Wilkinson Sword Telescopic Hedge Shear

I've had these for around two years and have said that they are possibly the best garden tool I've ever owned but recently I've discovered a weakness. The plastic nut that forms the tensioner, and which I haven't had cause to adjust, snapped off for no apparent reason. The steel nut underneath is still in place but without the plastic cover it is free to rotate causing the tension to be reduced and rendering the shears unserviceable without modification. There are no spares held in the UK for these shears. However, when I contacted the UK distributer they readily agreed that this failure was covered by the 10 year warranty and I now have replacement shears. I still feel that shears are brilliant to use but I will be taking extra care not to allow any undue contact with the plastic nut.

I bought two pairs of these at the beginning of August 2020 (one for work as I am a professional gardener, and one for home) believing that Wilkinson Sword to be a good well known make. When I opened up the packaging and saw them my first impressions were flimsy and cheap, not at all what I expected, but I thought oh well they will have to do.After using one pair for a bit I realised they would stick when you closed the blades together making trimming shrubs and hedges more tiring than usual. On closer inspection I noticed that one of the stoppers appeared to have its end snapped off and so it would stick to the opposite stopper. I checked the second pair of shears and it had the same identical fault.I recently used the second pair for the first time on a small hedge and barely got started when the blades became jammed. I thought a bit of twig must have gotten jammed between them, only to find that the top blade had bent over the bottom blade and had actually cut into the bottom blade and gotten wedged into it. I was only cutting a small leaved hedge so I have absolutely no idea how this could have happened. I have since checked the second pair and feel that they may eventually do the same. In my job I have used a lot of shears in my time and I can say this has never ever happened.I keep them in a dry shed and as you can see from the photos the blades are rusting already and I've only used them on dry days. My feeling it is poor quality metal.My overall feeling is very disappointed as I bought two pairs which isn't cheap, only to find both pairs are faulty and when I wrote to the sellers Alton Garden Centre they said "Hello, I'm sorry that you have had issues with the pair of loppers. We have never heard of these loppers developing faults. We are now checking over our stock to see if there are any issues with the batch. We can potentially look at replacing these if you are able to send them back to us."It didn't fill me with much confidence as they said loppers not shears and its a garden centre so should know the difference between the two, didn't offer to refund only to replace them and I hardly wanted to do that after two pairs were dodgy and they never offered to pay for the postage that I would have to pay for to send them back.They are plainly cheap and nasty and I won't be buying from Wilkinson Sword or from Alton Garden Centre. Please be careful if you are thinking of buying these as they won't be what you expect. I expected them to last years and one pair only lasted a few minutes. You have been warned.

Like the fact that they are very sharp, as long as you are using them at the right angle. I am just over 5 ft tall so extended sheers are quite handy for me. They are good to use for short burst but I find they get heavy after a while. I am used to clipping with regular sheers but find these have to be angled better to get the best cuts. I expected to be able to reach up to clip higher bushes with ease but it’s a little more tricky, although it still works for the most part. All in all, they will become a useful part of my gardening equipment as long as I know their limits.

I ordered these for my dad who is wheelchair bound, and in his mid-eighties, so lightweight & telescopic sounded just perfect for him! He's also a retired horticulturist, so is fussy about his tools. These seem to be just the ticket - he's very pleased with them, and says that they're beautifully sharp also. I advised him to take care with the plastic tightening nut, as some people have mentioned that it's a weak-spot, so if a problem develops, I will update our product review. But - so far, very very good!

Do like these shears especially being telescopic. They are very sturdy, well made and cut very well. However, i would say that when shaping a bush or hedge a traditional non telescopic shears are probably better as these ones are rather heavy going due to its telesscopic nature, therefore if carrying out a quick job theyll be fine but longer jobs can be somewhat harder going. Othereise great for hard to reach areas because it can be extended etc etc.

OK, I'm not a gardener. I hate it. These were forced on me, as I had to trim a hedge.These are more expensive than the cheapest models, but they are well worth the extra. They seem very efficient at cutting hedges and I like their extensibility.So, I am very happy with my purchase.

When I unpacked the shears I worried that it was too heavy but it really isn't once you use it. I am female and 75 years old and I found it lovely to use. It is very sharp and does not stick (like my old shears..) all good.

Very light but like everything else these days something breaks or is substandard(handle came loose) so get the electric tape out and make do because you can’t be bothered with all the return faff. Where can you get quality extending shears, they don’t seem to exist?