Rachel's Journal

If they are as good as you say, a service every two years should be good enough. Leave it to the Swiss to give a service like that.

Very good secateurs, Rachel. I use that one in work all the time and it never gives me any bother. Suitable for doing a lot of different prunings.

Hard to beat a good service like that Rachel.

Thanks for information!Where you find for 30 euros?I googled it,all what i saw was more like 30£.

I have a Felco 7 secateurs for more than 10 years now, which cost me £36 plus postage from a firm in England. The Felco7 is more expensive because ther is a swivel mechanism on one of thandles which enables a stronger cut. There was no mention of an annual service but I was able to service it myself. I dropped it once onto concrete and damaged the end of the cutting blade. When I contacted the Firm in England they sent me a replacement free of charge even though I said it was my own fault. I see the model I have is now €69.95 in MrMiddletons Garden Shop and not much cheaper on the internet. I cannot unscrew the locking nut at the moment because the whole locking unit just keeps turning. I will have to buy a replacement if my Felco7 gives up the ghost.    

They are expensive. I would be sure to lose it!

At least it has red handles--not so easy to lose.Thanks for info.

I googled Felco and found a shop in Dunlaoghaire : www.handyhardware.ie/FelcoTools where my Felco 7 costs €58.95 a saving of €11 over MrMiddletons price. The price of other models are also cheaper. The telephone number is 014877387 and the shop is on Kill Avenue.

The one I got is the Felco 160 for €30 in Kilcannon Garden Centre, Enniscorthy. The website is http://www.felco.ch

The website doesn't mention the annual service but the people at the Bay Garden did.

It is great to hear from Jacinta and Jack that they both use one and like it. I wonder how often you oil and sharpen it? Instructions say daily but I can't see myself doing that.

Yes I did, Dick. There was a time when I pruned the 80 rose buses in my rose garden all with a Lidl secateurs. But those days are gone - thankfully!

I have a Felco 160S for smaller hands, which is brilliant, I did have a big one but found it uncomfortable to use for a long time. http://www.felcousa.com/felco/pages/product.page?name=FELCO+160S

I have the one for bigger hands, Madeline. Actually I got it by accident because I didn't realise there was a different hand size. But I have big hands anyway so it's okay.

Actually my maths has gone out the window this late. I only had a mere 48 roses in my rose garden : )

Rachel - there was an article in Daily Telegraph gardening section not that long ago about buying Felco secateur blades.  Apparently if you buy the secateurs sold in Aldi, their blades fit the Felco secateur.  I'll see if I can find the article - will be in touch again.

Rachel, It wasn't blades, it was springs, and it wasn't Aldi, it was Lidl!!   If you google 'Helen Yemm on secateurs'. the article she wrote in Daily Telegraph comes up.  I'd say it would be handy to know, if you wanted to replace spring in Felco secateur.

Rachel, It wasn't Aldi or Lidl but Woodies where I bought my €4 secateurs. I like to support the Irish company!

Thanks, Sally, for the link. It says the Lidl 99p secateurs is made as an imitation of the felco one and you can interchange the springs. Actually, that's funny because I did think the felco one looked familiar when I got it. I have bought those very cheap Lidl secateurs before so the felco must have reminded me of Lidl : )

Hello Rachel, I clean mine with an oily rag after using it and occasionally disassemble it and grease the working parts. If you don't have grease, a dab of vaseline will do the trick. If you prefer not to disassemble the secateurs, then I would recommend you open the secateurs fully and drip some oil into the centre between the blades otherwise the joining section between the blades will rust. Whenyou find that it is not cutting well, then sharpen it with the sharpening stone you got with the secateurs. If you sharpen it every day you will wear away the cutting edge. I hope this helps.

Rachel, who would have thought a secateurs journal entry could generate so much interest - are the no of comments sent in, a contender for the most replies to a Journal???? 

Yes, Sally, so much interest. Who'd have thought it? But I think Jacinta and Chilipepper have the record for the most comments : )

I suppose Rachel you could describe your secateurs as "Darling" I would describe them as "Dear"