Spear & Jackson CUTTINGSET1K Kew Gardens Collection Ratchet Secateurs & Sharpener Set, Blue

To be honest I just wanted the sharpening tool but when I saw this package I thought is was a good deal.I do have a great make (maybe the best make ?) of secateurs but having arthritis and suffered 2 mini strokes, my hands and their strength are maybe not at their best, so I though maybe ratchet secateurs might be the way to go.The first let down was the locking mechanism, to me it is very 'fiddly' and difficult to use, in fact I will go as far as to say it is the worse locking mechanism I have seen both from the design an use point of view.To unlock you have to squeeze the handles tight together and it automatically unlocks... so far so good.. but to lock them it is a real pain as you have to squeeze the handles tightly again the literally 'fiddle about' with the locking mechanism so as to push it up, then it locks... this is really, really difficult if you have hand mobility problems like me, and if you look at similar (even cheaper) ratchet secateurs they have a nice 'sliding switch' to lock and unlock.. a far superior design in my opinion.Next I come to the 'groove' that the blade goes into, it is the roughest of castings and if I carefully feel the sides with my fingernail you can feel burrs... not a sign of quality at all !And why, like most other cutters of this type, doesn't it have the 'single cut' or ratchet option ?This is supposed to be part of the 'Kew Gardens Collection' and I have other item in the series and they are to quality and top class good, but this ? it's the one that got away, from Quality Control as well !I personally would not use this to prune my roses, as I prefer the scissor action type which gives a nice clean cut, so no infection gets into the stem, they are OK I suppose for very woody branches, but to be honest I will get bored very quickly with all its problems and they will just end up in a drawer.. did Kew Gardens really have hand in developing/recommending this, or did it slip through somehow ?Moving on I come to the sharpener, which I do like.The design in this case is good and it has little pictures on what part of the sharpener to actually use.I tried it on a very old (no longer used) secateurs and it really did sharpen them and made them usable again.I also loved the fact that there was a felt pad, when you unscrewed the end, and also a tube of oil stored in there as well.CONCLUSION :In my eyes the secateurs were poorly made and designed, the cutting action is poor and they deserved on one star, they were just poor, end of.The sharpener was excellent and deserved the full 5 stars.Reluctantly I have given it 4 stars and that is all on the sharpener, IF you want a ratchet sharpen I would definitely look elsewhere.. personally I will stick to a scissor action type for my roses or a proper 'lopper' for any thicker or woody stems these secateurs are TRYING to be a bridge between the two types and they fail miserably.I will still but other items in the 'Kew Gardens Range' though as that are usually excellent, just not these secateurs, I will try and give them away if I can !

These cut ok, but the locking and unlocking mechanism is awful. The locking mechanism was jammed firmly, and there are no instructions. Had to tug it free with pliers after trying multiple times by just squeezing the handles together tightly, which is I think how it's supposed to work. No dice. As for re-locking them after that struggle, no chance, I think you would need super-human strength or a well aimed hammer. The latching piece just doesn't line up with the hole in the silver bit at all on mine. Don't buy these unless you have very strong hands or don't mind the secateurs being unlocked the whole time. They do cut well if you are used to the ratcheting action, and the sharpener looks really good (and does have instructions, yay). But for the money I would have expected much better build quality and design in the locking/unlocking mechanism. Will avoid this brand in future.

Good and solid, I’m getting used to them with practice

Good quality

The ratchet system is an automatic type. Not switched. This means that you have to squeeze two-three times on almost every cut! Not a well engineered solution. Don’t be fooled by the RHS endorsement.

Pruning

These are great. Best pair of secateurs I've ever used. Good for weak hands because if you don't get through a branch first time, you just relax and squeeze again. All secateurs seem to go blunt after a time, but these have a sharpener included, which is invaluable. Good quality.

Review update:Originally a gave 3 stars because I found the secateurs weak. Actually they are very good I just used it in the wrong way. You have to pump instead of a a single strong squeeze. After I figured it out I just love it. Five stars.—————I bought this pair of secateurs because they came with a sharpener.The secateurs are weak, can’t really cut harder shoots, the locking mechanism is complicated compared to other brands, and can’t really use it with ticker gloves, like rose gloves.In the other hand the sharper is excellent and I’m super happy with it.