Harvesting & Drying — Trimming Scissors

Trimming is the most underestimated job of the whole cycle. It is not heavy but it takes a long time, and after two hours of the same movement it is not sharpness but the shape of your scissors that decides how far you get. So the choice here is about your hand rather than about the blade.

Curved or straight

A curved blade follows the contour of the bud and gets in between leaves where a straight blade pushes against them. Those are the AC Infinity Premium Curved Pruner at 16.8 cm with micro-tip blades and the Garden Highpro Procut Curved, whose curved stainless blades cut close to the stem. Straight cuts more cleanly and suits coarser work on larger leaf areas and branches: that is the Procut Straight.

How the scissors sit in your hand

The Procut One Eye and the single-ring scissors work with one finger loop instead of two holes, which keeps the scissors held in the hand and lets it relax between cuts. The softgrip pair at 14 cm goes for a cushioned handle with nickel-plated 2CR13 blades 1.8 mm thick, and the bonsai scissors at 15 cm in Japanese stainless steel are ultralight with wide eyes, for anyone who prefers working with several fingers.

The spring does half the work

On spring-loaded scissors the blade opens itself, so your hand only has to squeeze rather than push back as well. Over an evening of trimming that saves thousands of movements, and it is why the Procut Curved has a strong spring fitted. Non-slip handles count for the same reason: scissors that shift force you to grip harder than necessary.

Frequently asked questions

Why do my scissors get stiff?
Resin. Clean them with alcohol as you go rather than working through it; that saves more effort than buying a new pair, and stiff scissors force exactly the movement your wrist will complain about.

One pair or two?
Two is nicer than it sounds: a straight pair for taking the coarse material off and a curved pair for the fine work after. You then change movement instead of repeating one for hours.

What makes trimming scissors different from ordinary ones?
Blade length and point. These are short and pointed so you can see into the crop while cutting, where kitchen scissors block the view and you end up removing more than you meant to. What you cut then goes into a drying net.