OLMSTED FORGE Geared Bypass Lopper

I have many sizes of loppers, all Fiskars, these were my first pair leaving the brand since they went to China, they were an excellent choice!

Some days I have problems, at 70 years old, putting enough muscle into a job to cut through limbs. This pruner can cut through almost anything you get into it grip and because of the design it makes the job EASY and Quick!

Overall, these loppers will do the job of pruning softwood branches 3/4" and less. The reason I didn't give a better rating is that the "bypass" of the blades don't actually come close enough to each other to complete the cut. As such, many fibers of the branch are left intact for the person cutting the branch to require a good pull to sever the branch from the rest of the tree.

The loppers are high quality, but the "mouth" isn't big enough. It's hard to aim and grasp the saplings I'm trying to prune. Handles are longer than I need. I much prefer my Fiskers PowerGear2 loppers. Handles are shorter, mouth opens wider and is easier to aim. The Fiskers loppers are effective in pruning invasive elm saplings at the base. But the Omstead loppers are sharp, and if I look carefully at where I'm trying to cut, I aim better.

These are the shortest of the long handle type that I found. I haven't used them ext yet, but I have cut some dead bush, some as large as fit. These have handled every cut with ease. No sign of unhealthy flex or twist. I don't see any reason these won't last for years.The down side of gear loppers is the amount of handle actuation required to open the jaws.