beats hand operation all day long.

Pros:

• Much easier than hand prune saw
• Well priced – cheaper than some hand prune saws!
• Easy to use
• Excellent customer service and sales care
• Minimal mechanical maintenance. Just plug and go.

Cons:

• Requires an extension lead
• Blade will need replacing reasonably frequently

The Keo Cordless Garden Saw from Bosch is a cheeky bit of kit as well. They’ve rebranded (just like Black and Decker) a reciprocating saw to do light weight work. Actually cheeky if you like, but more marketing genius actually putting a grapple over the front (which incidentally guides you on what size you can cut safely – up to 80mm). In fact cutting branches is so light weight they’ve even managed to squeeze this into the 10.8V battery range which considerably reduces your overall costs.

The first thing you’ll notice when you pick this up is just how light it is. You’re getting mentally prepped for something clunky. Throw all those notions away and go pickup a bag of sugar with a comfy handle. That’s what you’re looking at! And the handle really is nice, combined with the named A frame to grapple wood, cutting is pretty easy!

Before I go to far on the review, lets take a look at how this cuts and we can discuss the nitty gritty after. Sorry I had to fast forward this guys video a whole 5 minutes to saved wasted time:

I have no problem with the battery life either. You’ll get about 30 cuts on 3 inch branches. that’s ample for most, if not then you’ll need something more robust as waiting for batteries to charge for a few hours is annoying and more than one battery is expensive and won’t fix the problem as at full blast you won’t get much more than 20 minutes use. Remeber this is an extremely light weight and easy to use unit. It comes with it’s drawbacks as result.

So the thing with this unit is the cut. You can’t really do more than 80mm and for me that’s a bit of a problem. You can take the guide off and get more but fundamentally Bosch are telling us 80mm is the limit. So unless you have definitely got branches mainly smaller than this, the Black and Decker is the better choice, especially on price too.

So after saying this is marketing genius it does have a few holes. They are mainly down to how heavy the use, if it’s light work then Bosch is the best option for sure. I don’t want to sound too down on this tool because it really is useful for lighter work!

Pros:

• Light weight
• Easy to use
• Cuts well
• Minimal maintenance

Cons:

• Bit on the pricey side for a pruning saw
• Can only cut three inch branches
• 3 hours between charges
• 20 mins continuous use from one battery