DarlacRatchet Garden Secateurs DP744 Super Classic Ratchet Pruner - Aluminum Handle - Easy to us Ratchet Mechanism - SK5 High Carbon Steel Blade

Like-works best with thicker harder wood.Dislikes-Stiff locking mechanism.

I find it a tad lightweight for heavier pruning but it is easy to use as long as you are aware of it’s shortcomings.

Don't get me wrong these seem to be fairly good secateurs they cut as I need them to. I'm just not convinced the mechanism works properly. Only exception is really thin soft branches, where it doesn't seem to fully cutAs I'm cutting I find more often than not it will cut straight through, when the ratchet does kick in its maybe 1 or 2 clicks it doesn't seem to use the full ratchet system. I've also found that it can skip off the rung.The only other thing is that for larger branches they do seem to want to open quite wide which can be a struggle but it does the job.

I bought this product because my hands are very arthritic and i am more than pleased with it. Only the safety catch is very difficult to switch on and off and the way I deal with this is to leave it permanently in the 'off' position.

None of the other pruners I tried worked as well as these . Would have been 5 stars but for the failure of the last pair which did not repair fully when the ratchet broke.

Bought smaller Darlac pruners many years ago at Ideal Home Exhibition. Replaced with new pruners and very disappointed with performance. The “ratchet” mechanism does not operate smoothly and they are awkward to use. Have reverted to using the original ones.Since my first review I have returned to using these shears. My feeling is that they had to be “run in”. Constant use and lubrication of the joints and pivots greatly eased the working capability of the shears. The on/off lock is now a pleasure and easy to use.I must therefore review my rating appropriate to the function of the shears.I am now happy with them, but they loose one star for the stiffness and difficulty of use when new

Great tool. I’ve used them a lot. Useful and strong. Only slight drawback is the opening / closing lock mechanism is very stiff and fiddly.

Have used these shears for years. Bought these new ones to replace a set I've passed on to my dearly beloved. Noticed some differences between the old and new ones which can be seen in the images provided. They are only slight differences but made me wonder if they were genuine Darlac shears?1. Handle grip design2. Embossed Patented stamp on body (on old but not on new shears)3. Red slide lock on handle4. Hole through handle baseDarlac may have modified their design which could explain variations. The new shears perform just as well as the old ones so just sharing this information in case you decide to buy, be aware they may be slightly different to your old ones.