ARS HP-VS9Z Signature Heavy Duty Pruner

These are very sharp, well built and affordable. If you look at how the latch works, it will make locking them a breeze. Ingenious design, top notch pruners.

I have used ARS pruning equipment for over 20 years. It's always been the very highest quality and holds up very well, maintaining good, sharp edges over the years when cared for properly. I always recommend ARS pruning equipment to friends & family and have gifted ARS to others who very much appreciate the quality and durability.

No worries for those who are concerned about purchasing cheap knock offs. These pruners are the real deal -- made in Japan, top quality, in Japanese packaging. For neophytes, unless you read Japanese, you'll have to get maintenance instructions elsewhere, but there are plenty of YouTube tutorials available. The VS-9Z is one of ARS' largest pruners, truly made for large hands. I wear a large size glove, but my hands are not huge and even so are a bit small for these pruners. I bought them for pruning large branches where I want a sharp, clean cut but don't want to abuse my cherished every day Okatsune pruners, which are one size smaller. The ARS VS-9 is of equal quality and will work well for their intended purpose. Unlike Felco's, which are of similar design, these will not constantly lock up while using, a pet peeve of mine with Felco pruners. The ARS top mounted locking tab locks easily with a push of your thumb and unlock by simply squeezing the handles. ARS pruners, including the VS-9Z are an absolute steal at their price point, and perform wonderfully.

I use these pruning shears mainly for trail clearing and maintenance in the woods on our farm, so they see heavy use. I’d imagine that they would work well for garden work, such as pruning rose bushes, as well. 😊 They open just by gripping and squeezing the handles, which is quite convenient. No need to manually unlock them. Locking is also simple: just move the lever forward while squeezing the handles. They cut through branches and small saplings easily. I’ve cut saplings up to an inch thick. While some woods are of course harder than others, I am impressed with the pruner’s ability to make short work of most anything I’ve cut with it. For the larger stuff I carry a Silky Professional Big Boy folding saw, which is another essential piece of trail clearing/maintaining equipment. I’ve posted a review for that also. One thing that I’ve noticed is that occasionally wood fibers will get stuck between the blades, and it takes a second hand to open them. It doesn’t happen often, and can be avoided by a quick wipe of side of the blades with a finger or against a sleeve, before closing the shears. I have another set of cheap bypass pruners that do the same thing, but more frequently, so it is evidently a function of the bypass design rather than with these shears in particular. The quality of the materials and construction appear to be top-notch, which is what I have come to expect from Japanese made steel products. Yes, they are expensive, but when it comes to tools, I find that the pleasure of using a finely made tool easily outweighs the increased cost. And these pruners are a pleasure to use. Highly recommended.

I used the 8" model for years and upgraded to this one for a little extra leverage. I have relatively large hands and this fits me a little better, but it's not hugely different from the 8". I can use these pruners for hours at a time on brambles and they remain comfortable. Pros: Very smooth action and sharp blade; comfortable; excellent top lock/release (different but IMO much better with gloves than the usual side facing catch). Cons: None.

These are pretty good and I'm generally satisfied, but like my old A.M. Leonard pruners better in terms of the grip.

I first ordered the 8" model. Found it didn't quite fit my hands, too small. Returned and ordered the 9" model. Much better fit. I don't think I have massive hands, but I will order an XL glove just to have some space inside the glove. The pruners cut smoothly, no problem with some 3/4" branches. One caution. It seems that many parts are replaceable, which is good but also bad. Specifically, first day I was using the 9"ers, everything was going fine. Then, they seemed "off". Couldn't quite place it at first. Then I realized I was having to OPEN the pruners MANUALLY before cutting. Thinking about it, I then noticed the spring between the two handles had gone missing. I also remembered seeing a spring on the ground, but, at the time, didn't realize what it was. At first I thought that the attachment mechanism for the spring had broken on both sides. Of course, the spring was gone, picked up with clippings and thrown in a LARGE trash barrel with all my other work. Had to dump everything out of the barrel to LUCKILY find the spring. I saw that the attachment spring mechanism were two rubber fittings that press-fitted into the handles; nothing was broken. Fixed, BUT... just be careful that the spring doesn't get dislodged, say by branches slipping inside the upper edge of the spring and the body while pruning. Other than that, it works well.

Fantastic pruners. I like them much better than the Felco option. These have more leverage and it's easier to cut branches with them.

Quality secateurs, made in Japan. The safety mechanism is excellent, not clumsy like other brands. Finish is excellent and they're surprisingly light in the hand.

1番は切れ味です。3本目ですが他のハサミは考えれない。キウイ園ですのであまり太い枝は有りませんのでちょうど良いです。

Extremely well made, they cut very cleanly. The locking mechanism is great. I needed to tighten the blades a bit for the optimal performance, which is simple enough to do.

É la terza forbice di questo "impeccabile" brand che acquisto ma piú per sfizio personale che altro dato che la prima, acquisita circa 15 anni fa, ancora non ha dato il minimo segno di cedimento nonostante l'utilizzo intensivo, professionale e quotidiano che ha subito a lungo (potatura vigna, olivi ecc.). Ho utilizzato diverse forbici professionali, come le Felco o le Bahco, che considero ottime ma non come quelle prodotte dalla ARS. Queste ultime le valuto piú comode, ergonomiche e soprattutto capaci di garantire piú a lungo di tutte le altre funzionalitá ed efficacia e precisione del taglio; la lama in particolare sembra non necessitare mai di affilatura e manutenzione e quando effettuata, la nuova affilatura, se operata correttamente, dimostra di durare sorprendentemente a lungo. Consigliatissima.

Excellent secateurs.