Corona BP 4840 Forged Steel Aluminum Handles Bypass Hand Pruner - 1 inch Cut Capacity Stem and Branch Garden Shears, Red

Amazon is a great place to buy a pair of hand pruning shears.When our 30+ year old pair of pruning shears gave out after many years of hard use, we were prepared to buy an identical pair as a replacement. But, seeing none like them in stores, we did an on-line search, and found the only listings for our old brand of pruning shears were as antique collectibles on eBay. So we engaged in further research. Our local brick and mortar and big-box stores typically carried only one or two brands, many of them carded in blister-packs that prevented us from holding them in our hands, and the ones that we could hold in our hands were simply uncomfortable.The GardenWeb website is a great source for gardening information and reviews, and, starting from there, we conducted on-line "hands-off" research, finding remarkable near-consensus. The prevailing view was that professional and really serious amateur gardeners get Swiss-made Felco pruning shears  Felco F-7 Gardening Hand Pruner with Rotating Handle  that cost upwards from $60; nonserious gardeners get inexpensive (usually made in PRC) pruning shears for under $15 -- which they quickly grow to hate and throw away. But some gardeners have found happiness with between-priced Corona Clippers, of which the BP 4840 pair under review here are one model in the line. Corona, headquartered in Southern California, has its pruning shears manufactured for it in Taiwan, and the BP 4840 model is priced at about double the price of cheapo shears, but still well less than half the price of the Felco F-7. Further research revealed a fourth option, Bahco, priced closer to Felco than to Corona -- about which more below.When you are spending all day in the garden or the fields with your pruning shears, how the shears feel in the hand is very important, but we could not find any Corona BP 4840 model shears to test out in our hands locally. So what we did was order our two top candidate pruning shears from Amazon on-line, knowing that Amazon has an enlightened return policy and that we could return one unused pair and keep the preferred pair. The other pair of pruners that we ended up ordering were not the Felco, but rather the  Bahco Ergonomic Pruner with Fixed Small Handle PX-S2 . Bahco secateurs (secateur is the international word for hand pruning shears, and, as it derives from French, it seems especially appropriate to use it in respect of the Bahco shears, which are made in France from Swedish steel). Athough the two candidate pruning shears looked functionally evenly matched -- judging by their descriptions on Amazon -- the Bahco PX-S2 is priced on Amazon at almost twice the price of the Corona BP 4840. If the Corona BP 4840 could stay close to the Bahco in head-to-head competition, the price differential promised a knockout victory for the Corona.Both pairs of hand pruning shears arrived in good order, and we were able to try both indoors (not cutting real branches, of course, so that we could return one pair unused) for a week. We squeezed and released both pairs literally hundreds of times to see how our hands felt after simulated hard use.We were very pleasantly surprised at the quality and feel of the Corona BP 4840 pair of pruners; compared to our worn-out 30-year-old pair of pruners -- which were were happy enough with that we had previously thought of replacing them with an identical pair -- the BP 4840 model is definitely an upgrade. The rotating handle on the finger side of the pruners reduces hand fatigue in repetitive squeezes, the volute spring is suitably robust, and the blades appeared to be suitably sharp. An important feature that the BP 4840 model shares with more expensive pruning shears such as the Bahco and the Felco is that the blades of the BP 4840 can be removed independently for sharpening or replacement when they become dull -- anything that cuts eventually WILL become dull, so removable blades protect your investment in a pair of pruning shears. The ergonomic angle of the head of the Corona BP 4840 allows for better access to inside branches than a non-angled head does. The BP 4840 pruners also have a higher level of fit and finish than the big-box store pruners that we had tried in our hands.The Bahco PX-S2 pruners, however, were something else, and better. One reason is that the Bahco pruners were more suitable for the smaller hands of one of the two of us who use the pruners. (The "-S" in the PX-S2 model designation designates smaller sized handles compared to the larger handled PX-M2 model.) But, even in the much larger hands of the other of us, the small size Bahcos just nestled into the hand, felt "right," and allowed us to hold our wrist at a more comfortable angle, than the Corona BP 4840 pruners did.In the end, we returned the Corona pruners to Amazon, absorbing the return shipping costs as a very reasonable price to pay for an extended in-home trial of two pruners that looked more similar in their on-line descriptions than they actually felt in the hands.The bottom line for us was that we would very happily live with the Corona BP 4840 pruners for the next 30 years to replace -- and to upgrade from -- the old pruners that we have found more than satisfactory for the past 30 years. But the Bahco pruners were just so much better than the Coronas that we had no difficulty in justifying to ourselves the much higher price of the Bahco pruners.

Easy grip handles for large or small hand. Cuts branches easily.

I have always liked the comfortable feel of these pruners in my hands. Still well built and easy to maintain.

I bought a pair of ARS with rotating handle a few months ago because I do a lot of pruning and needed to reduce the fatigue I was experiencing. They replaced my Corona BP 6250, which I had always been happy with. I went with ARS based on reviews and the quality of the ARS telescoping pruners I use. I bought these because I was curious how they would compare.Blade arrived very sharp, although the ARS is a higher quality steel and won't require sharpening as often. The handles open a little wider with a different profile than the ARS rotating handle, making them a little less comfortable in the hand after using the ARS. The plastic of the Corona's rotating handle doesn't feel quite as sturdy. The corona locking mechanism was always satisfactory before, but I've really been enjoying the ARS mechanism and it was hard to go back.At half the price that's not much to complain about. For anyone who is just doing occasional pruning the Coronas will be fine. That said, having now used both the ARS are worth the extra money.The Corona BP4840 don't fit into the Corona leather holster (AC 7220) I bought for them - I'll use it for one of my 6250s. (I still use them, particularly if I have to root prune something.)

Hard to buy pruners without holding them first. Been using Fiskars for years. Bought the Corona 4840 for replacement, while they may cut up to 1 inch limb I cannot open them up all the way, my hand just is not large enough. Also the rolling handle (which rolls about 300 degrees) seemed like a good idea but without having a larger grip they will probably just roll away if trying to pick them up when open. Even if the rolling handle was on a smaller pair, I am not sure I would like it. Seems awkward. I don't intend to cut some limbs and try them out, just too many wrong things while working them on dry run. I do like the thumb release, best I have seen and works smoothly with gloves. This Corona pruner, BP 4840 was made in Taiwan per package photo. My Fiskars are stamped, made in USA.Another observation about the blade, others have noted breakage, look closely at photo and you can see the blade is thinner than the Fiskars. While not a sign of complete strength, just an observation I saw.Thanks. 8.10.2021. Male 60+

This product cuts very well. Sometimes the rotating handle turns more than I want it to. The problem is with the locking device. When I first got it the little swing lever would not fit easily into the lock position so it was a struggle to lock it and then it would slip out. After a few months the swing lever became so loose that when pruning it would constantly lock itself making multiple cuts impossible as it was locking itself every couple of cuts and I would have to unlock it in order to continue. I called them, described the problem and sent it back at a cost of $10 and have not heard back yet.

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Very good pruners.. I agree with another post, the roller handle takes a little getting used to, but actually works and feels good after you do get used to them