Gardening Tools

Shears, saws and pole pruners for the mango in the patio:

left alone, a mango grows taller than the house, and keeping it low enough to pick from is most of the pruning a yard here asks for. Bypass shears handle green twigs, and a folding pruning saw takes the branches that shears would crush. A pole pruner reaches the outer canopy from the ground instead of from a ladder against the trunk. Wear gloves, because mango sap can blister skin. A grown coconut palm is another matter: its dry fronds and green coconuts are beyond any pole, and that is work for a climber with a machete.

Lawn mower, chainsaw, blower or backpack sprayer:

the powered tools divide by job rather than by garden. A push mower gives an even cut on a flat lawn and struggles on rough ground. A chainsaw is for the fallen limb or the dead tree a pruning saw cannot manage. A blower earns its place where a mango sheds into a frame pool from swimming pools. The backpack sprayer carries anything from foliar feed for the orchids in plants and planters to weedkiller for a driveway, and anyone who does both keeps a separate tank for the weedkiller, because its residue scorches whatever gets sprayed next.

Batteries, bar length and the brand that fits:

with cordless tools the battery is the expensive part, and it only fits its own brand. If you already run a Makita, DeWalt or Ryobi drill, a hedge trimmer on the same battery costs far less than starting over, and a bare tool with no battery is a bargain only for someone who owns one. Match the bar to the wood: a short bar on a light saw is easier to control for limbs, and a long bar belongs on a heavier saw doing felling and firewood.

What separates a genuine Stihl from a saw painted to look like one:

price, to start with. A no-name petrol chainsaw is around $120 to $140 new, while a Stihl or Husqvarna built for farm work runs from about $500 to well past $1,000. A branded saw with a straight bar and a working brake keeps much of its price because chains, bars and spares are easy to find, while a generic saw that stops running is often finished, since nobody stocks its parts. The same gap is why copies exist. Counterfeits wear Stihl’s orange and grey and a real model name, and some have turned up with a chain brake guard that snapped on unboxing. A genuine saw carries a serial number plate, so ask to see it.

Chain brakes, oilers and sprayer seals on a used tool:

ask to see a chainsaw running. Push the hand guard forward at idle and the chain should stop dead. Rev it with the bar tip over a piece of cardboard: a fine line of oil means the oiler works, and a saw run dry wears through bar and chain fast. Check the bar rails for burrs and the sprocket for hooked teeth. Extend a pole pruner fully and lock it; a pole that wobbles at the joints makes a high cut dangerous. Pump a sprayer up and leave it under pressure for a few minutes, because seals weep at the trigger and lance, and a tank that lived in the sun turns brittle at the base.

The chainsaw that cut one fallen tree:

it is the most common used saw there is, and the listing should say so, because one mango limb reads very differently from every weekend on a farm. Photograph the serial plate and the bar, give the bar length, and post a short video of the saw going through a log, which shows at once that it runs and the brake works. List which batteries and charger go with a cordless tool, and say what a sprayer carried. When the buyer comes for a chainsaw, have the tank empty and the bar cover on: most saws ride home on a back seat, and spilled mix and a bare chain are what spoil that trip.