The Fiskars Pruning Stik pole pruner thread

[NickfromWI]

Gerber = Fiskars.


love
nick

 

[Bermy]

Looks like the same head as the Fiskars, but with a messy external cord thingy. One thing Fiskars has right is the flat to the pole web strap to pull, doesn't ever get caught on anything...I agree on the short Fiskars, that was the first one I had, once I got the longer one, the short one never saw the light of day.

 

[Graiskye]

IMHO they are a joke. The fact Nick has had to purchase eight sort of proves the point.
They are light duty home owner stuff, that would seriously bust apart if I even looked at it sternly, but if thats the type of stuff you like, I guess they are awesome.

 

[NickfromWI]

Hah. Just had another break today.



Already replaced it. Maybe not tough enough, but I love em.


love
nick

 

[Graiskye]

Why not just buy a Marvin Nick ?
Then itll never ever break and you can cut big ol branches of with em, throw them from the top of trees(Ive gotta a bit of a temper when its 105 out, sorry, didnt say they were perfect...lol), whatever, them things are tuff with a capital T.
Every other pruner I have ever used has not even come close to the durability and utility of the Marvins.
IIRC there is a competitors brand that is essentially the same as the marvins but the name escapes me right now.
They are not fancy, they have no gimmicks, they just work, forever, we have a couple that are approaching twenty years of service with hardly a hickup. never even replaced the rope. IIRC we have had to sharpen them a couple of times, I think one of them needed a new pulley at one point, again not perfect, but twenty years, you do the math on how many Fiskars I would have had to have bought probably in the hundreds.
As for extension, its not easy but Ive used a 24 foot Marvin before, all of four extensions, 6 ft each, TONS of flex but got the branch off.
Marvins just keep cutting.
We use the dielectric poles becasue I clear ROW(all tool that may encroach on our Limits of Approach must be non conductive, LOA is how close we can get to the wires when working, I think its called something different stateside, Im in Canada) have to be tested for non conductivity once a year) so, in all honesty, I think they are a bit tougher than the regualr as they are solid core.
The fiskars wouldnt survive a day in the ROW enviroment, first time it was stepped on it be broke in half, rendered useless.
You can drive over Marvins, I have done it, the cutting mechanism is built like it should be, tough, and SIMPLE, should anything ever happen, chances are I can repair it in the field, they are just very simple time proven work horses.
Not trying to hate on your thread Nick, you are a super hekpful guy, theres just no reason for me to want to do that, but ?? Have you ever tried a Marvin, with the bull pruner head, if not you really should try too, youll only have to ever buy one of them, unless of course you like it so much you just gotta have more of em.
Peace, and be safe.

 

[Tucker943]

Homeowner junk. Buy Fred marvin. If I was pruning roses for a living, I might consider toys, but on rough and tumble tree jobs, nothing will suffice but pro grade.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Seems that the Fiskars is for small work, proper cuts, from the ground. I hope that it works out for fruit tree watersprouts. Less ladder work = safer day. I don't like getting high up on my 16' orchard ladder.

Marvin, and the like, will surpass for vertical cuts, but I don't think for horizontal cuts on top of a branch...or at least, I hope, as I had Erik pick on up to try at work today. I'll be interested to hear tomorrow over a buffet breakfast...ahhh (homer Simpson) buffett breakfast!

 

[Bermy]

Ok, if you guys are muscling around huge big ass trees then go for your marvin whatevers.
But for precision pruning out on tips NOT whacking off great lumps of wood, the Fiskars is invaluable. Nick might have broken nine of them, I'm still going on mine five years in with minor adjustments.
Tip pruning and thinning elms, poinciana, avocado, golden shower, callophylum...30-50'...fantastic tool.

 

[NickfromWI]

Why not just buy a Marvin Nick?

Do they make one with a pivoting cutter head and that DOESN'T have a rope hanging off it? This thing is just EASIER to use. There's no bones about it. And it's the perfect size for the work we do.

Every time I used "normal" pole pruners (which is what every other tree service I've ever worked for carried...and there have been about 7 of them)... I hated them. They were too heavy and too clumsy for me. I never felt like I could make a half decent cut with them. And the whole business of having to hold the pole with one hand and the rope with the other- it just seemed awkward and not thought out.

So though the pruning stik is not made robustly enough to supremely rock my world, I doubt I'll ever switch to what everyone else is using.

I'll happily replace these things even if I gotta buy a new one every month.

And no offense taken. I know they are not for everyone. I'm just super picky!

love
nick

 

[NickfromWI]

That said- there are some ARS pole pruners that I've liked. We carry one of their smaller ones on the truck....

 

[Bermy]

^^^ I'm with Nick...we need a T shirt...

 

[Tucker943]

Ok, if you guys are muscling around huge big ass trees then go for your marvin whatevers.
But for precision pruning out on tips NOT whacking off great lumps of wood, the Fiskars is invaluable. Nick might have broken nine of them, I'm still going on mine five years in with minor adjustments.
Tip pruning and thinning elms, poinciana, avocado, golden shower, callophylum...30-50'...fantastic tool.

My marvin makes precision cuts on small wood. In fact it doesn't really make huge cuts on huge big ass trees. Its just built to handle the wear and tear of a life of tree work.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Right tool for the right job.

 

[NickfromWI]

My marvin makes precision cuts on small wood.

Non-pivoting heads leave dog ears when you can't come at them from the side. It's a truth and there isn't a way around it.

Someone had a pole pruner head that was angled. I considered that one for a minute. I usually have the cutter on mine angled to like 15% or so anyways and I adjust it every once in a while






love
nick

 

[Graiskye]

Do they make one with a pivoting cutter head and that DOESN'T have a rope hanging off it? This thing is just EASIER to use. There's no bones about it. And it's the perfect size for the work we do.

Every time I used "normal" pole pruners (which is what every other tree service I've ever worked for carried...and there have been about 7 of them)... I hated them. They were too heavy and too clumsy for me. I never felt like I could make a half decent cut with them. And the whole business of having to hold the pole with one hand and the rope with the other- it just seemed awkward and not thought out.

So though the pruning stik is not made robustly enough to supremely rock my world, I doubt I'll ever switch to what everyone else is using.

I'll happily replace these things even if I gotta buy a new one every month.

And no offense taken. I know they are not for everyone. I'm just super picky!

love
nick

You seem to have found a tool that works for you.
Cant really argue that if your happy with it.
And the Marvins are bloody heavy and not really suited for the finer pruning so on those points I gotta agree with you.
Im whacking branches off trees in a ROW, 95% of the time, so the odd ugly cut is not the end of the world, and we accept that for the enviroment we work in. Now if we are in someone front yard, we obviously use a different skillset and prune appropriatley.
Out on the ROW the Marvins are king.
Stay safe all.

 

[stig]

For just whacking branches off, I prefer this type:



No string, you just pull on the handle and it cuts.

Back when I harvested branches for x-mas decorations, I'd be attached to one of those for 1½ months a year.

 

[Tucker943]

Non-pivoting heads leave dog ears when you can't come at them from the side. It's a truth and there isn't a way around it.

Someone had a pole pruner head that was angled. I considered that one for a minute. I usually have the cutter on mine angled to like 15% or so anyways and I adjust it every once in a while






love
nick

When Im in a tree, pruning, I can make my cuts at any angle.

 

[NickfromWI]

So you're saying that you'll go ahead and make the less than perfect cut from where you are, or you'll move to another part of the tree to get the right angle? I know you're not saying your cuts are perfect no matter where you are in the tree all the time!

Either way, you're spending money by spending more time in the tree. I'm spending more at home depot. I think it all comes out in the wash.

As long as Home Depot keeps refunding me my money when they break prematurely, you won't hear me complaining!

love
nick

 

[Tucker943]

I work a prune with strategy. If I cant get it at the angle I want from where Im at, I revisit the cut from my next position. hey, if the tool works for you, that's money in the bank. I have to be cautious about the durability of what I buy. Other guys use the stuff. As much as I like to think they treat my gear as well, as I do, its simply never the case. Tools get moved from truck to truck, around the job, in and out of the garage, and up and down the tree. I simply have no choice but to make sure I buy stuff that is pro grade. Now, rewind a bunch of years to when I was a one man band, Id buy it to try, knowing that I could ensure it got handled gently.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I am siding with Chris on this one. But may try a Fiskars like what you have Nick on some ornamentals or fruit trees I do regular. Just can't go big is all.
I like what you posted Stig... Where are you buying those and who makes them?

 

[stig]

I'll see if I can find an internet dealer for them, Stephen.

Or I can send you one of mine.
I have several of another type, that doesn't cut as cleanly, but is damned near unbreakable.
I don't use more than one, nowadays, so if you want one, no problem.

I'll take a picture tomorrow and post.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

I think of it like an extendable hand pruner, not a bull pruner. I used my new one a bit. Watersprouts on annual fruit tree pruning will go faster, and from the ground of just off the ground on a ladder instead of as much high ladder work.

 

[Porkbrick]

i use a jameson pruner head on a six ft pole, same design as marvin but with a sap groove on the hook. maybe its just the trees we have here, but i find that almost all the branches im inclined to pole prune are limber enough to pull with the hook to put in position to make a proper cut. does that make sense?

 

[bonner1040]

I have one of the ARS pruners its great but only on dogwoods and jap maples and such. It doesnt cut anything serious but for the little stuff its super fast and makes really neat cuts. Its fragile though.

 

[Tucker943]

i use a jameson pruner head on a six ft pole, same design as marvin but with a sap groove on the hook. maybe its just the trees we have here, but i find that almost all the branches im inclined to pole prune are limber enough to pull with the hook to put in position to make a proper cut. does that make sense?

Yes, that makes sense. Perfect sense. Especially when talking about fine pruning.