Green (Living) Review: Rolcut

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The Original Löwe 8.104 anvil pruning shears feature the ‘best of both worlds’, utilizing anvil technology with bypass geometry. The slimness and curve of a bypass cutting head, makes selective pruning of intensive crops (fruit, flowers, etc.) easy, while the anvil blade allows easy cutting and less impact during use.
Designed for use in horticulture, fruit growing, forestry, and viticulture; these pruners can be used left or right handed, for cutting any kind of wood with plastic grips and easily adjustable handles to suit any hand size.

It was the Löwe 1 which made the Original Löwe brand and the anvil principle (a drawing cut against a fixed base plate) world famous. Original Löwe pruners are designed, produced and assembled in Germany to the highest standards with a unique hardening process giving the blades an unrivaled hardness and the latest CNC grinding machines, ensuring an outstanding sharp cutting edge.

Length: 21cm

Weight: 230g

Cutting Capacity: 25mm (1")

While it is often claimed, especially by manufacturers of bypass secateurs that anvil secateurs (pruners) should be used for dead wood only and that only bypass secateurs should ever be used on green wood this is a fallacy. But then again not all anvil secateurs and pruners are equal. Some do not cut clean enough.

Many an older groundsman or gardener will remember, fondly I should think, a brand called ROLCUT which were, in fact, Original Löwe anvil pruners, made under license in Britain and I still have a small old one of that brand and have refurbished it, in fact, after seeing Original Löwe at the recent IOG Saltex 2012.

Original Löwe tools are 100% “Made in Germany” and not a single part is outsourced abroad; not even the steel for the blades. The steel is made for Original Löwe in Germany and the products are then made, in their entirety, in their factory in Kiel.

The review sample was supplied by Dominic Elson of Quality Garden Tools, the sole distributor in the UK for Original Löwe, during my visit to IOG Saltex 2012.

All parts of the Original Löwe secateurs are replaceable and the blades can be changed for replacement with just a spanner in a few seconds, literally.

This is a very sturdy, as all of them appear to be, pair of secateurs that feels good in the hand simply because of its weight which speaks of being a solid product and outperforms the competition by miles.

The Original Löwe 8.104 looks to all intents and purposes like a pair of bypass secateurs but does, in fact, have an anvil. The blade, however, has the curvature of the bypass.

There are many who prefer to use bypass secateurs when pruning trees and such as they have the habit of cutting a branch flush with the trunk. This, however, is very bad practice and should not be done, except, may be, in viticulture.

I have put this pair of secateurs now through its paces and aside from the fact that they have a very reassuring weight speaking of strength and quality of workmanship they work a treat indeed with everything that I have thrown at it, from cutting very thin stems in harvesting beans to about 1inch thick branches of apple. The trees of mine are in need of a haircut.

The lock is the most positive kind of lock imaginable of one that is intended to be opened one-handed and when the lock, though a simple one, is in place you know that your secateurs are securely locked and should not open accidentally in your pocket or holster. And this lock can also be adjusted should you wish to do so.

Despite the fact that the majority of Original Löwe secateurs use the old style caterpillar spring, which many manufacturers have now dropped as they tend to drop out it would appear that this is not going to be the case here. Also, a little TLC on the side of the user can, in fact, prevent the spring from coming out (even if it is gay) and a little oil goes a very long way.

Being someone who appreciates good tools and someone who was very partial to the old ROLCUT brand I may be a little predisposed towards the products by the company which is, after all, ROLCUT's parent but I think most of my readers will know that I call a spade a spade and would mention if there was something that I did not like to well.

Those secateurs are a real serious piece of kit and made with the professional in mind and at around £46 retail in the UK certainly come cheaper than does the nearest competition.

I would definitely rate the Original Löwe 8.104 secateurs with a six out of five, if that would be possible and thus, I guess, we will have to settle for five stars.

Rolcut secateurs and pruners return to Britain after long absence

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

After a fairly long absence those German-made professional secateurs return to the UK under the original Lowe brand name.

Although Rolcut was a well known brand in the UK the tool design was from a German company called Löwe who had patented the first anvil pruner in 1923. The all metal design and anvil blade made them the toughest pruner available and they were the choice of many professionals and enthusiasts.

In 1928 came the invention of the Original LÖWE pruning shear under the "Rolcut" brand in England by Colonel B.J. Walker. In 1933 Foundation of the company "Fritz Howaldt Ltd." in London where in 1945 Rolcut took over the manufacture in London. In 1994 Rolcut was taken over, so I understand, by Fiskars and deliberately destroyed. Guess they were just too much of a competition.

Mind you, we have seen this same action in Germany when the German Democratic Republic was annexed after the fall of the wall and great companies such as Zeiss Jena and other were deliberately destroyed; in the former case because the original owners of Zeiss Jena are now Zeiss Wetzlar and did not wan the competition from the Jena factory.

I have a small old Rolcut pair that was found abandoned in a park and which I have now – more or less – refurbished, the impetus to which came meeting a representative of Lowe at IOG Saltex 2012 where he was on the Stand of Quality Garden Tools with Dominic Elson.

I had the opportunity at the stand to test a few of the tools and also to take one with me for review, courtesy of Dominic of QGT. Review to follow soon.

All of Lowe's tools are 100% Made in Germany, which is not something that everyone can claim for the legal situation is that if 40% or more is made in Germany it can be called thus. Every part of the tools are made in Germany and all assembly, grinding, etc., are done at the factory in Kiel.

There are a number of improvements to the Lowe secateurs such as the new locking devices and also the fact that some have adjustable jaws and some have adjustable handle opening widths which is also is an aid to keep the cutting action smooth when the blade has begun to wear down though use and resharpening.

The tools that I tested in that short time at the show performed well and were superior to the equivalent competition secateurs that were used and which were Felco.

The anvil system is superior in most cases, bar, maybe, where very close cutting at the stem is required, which could not be used for ordinary pruning anyway, to the bypass secateurs even though it is always claimed, in recent times at least, that anvil pruners should be used for dry wood only and bypass for green.

A sad fact is, however, that the spare parts for the modern Lowe tools do not fit the old UK made Rolcut tools. I would have loved to be able to get some replacement blades for that old little Rolcut pair which I have got.

The Löwe 5.104 of today, though it has plastic handles, is about the size of that small Rolcut which I have but the blade's foot is a slightly different shape to that of my original Rolcut.

Löwe (Loewe) pruning products launched in the UK November 2011 and Quality Garden Tools have been appointed as the sole agent for the UK.