STANLEYGarden BDS6334 Fatmax 30" Bypass Lopper, 31", Steel

Just got this saw. It has some pros and cons. Pros: 1. It's inexpensive compared to competitors (which you could also read as "it's priced appropriately for a bent steel tube and a saw blade"). 2. It properly tensions the blade, which is basically its only job. 3. The saw blade it ships with is pretty decent. The rakers aren't all that aggressive so it can bog down in soft, sappy pine, but it'll get your christmas tree down if that's what you're after.Cons: 1. The paint was marked up right out of the packaging, even inside the little protective shipping sleeve it comes in. Makes me wonder what games they're playing with these at the factory. 2. There's a weird plastic hand-guard (?) insert shown in the picture. That's not part of the tensioner, and after installing the blade I couldn't figure out how to get it back in. It cuts fine without it and I've never owned a bow saw that had one of these so I discarded it. Mystery shipping component? Important safety device? No idea - no instructions included. 3. As I said, the saw blade is meant for hardwood. It cuts great through that but the rakers aren't spaced enough for regular cutting softwood. NBD - it takes standard saw blades so just get one to suit what you're cutting. Most people will want a "green wood" blade.Note: Bow saw blades dull quickly because the saws are often used to cut dirty wood. They're easy to sharpen but nobody ever does. So you get the saw, it cuts AMAZING the first time, then four years later you use it again and it doesn't cut well and you go buy a chain saw. Probably you stored it wet from the first cutting, and the sharp edges rusted enough to dull them on the second cut. To prevent this, always clean your saw blades. WD-40 is great for the final rust preventer.

I was hoping this would do the job of my previous loppers with a curved titanium blade, but is so much better with mechanical leverage. Feels solid in hand, balanced well, and more importantly, cuts shooters and small branches around 2” diameter for me. Smaller branches are clearly easier over time, so work with your body to maintain a workflow, and use the tools that help; this one definitely does.

Would be 5 stars but the max cutting capacity in the ad was stated @ 2" but the packaging on the product lists the max cutting capacity @ 1.5" which unfortunately is a big difference. Also the photos make it look like the handles are one continous piece of metal running throughout up to the cutting head but they actually are bolted together with the cutting head. Very comfortable to use, the hook shaped jaws grab and hold onto the branch being cut which eliminates slippage. The gearing mechanism when combined with the sharp cutting face make cutting into even the hardest wood relatively easy.

I have been using these loppers to cut fence-lines and trails in the pasture. It cuts cedar like butter. The cutting blade is very easy to sharpen with a rasp. The longer handle means less stooping and bending over and a higher reach up into trees. I did have to tighten the screws to hold the handle end on. I've owned loppers for over 30 years, these are my favorite. They also have a lifetime guaranty.

For tensioning the blade, Stanley provide a nut and a plastic lever, which can only be parked in one position. I find it hard to get the blade sufficiently taut, and I'm not happy using pliers to turn the lever to its parking slot in case I break the lever. I also think that the frame is larger than it need be (if you are cutting logs with that large a diameter you probably would not be using this type of saw). I much prefer my old Fiskars saw, which has a wing nut for tensioning and a frame that tapers to a point, so that one can get in between tree branches.

This is a great product. I’ve purchased three of them now over the years. All are still in service. Very durable and retain their sharpness. Blades do not become unaligned, as has occurred with other brands of loppers.

You know what happens when you apply pressure to the inverted curved handles of the loopers when your trying to cut a thicker branch…they bend!!! Horrible design!!! Horrible!!!

Very sharp blade that works great. Has a nice hand grip that makes it easier to hold on to for sawing. Fast shipping.