AC Infinity - Stainless Steel Precision Pruning Shears 16.8 cm

A 16.8 cm precision shear with a straight micro-tip, stainless steel blades with a non-stick coating, a spring mechanism and a gel silicone grip. Made for fine work in places a normal pruner cannot reach.

On a precision shear, resin is the wear

A pruning shear rarely fails at the steel. What goes wrong is that the blades slowly clog. Plant sap and resin stick to the cutting faces, dry, and build into a layer that holds the blades apart. The shear starts crushing instead of cutting, you press harder, and at that point you are damaging the plant more than pruning it.

That is what the non-stick coating on these blades is for: residue grips it less well and comes off more easily when you clean up. It does not so much extend the life of the steel as extend the period in which the shear still cuts cleanly.

Micro-tip and spring action

The tip is narrow and straight, which means you can push it into a full plant between the leaves without shoving branches aside with the shear itself. Precision here is about what you do not touch, not only about what you cut.

The spring pushes the handles back open after every cut, so you squeeze but never pull. On one cut you would not notice; across an evening's pruning it is the difference between a tired hand and none. The grip is gel silicone, and a lock holds the shear closed in storage, which spares your fingers and the cutting edges alike.

Technical Specifications:

• Model: AC-PSA3
• Overall length: 16.8 cm (6.6 inches)
• Blades: stainless steel, ground cutting edge
• Coating: non-stick, against resin build-up
• Tip: straight, micro-tip
• Mechanism: spring loaded, opens itself
• Grip: gel silicone
• Lock: yes, holds the shear closed

Frequently asked questions

What is this shear for?
Fine work: leaves, small stems, thinning and shaping. For thick woody branches reach for a normal pruner.

How do I keep the blades clean?
Wipe residue off while it is still soft, so ideally during or straight after pruning. The coating helps, but dried resin stays dried resin.

Is there a curved version?
AC Infinity list it as the AC-PSC3, otherwise identically specified. This is the straight one.

What is the coating made of?
Sources disagree on that, so it is not stated here. What is settled is that it is a non-stick coating that resists resin build-up.