I bought these Corona “leaf and stem” micro snips back in March, and have used it for all sorts of light to medium duty plant-pruning tasks.
I have used it to top my hot pepper plants (where you cut the stem above a certain height), lop off unruly tomato and cucumber plant suckers branches, and guide past obstacles to trim delicate leaves.
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It has handled all these and other tasks with great ease.
They come with a rubbery tip cover, and so I can carry them in my pocket if needed. This is faciliated by the slide-lock.
The Corona micro snips have a spring-action, which for a tool like this provides for more comfortable and less fatiguing use.
It handled soft and fibrous leaves and branches alike, although I’d still use something else for cutting anything woody.
The blades are stainless steel, and easily cleaned. So far, mine aren’t showing the last bit of corrosion of an kind.
These precision snips work quite well and at $10-15 I’d consider it to be inexpensive.
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Corona says they have “ComfortGel” handles, and while the handles are soft and grippy, it doesn’t seem any different from other rubbery-gripped hand tools I’ve used.
So far so good. Unless something drastic happens, I can highly recommend them so far.
Model: FS 3214D
Price: $13
Buy Now via Amazon
Compare: Fiskars via Amazon
See Also: Corona Long Straight Snip
My copy was purchased at retail pricing via Amazon.
Terence
A lot of my grower friends use these to trim cannabis after harvest, they’re my favorite snips for general gardening as well. They look as good as they work, and I haven’t damaged the blade despite getting overly aggressive from time to time.
Stuart
The cannabis growing industry seems to be much larger than I had expected.
They added this to the Corona product description:
Ideal for deadheading, trimming, shaping and other quick snips on small plants as well as marijuana
When researching elements for growing hot peppers and vegetables, my research often unintentionally took me to cannabis growing forums and subreddits.
rob
My local garden Center here in the Bay Area has a premium compost they sell “420 Compost”, it’s about $5 more than their branded version which they already get a $4 or so markup on versus the big box stores. So it’s roughly $14.99 a bag….
fred
My earlier reply (that had 2 Amazon links) may have gotten bogged down by the spam filter. But my wife (the trained horticulturist in our family) likes this style – using ones called fruit pruners by ARS – one has straight pointed tips (HP-300L) and another curved rounded tips (HP-310)
Stuart
Thanks! I might try those too – the curved snub-nose model. I find that I sometimes have to reach in close to vines or other fruit to snip cucumbers off the plant. It’s hard to know what to use without knowing the full breadth of what’s out there. When steered towards Felco, I was overwhelmed by the number of different options, and with most so close alike I couldn’t easily tell the difference without committing an inordinate amount of time to research.
yadda
If going with Felco I recommend the Number 7. It has the rotating handle making multiple cuts more comfortable, with less chance for blisters. Corona makes a similar version as does ARS. There is also a left handed version the Felco 12. Leatherman made a pruner muti tool with a rotating handle similar to the Felco 7 called the Genus. Discontinued now, it goes for a hefty price when you can find one.
fred
Later in life – after retiring from her day job so to speak – my wife went for training in her passion and did enough study/coursework to get certificates in horticulture, landscape design and gardening. On one of our trips to Switzerland – we happened to come across a store that claimed to sell the full line of Felco products . She tried out a batch of secateurs – while I looked at things like their barbed-wire cutters. The beauty of a store like this (in Luzerne I think) was that you can see what fits ell in your hands – and sort through the different options. So my advice to you is – once the threat of COVID has subsided – take the family to Switzerland – admire the spectacular scenery and friendly people – eat some Rosti along the lake in Luzerne – then look at some Felco tools so you can write the trip off as a business expense,
Prior to our post-retirement travel – my wife had always had a predilection for the Felco left handed model F9 which is what she uses most. But she was introduced to the ARS and Silky (Japanese) brands when studying/volunteering at the botanic garden. I had used Felco cable cutters for bike repair starting when the kids were young (40 or so years ago) – and never had any issue with them compared to a cheaper brand I tried. So. when she got into gardening – I bought her the first pair of Felco F9’s – and now she keeps a pair at each of our places.
Bob
Might gave to grab a pair of these. Tho I might be tempted to try to bite off too big a stem as I often do with my normal Corona clippers. No adverse effects as of yet. Also I prefer the leather holster that my clippers came with. Has a stiff spring steel clip that holds to your belt, waist band or pocket very securely.
Not saying it can’t happen but I have always had good luck with Corona clipers, lopers, saws, etc. They were always a few bucks more but not overly so. Well worth the money in my experience.
David Zeller
Has anyone used these and also the Fiskars micro-snips? I’ve had a pair of the latter for many years and had no issues, but am considering replacing them. With no issues, I thought I’d get the same ones. Is there any reason to change?
fred
Your old Fiskars snips may have been made in Finland. New ones may be made in China. Nothing wrong with either manufacturing locale – as long as they have kept up with quality control and have not cheapened the design to save costs at the expense of quality/longevity.
My wife has a Fiskars 9240 telescoping pruning stick that was bought 12 years ago and has seen quite a bit of work. She really likes it. Today the price is about what I paid for it in 2008 – they’ve added a saw blade to it – and moved its manufacturing from Finland to China. It now gets mixed reviews on Amazon.
Joe S
I’m a big fan of these as well… Sounds like we use them in the exact way you do. This is the third season we’ve used them, they’ve been incredibly handy each year. I agree with you that anything woody would call for a different tool, but these are perfect for veggie plants. Really need to get a second pair so both my wife and I can use at the same time.
Dave the tool
I admit first of all that I have owned name brand Expensive hand pruners and snips and cheaper less expensive models. They all rust if left outside and they all need constant sharpening. As much as I am a quality hand tool fan, I just don’t see the value in a $15-25 pair of cutters/snips vs the cheaper versions ad they both require maintanance as I stated…cleaning, sharpening and lubricant. I will mention that I found a pair this year that have a hole on the inside of the blade to clamp a small branch while cutting that works great for pruning roses.
rob
I agreed there, I haven’t purchased Felco but other brands that cost $30-40 and overall can’t say the held up any better than the no name ones. I recently purchased a new set of pruners and snips. For less than $20 I am happy with them, pruners great for general trimming and the snips great for cutting things like lettuce without damaging the entire plant.