Pruning loppers advice please.....

[Guest]

Hi All,

Have a dauntiing task ahead of me.

Cutting a bunch of Waiwi to get a look at things up @ HA

Any advice on loppers appreciated .... Anvil vs. bypass ? Will the simple ( lighter ) ones cut o.k or geared / multi fulcrum ness. ? Vs. Chainsaw ?

Thank you !

[oink]

I didn't understand your question, but the small echo trim chainsaws work great for brush and are light. I keep one in my truck tool box for trimming around signs to make them seen. This usually involves cutting wax myrtle, palmetto and mostly brazilian pepper (Christmas Berry).

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[allensylves]

Pog,

I grew up on a family, commercial apple orchard and pruning was one of my jobs. The Corona brand is good and holds up well. The handles look thin compared to some of the clunky ones, but they make the pruners much easier to handle and use. Go with bypass. The anvil damage the bark, which does not matter with waiwi or other junk trees, but does matter if you want to prune desirable plants. I bought a pair of Fiskars plastic anvil pruners with a "geared" setup. They worked OK for a while but the plastic at the hinge did not hold up well (design defect) and I had to remove some plastic and replace it with a metal washer around the hinge screw to get them to close properly.
Small living (=flexible, whippy) branches are hard and dangerous to cut with a chainsaw. pruners are for small branches up to about maybe 1 inch. A manual or chainsaw is for the larger stuff. You will probably want both a good pruner and a saw of some sort.

A manual saw is good for small amounts of cutting since you have a lot less maintenance. A folding saw is good for occasional cuts. A bow saw is better for larger cuts or more frequent cutting.

The gas engine on a chainsaw requires tuneups and parts eventually go bad, so it is not cost-effective for light use over several years. For a brief period of heavy use, you are probably better off to rent one and let someone else worry about the maintenance.

Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP

[Hotzcatz]

A sharp machete works pretty good on waiwi. One diagonal swipe will take down most of the smaller trees and it is faster than loppers. It does leave sharp pointed stumps, though. Otherwise, the larger anvil loppers will hold up well. I have one with the hook on the nose (looks like a hawksbeak turtle's bill) and one without. Generally the one without the hook works better since it can get around larger branches.

Garden Exchange has a nice selection of tools which are of a better quality than HomeDePot or Lowes. Buying an inferior tool just means you have to buy it again later. If you get a good tool and keep it in good repair it should last a long time.

The stumps are going to sprout again, too, so perhaps a bit of Roundup or something on them to keep them from turning into brush? If you are cutting a trail and won't be doing anything with it for a year or so, then there will be dense brush there afterwards. If you will be around to keep whacking them back, then you can keep the sprouting down. If you can open up enough of the canopy for light to get to the forest floor, then grasses and things will grow and keep the waiwi sprouts down.

How about fencing and goats?

A hui hou!

[sansei]

I would second all of Allen's comments and would add that gears are just one more thing to fail. You will find Corona brand at places like Home Depot or Lowes but they usually do not carry the big long handled loppers. I have a 30" handle Corona that I love. They are somewhat heavy and I also have a 36" handle Hickock that has aluminum handles which is lighter, but it is not as though as the hickory handles on the Corona. I broke the aluminum handle and had to replace it. I think the main thing is that the hickory bends and lets me know when to back off but the aluminum has less feedback. Where I am, you have to go to the farm/commercial supply places or the internet to find the bigger loppers.

[David D]

As far as the gas engine items are concerned, if you purchase a gas powered pruning saw and have limited use for it, you would be wasting your money. What I use is a Stahl system that has a power head with attachments. I have a weed eater attachment, hedge trimmer, and a pruning saw with an additional extension pole.
When we marked the property lines of our land a few years ago we used a machete and the pruning saw. I purchased a 30-degree gearbox so that the saw would be parallel to the ground for low cutting. When we attacked the strawberry guava / false guava (I forget what its called) the saw worked beautifully.
Now I don’t use the pruning saw very much – one or two times a year – but I use the hedge trimmer several times a year and I use the weed eater all the time. The system was a bit pricey, but for what I use it for, well worth it.

For pruning the trees in our “gentleman’s” orchard, about 30 trees, I use the Corona bypass style clippers. Excellent value and durability.

Good Luck!
David D

[toucano]

The Cadillac of pruning shears is the Swiss made FELCO. They are bypass with a replaceable cutting blade. Quite a few styles. Even for lefties. I have not seen them here in Hawaii. But you can get them on Ebay for $30 and up. Are they worth it? If you are serious they are. But get the leather holster too because they last a lifetime unless you lose them. I've had mine for 30 years and they have outlasted many pairs of Corona.

[Carey]

Pog, one thing we have found, If you want to kill the brush, cut it back to a stump (but not toe stubbing short) then place a roundup soaked paper towel on the stump, and a piece of foil over the paper towel (this will keep any rain off....not that that is a problem)
Aloha, Carey

[dmbwest]

Humblest thanks everyone ..... will be (bypass) lopping away in a couple weeks + maybe getting tangled up with the gas saw.

[ericlp]

I had both brands of corona and friskers. Wall mart sells friskers for around 10 bucks. just saw them with the gear on them ... I've never used ones with a gear. But, I like the fiberglass handles. I think they would hold up well. Good luck!