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Adventurous-Leg-4338 t1_ira57xq wrote

I have Toyama hand forged snips and pruners. Just a tiny step up from Felco on price but they cut like laser beams.

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F-21 t1_iramk23 wrote

Those look fancy but IMO lack some refinement for professional work. Maybe meant for very specific things (e.g. bonsai)?

Most Felco shears are made so that you can replace the blade and the anvil. Sure you can resharpen the Toyama forged ones but a blade can for example also chip away... Having it replaceable is in my opinion a big deal. And other things like the easy to use latch on the Felco compared to the odd thing on the bottom of the Toyamas. Or the rubber damper when you close the Felco. Or the rubberised handles....

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Safe-Barnacle t1_irc9w1o wrote

Same with Niwaki tools. They seem like they're very skillfully made and perform nicely but the first time I dropped my flower snips the tip of the blade broke off and there's no way to replace it.

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F-21 t1_ird6yqw wrote

Ye, they have a large selection of them... But they even say so on the side - they are brittle and easy to chip, and you need to take care even with harder woods.

I get the appeal and they're heirloom quality for home use for sure. The Felcos pehaps have a more "industrial" look, but for certain they do their job just as well, and everything is replaceable and serviceable (on the most iconic Felco 2 model the anvil is riveted on - it's not something that would be replaced often... on the picture is the Felco 11 which are basically identical but the anvil is screwed on and easier to replace). Most people consider Felcos expensive but the Japanese pruners cost 3-4 times as much!

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