Garden hand tools

Gardeners everywhere use much the same small tools for cutting, digging and weeding. Iowa State University's extension service says good tools that are used and cared for properly far outlast cheaper ones.

One tool, several names

In Britain, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) calls the small two-bladed cutter secateurs. Iowa State's service in the United States calls the same tool hand pruners or pruning shears. It helps to search under both names.

The RHS says loppers, and Iowa State says lopping shears.

Matching the tool to the cut

Iowa State's guide gives a size for each tool. Hand pruners take branches up to 3/4 inch across, about 2cm. Lopping shears take branches from 3/4 inch to 1 1/2 inches, about 2cm to 4cm. A pruning saw takes anything over 1 3/4 inches, about 4.5cm.

The guide describes two kinds of pruners. Bypass pruners have curved blades that pass each other like scissors. Anvil pruners have one sharp blade that closes onto a flat surface.

Iowa State says sharp bypass pruners make close, clean cuts. It says anvil pruners work well on dead branches and jam less often. They are also more likely to crush stems.

A folding pruning saw is easy to carry around the garden, the guide says. Many pruning saws cut on both the push and the pull.

Cleaning and sharpening

The RHS suggests cleaning garden tools after every use. A stiff brush takes the soil off a trowel or fork, and drying stops the metal rusting and a wooden handle swelling.

Sap from pruning gums up the blades of secateurs and saws. The RHS suggests rubbing it off with a nylon pan scourer or wire wool, then putting a drop of oil on the central pivot.

To stop diseases spreading, the RHS suggests treating used blades with a garden disinfectant and leaving it for 15 to 20 minutes before wiping it off.

The RHS says secateurs become blunt with use, and that blunt ones cause damage when pruning. The RHS suggests a whetstone, a diamond tool or a sharpening steel.

It says to sharpen the angled side of the blade only and leave the flat side alone. To test the edge, cut a sheet of paper. A sharp pair cuts it cleanly, and a blunt pair folds and crushes it.

Spades and hoes pick up nicks from stones. The RHS says most of them need sharpening only once or twice a year.

Charges when a tool comes from abroad

The European Commission says that since 1 July 2026, the EU has charged €3 of customs duty per item on parcels worth €150 or less bought online from outside the EU. The charge runs until 1 July 2028.

Ireland's Revenue says some websites collect that duty at checkout. Otherwise the delivery company asks for it before handing the parcel over.

Revenue adds that VAT is due on import as well, unless the seller has already charged it at checkout.

In October 2026, the Canada Border Services Agency says most items worth CAN$20 or less sent by mail carry no duty or tax.

In October 2026, New Zealand Customs says goods bought from overseas websites for NZ$1000 or less come in without duty. The overseas seller collects GST.

In the United States, a presidential order of 20 February 2026 says duty is due on parcels of any value, including those sent by post.

Each customs authority keeps its current rules on its own page.

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