Ingenious tool

Reviews: Fiskars 9234 62-Inch Pruning Stik

A friend bought for me this prunner 3 jears ago and brought it to Israel. As an arborist, it saves me a lot of ladder dragging to shorten temporary branches. I don't use it to remove branches from the trunk, since a proffessional cut has to be accurate - that I do with the hand saw or the hand prunner. If you wish to prune without problems, mind it's capability (like every other good tool). It's also great for shrubs, especially when they are thorny. I drag with it cut branches and put them in a pile.
- cut always when the blades are vertical to the branch in order to prevent jamming. A diagonal cut needs much more strength (larger surface) and it's not professional.
- as a default, I always work with the blades at an angle of some 30 degrees, catch the branch and move until the blades are vertical.
- cut branches up to 75% of the space between the blades ("1). Mind that a cut close to the trunk or a crotch is harder than farther away. There is a big difference between the strength of 1" branch of different species of trees.
- don't cut dead wood, only green.
- It always gets stuck because of improper use: don't panic and try to pull impulsively, you might dammage it and get frustrated. Rotate carefully the whole pole up and down only in the direction of the cut until you free it. If necessary, get a ladder and cut the branch in order to free it at ease on the ground.
- If you feel you use your outmost power, stop the cut. It's also the outmost capability of the tool.
- Grease the mechanism and blades 2-4 times a year, avoid mudder or sand. After some hours of work a layer of "tartar" forms on the blades: put some lub. oil and clean the blades thoroughly with a sharp knife, otherwise it gets hard.
Handling problems:
- don't leave it on the ground - you might step on it and ruin it.
- free first carefully the jammed branch between the jaws. Take care of your fingers.
- if the knob (strap) gets loose: pull the handle and the knob intermittently (they interact) until it stretches again.
- if the handle (strap) gets loose: do the same.
- if the jaws get loose: in this case the chain got out. You have to open the round chamber and fix it back: if you don't succeed or don't know how, go to a handy neighbor and ask for help. I did it too.