A question we get asked a lot, which scissors are best for floristry and cutting flowers? In truth, there is no one tool that can do everything. We use different scissors for different things and whether we're out on a job, in the garden or in the studio, we wouldn't be without our favourite scissors! From pretty to practical, here are our top 3 recommended snips and why they are so great.
If we were to sum up the Niwaki Sakagen Flower Scissors in a few words we would say they are durable, comfortable, lightweight, and ever so comely in an array of fun colours.
The comfort of the resin moulded handles make these scissors great for long periods of cutting, conditioning and arranging flowers and the fluorine coated blades are a good length at 5.5cms. These scissors are really comfortable and even have a little slot at each side for resting your fingers.
We recommend these for floristry and cutting flowers in the garden, especially when you are going to be snipping for long periods of time. The material is rustproof but they do require a little bit of maintenance to keep them in tiptop condition; wipe the blades clean and dry before you store them away and periodically sharpen the blades with a sharpening stone but only when you feel they need it.
You can order a pair of Niwaki Sakagen Flower Scissors from our online shop but which colour will you choose?!
If we were to sum up the Niwaki Sentei Garden Scissors in a few words we would say they are fast, accurate, deliberate, and very sharp.
They have traditional round handles that are made of a smooth, forged carbon steel making them comfortable, strong yet lightweight and perfect for deliberate cuts with their strong angled blades. These really are a great all-rounder and as they are a bit heavier than the Sakagen they are best suited to quicker jobs such as deadheading, light pruning, ikebana or editing flower arrangements in the vase.
As they are sharper, they do make cleaner cuts, especially on soft or spongy stems. They are excellent, multi-purpose scissors and work with a variety of stem types from spongy to delicate stems as well as woody branches up to 10-15mm. They are especially great for harvesting or conditioning Spring flowers such as narcissi and tulips where the Sakagen can sometimes fall short, especially if they need sharpening. What is great about the blades on the Niwaki Sentei Garden Scissors is how accurate you can be with them. You can use the tips of the blades for careful, more delicate cutting and make bigger cuts further up. So they are really versatile! As with the Sakagen, they do require a little bit of maintenance to keep them in tiptop condition; wipe the blades clean and dry before you store them away as they can be prone to rusting and periodically sharpen the blades with a sharpening stone when you feel they need it. The Niwaki Sentei Garden Scissors are also available to order from our online shop. Why not add the leather holster so that they can be on you at all times!
Secateurs can be notoriously cumbersome but not these ones! The Niwaki Sentei Secateurs are traditional, comfortable, strong, and lightweight.
The round handles are made of a smooth, forged carbon steel and are curved to the shape of your hand for ease of grip. We love them for cutting woody stems, pruning roses and busy outdoor days on the farm. There is a little catch at the bottom which you can operate with your pinky finger, meaning they can be opened and closed with one hand unlike many other secateurs which require a bit of fiddling to open the catch. You can make strong, angled cuts with the curved steel blades and they cut cleanly with a soft, springing action. I especially love the curved shape of the handles meaning you can utilise the full strength of your hand and wrist to make the cut with great ease. The Sentei Secateurs are also very reasonably priced compared to other secateurs but still retain the really high quality that Niwaki are renowned for. What I especially love about the Sentei range, is that not only are they extremely practical but also very beautiful with the carbon black and gold Japanese lettering. We are firm believers in owning things which are as beautiful as they are functional! The Niwaki Sentei Secateurs are also available to order from our online shop.
