Corona Tools has been in existence since 1928 and is a well known and respected brand in America. Their products have been available here in the UK for a couple of years through the respected brand Burgon and Ball. I have not paid for these secateurs, but my words and opinions are my own.
These are more than just a fancy pair of secateurs. They are made of forged steel and are wonderfully sharp. They have contoured grip handles and shock absorbing bumper. The spring is internal, so it does not pop off when you are not looking and are suitable for left and right handed gardeners. There is a neat little lock that I soon got used to using.
As secateurs they are very good. They will cut what you would expect secateurs to cut. If they were just secateurs they would be a good buy. I also have to say I really like the look of them, they are very aesthetically pleasing. This is, however, only half of their story.
There is a neat little release mechanism in the handles that allows you to extend them to become mini-loppers. This suddenly takes you into a hole new realm of cutting. The packaging boasts they can cut up to 3cm .
I decided to give them a good test with some rose pruning. I usually prune my roses this time of year, just as they are starting to grow again. This year I had decided I was going to give some of my roses a hard prune. They have been in the garden ten or so years and some needed a good seeing to.
The 1 cm stems were cut through with ease.
Then I tried them on the thicker stems of a good 2 -3cm. The handle release mechanism means that you can quickly change from secateur to lopper. I found out quite quickly that the best way to use them as a lopper was to make sure that to use the full length of the blade. You all probably know this, you cannot just lop with the end of the blades. Once I had the hang of this then they worked brilliantly.
I also used them to prune down my Euphorbia pasteurii, which had got quite woody.
The loppers got through the stems with no problems at all.
I really like these secateurs. I love that I can convert them back and forth so quickly and easily. They have become my secateurs of choice and now live in the back pocket of my gardening trousers.
The Corona Max Forged Convertible Bypass Branch and Stem Pruner retails at around £44.99
