Tabor Tools S821 Bypass Pruning Shears

Finding the best shears to help you with your trimming and pruning tasks is not always simple. Aside from being easy on the budget, you want the pruner to be easy on your hands, too. Sometimes, the process of considering which products to buy just boils down to personal preference across a number of criteria. What’s common among these preferences though, are dependability, comfort, and value for money.

If we each had Tabor Tools S821, we probably would have taken care of our pruning goals without the afterthought of having spent so much on the tool. Let’s see how the S821 fares in this pruning shears review.

1. Things to Consider When Comparing Pruning Shears

Plants need pruning as the process encourages them to thrive. Evidence suggests that flowering plants, for instance, benefit well from pruning—they tend to produce more flowers. But, in order to achieve such ideal pruning results, you need to pick the right kind of pruners and thereby avoid harming your plants.

Garden shears, also known as hand pruners, pruning shears or secateurs, are cutting tools suited for pruning and trimming stems. They are intended for one-hand use, that’s why they’re best for flowering plants, potted plants, bushes, veggies, and some small herbs or thin tree branches that you can easily reach.

For larger and thicker branches, you may want to consider buying two-handed loppers instead.

As for hand pruners, you can pick models that can cut branches that are up to ¾” to 1” thick. Take a closer look at the kind of features you may want to check in your garden shears if you would like your plants to bloom and not suffer or die.

Cutting Blade Material

The most basic part to examine in a hand pruner is its cutting blade. Look into the blade material used in order to ensure sharpness and rust resistance. If the blades aren’t sharp enough, plants may heal more slowly after being pruned.

Cutting Mechanism

If you’ve been looking for the best garden shears for some time now, you must already be familiar with the terms “anvil” and “bypass.” They refer to the types of blades in pruners and other garden tools based on the cutting mechanism. Each has its ideal use so you may need to purchase both in the long run.

Bypass pruners are best used for live plants, while anvil pruners are ideal for dead or dried stems. Bypass pruning shears have a scissor-like cutting mechanism to which live stems yield without being crushed.

Anvil shears, on the other hand, cut as if chopping the stem off with its sharp upper blade which eventually lands on the “anvil”—the non-sharp lower blade that serves as the ”chopping board.” Because of the impact of its cutting mechanism, an anvil pruner can easily lop dried wood but may hurt the live stem in the process.

Handle

Since secateurs are meant for single-hand use, the shape of its handles could have a significant impact on your pruning experience. The more comfortable they are, the safer they will be for the health of your fingers and wrist. Some pruners have ergonomic handles that are so well-designed that even arthritis patients find enjoyment while using them.

Locking Mechanism

Locks in pruning shears matter a lot for safety reasons. You don’t want to forget your shears somewhere in the garden, only to find out later that a kid was hurt by accidentally running over or stepping on it—all because its blades were wide open and cannot be kept closed.

Shock Absorbance

If you’re looking for the best pruning shears, be sure to check whether it has a spring for shock absorbance or not. It can either be a coiled metal or a wire spring. A secateur with a shock-absorbing mechanism can make pruning a lot easier by minimizing the pressure on your hand.

2. Tabor Tools S821

The S821 by Tabor Tools is a bypass pruner designed for small to medium-sized hands. With a cutting blade that promises to be as sharp as a scalpel, It claims to make quick and clean cuts for branches that are up to ¾” in diameter.

The pruner’s bold, only-12-months warranty (instead of a lifetime) somewhat implies how it should last for long. The S821 is at the higher end of the budget among its brothers — the S3 which fits medium to large hands and the S834 which cuts branches of up to 2 cm in thickness.

3. Features & Benefits of Tabor Tools S821 Hand Pruner

The Tabor Tools S821 has ergonomic comfort-grip handles, carbon stainless-steel chrome-plated blades, and a shock-absorbing wire spring.

Carbon Stainless Steel Chrome-Plated Blades

You usually hear either one of the two: carbon steel or stainless steel. I do, too, so “carbon stainless steel” almost doesn’t make sense. If you look into the subject, however, high carbon stainless steel blades do exist. You can find the term in Japanese steel knives.

High carbon stainless steel possesses the good qualities found in both carbon steel and stainless steel. It resists rust and corrosion just like stainless steel but is also hard just like carbon steel.

That said, you may expect the S821 to hold up for a long time, even with heavy use. This is probably why the company is confident enough to grant only 12 months of warranty, as opposed to a lifetime guarantee. If the logic isn’t quite intuitive to you, I’ll rephrase it this way. You may rather want to invest in a tool which has excellent quality but short warranty period, rather than in a tool that almost always gets broken and enjoy a lifetime guarantee.

Even then, the blades of Tabor tools s821 bypass pruning shears seem to really hold up for long. The chrome plating must also help—it adds a layer of protection from rusting and corrosion.

Ergonomic, Soft-Grip Handles

The S821 hand pruner may not have the curved lower-handle design fitted for four fingers, but its shape is nonetheless ergonomic. If you think about the positive side of it, you may come to appreciate the flexibility that design allows.

Since the S821 pruner should serve small to medium-sized hands, it seems just right to shape the handles that way. It allows you to slide your fingers to whatever position they’re most comfortable with.

The soft-grip handle cover (colored black) can offer additional comfort to your hands while using the pruner. This becomes good news to arthritic individuals and to all others who would like to prevent hand pain when gardening.

Wire Spring for Shock Absorbance

Aside from the comfort given through the handles, the Tabor Tools S821 pruning shears offer shock absorbance, thereby promoting further ease of use.

The wire spring placed in between the handles provides this shock absorbing mechanism. As you push on the handles together to cut a branch, the spring answers with a comfortable bounce that may significantly reduce the stress on your hand and wrist.

Safety Lock

The Tabor Tools S821 have a safety lock at the end of the upper handle. It’s an open-close clip that does not interfere with your hand while pruning.

Some pruners have locks in the form of a push button switch or a lock that dangles in between the handles. While you may accidentally lock or unlock a dangling clip, it doesn’t happen easily with an S821.

The open-close clip is easy to use and is great for safety and storage purposes. You may only have to be careful about breaking it by mishandling as it seems to be fragile and could loosen after some time.

Maximum Cutting Capacity

The Tabor Tools S821 has a rather conservative recommended cutting capacity, but it’s probably just fit for the moderate price. Other shears can lop branches as thick as 1”, but they would also cost about twice the S821.

Nonetheless, a cutting capacity of up to ¾” can already handle rose bushes—it’s even more than enough. Ideally, the S821 is for lightweight use, which means you should probably just use it for what it’s made for. As a bypass pruner, you can use it for live stems as thick as three-quarters of an inch. If you ever try it with hard wood, you may want to limit its use to only cutting branches of up to ½” in diameter.

4. What Users Thought About Tabor Tools S821 Bypass Pruners

User reviews give a lot of help as long as they’re honest and not exaggerated. I’ve found a good number of such reviews—a lot of them seems to be positive and commend the S821 without reservations.

Very Sharp, Makes Clean Cuts Easily

So far, this user has not edited his review, so there’s a reason to believe his S821 pruner still works to date. To confirm, we’d either wait for some more time or simply look around for what others have to say, too.

Affordable and Durable

So this guy actually updated his review to give potential buyers a perspective. About a year after buying and using the S821 shears for the first time, they did hold up. That testimony may give you an additional cue as to the durability of these garden shears.

Comfortable for Arthritic Hands

Enough with the question on dependability and durability, and we’ll set our eyes on the comfort factor. If Tabor tools s821 bypass pruning shears can bring delight to an 80-year old arthritic, that’s probably a good pair of shears to try pruning with.

Light, Easy On The Wrist, Clever Lock Position

This and the other users talked positively about the lock. It may be in a dangling style, but it dangles from a place where you don’t push on it unnecessarily.

If accidentally locking your pruner has always been a problem, then the Tabor Tools S821 pruning shears may be worth a try.

5. Alternatives to the S821 Garden Shears by Tabor Tools

As I’ve told you, finding the best pruning shears is not easy, especially if you’re meticulously looking into the details of each tool you’re comparing.

If that’s the case, I’ve listed some alternatives to the S821 bypass pruner.

• Gonicc 8” Professional (GPPS-1002)
• Mockins Professional Garden 
• Garden Elite’s Alpha Six Razor Sharp 

Gonicc 8” Professional (GPPS-1002)

The Gonicc 8” Profesional (GPPS-1002 model) shares a good number of both similarities and differences with Tabor Tools S821. The primary differences are on the blade material, the handle design, the spring type, the locking mechanisms, and the duration of the warranty.

If you’re into investigating the specific details, a table of comparison may help.

The S821 may have hard blades that don’t need so much maintenance, but the GPPS-1002 has SK-5-rated hard blades and also provides a Teflon coating to work against corrosion. As for the locking mechanism, the sliding lock button in Gonicc’s shears may cause some interference while pruning.

Interested? Check out the Gonicc 8” Professional  here or see our full review of the product.

Mockins Professional Garden Bypass Pruning Shears

If you’re looking for the cheapest possible pruner that can already work around your flowers or veggies that aren’t that thick, you may pick Mockins pruning shears instead. Priced half that of Tabor Tools S821, you may already pick a stainless steel cutting tool with ergonomic, rubber-coated handles. You can’t go wrong with its push-button, easy locking switch, too.

Perhaps the most significant downside of Mockins’ shears is on the maximum cutting capacity, which is less than half that of the S821. Check out Mockins Professional Garden here or see our full review of the product.

Garden Elite’s Alpha Six Razor Sharp

The Alpha Six may not be selling much but specs-wise, it can go side-by-side with Tabor Tools S821 or even beat it in terms of cutting capacity and warranty period. Nonetheless, if you’d account for the extra bonuses such as an extra SK-5 steel blade and an extra spring, it might be worth considering.

Interested? Check out Garden Elite’s Alpha Six Bypass Pruning Shears here. 

Conclusion: Tabor Tools S821 Bypass Pruning Shears Is Dependable and Affordable

If you think about the three cues I’ve mentioned at the beginning of this pruning shears review, you may notice that the Tabor Tools S821 pruner has them. It’s quite dependable, comfortable and easy to use, and offers value for money. Plus, if you wish to focus on pruning without getting occasional interference from the safety lock, this pruner has it strategically placed. Check out the Tabor Tools S821 here.