Bulldog Anvil Pruning Shear

Bulldog Anvil Pruning Shear: £20.75*

Tested January 2025

I hadn’t used anvil secateurs before, I’ve always had bypass and found them to give a good clean cut and suitable for everyday general pruning. I’m curious to try the anvils just for comparison.

What are the differences between anvil and bypass secateurs – Bypass as the name implies have a blade that passes by another (like a pair of scissors) giving a clean slicing cut, theses are suited to all types of pruning whether that be woody material or soft vegetative growth. I find them to be very precise when cutting to a bud.

Anvil have a blade that presses against a hard plastic or metal surface with a crushing force (like a knife pressing on a chopping board), many people say therefore that they’re suited more to pruning dead or woody stems rather than soft vegetative growth which may be prone to crushing with a less clean cut. Anvil secateurs are purported to offer more power than bypass so can cut more easily through hard wood.

These secateurs are quite small (total length 20cm, blade 4cm) and feel lightweight in the hand, they appear to be well made and have a carbon steel blade which cuts against a hard plastic surface, set in a brass anvil piece. The handles are metal with soft touch rubber grips on the outer edges. There’s a spring-loaded blade lock at the base of the handles which works really well, though it's quite tight so two hands are needed to operate it. The volute spring fits snugly so no risk of it falling out and it can be replaced if needed as it's a standard size, although I couldn't find any specific spares for this model online.

I tried them by pruning some small branches in an apple tree and found they really do require less effort than the bypass secateurs. I also hard-pruned a Sambucus and they managed well with stems up to about 20mm thick. I found that they cut cleanly through soft growth but understand they probably do more damage than bypass so I wouldn’t recommend them for this type of pruning.

Conclusion: I’m impressed with these secateurs; it’s hard to know how long they’ll last but they do seem very well made. I can’t fault them on their sharpness as they give a very clean cut. I’d recommend them for woody stems rather than for trimming perennials, they pack a lot of punch for their size but aren’t suited to all pruning types, so if all rounder secateurs are required then bypass might be a more suitable choice.