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Bypass or anvil loppers

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are stood in front of a shrub with two loppers in the basket, and the anvil looks stronger because the jaw is a block. Bypass or anvil loppers is a choice about the wood, not about which mechanism claims more force. A bypass slices. An anvil crushes onto a block and can bruise green growth. An anvil is not a stronger bypass. The [loppers comparison](/hub/garden-tree-and-hedge-shears/loppers) shows which of the ten cards are which head. This page stays with that split. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Peter F. used the listing lines saved on 19 October 2026 and the public UK sources below. There is no lab test here.

You are stood in front of a shrub with two loppers in the basket, and the anvil looks stronger because the jaw is a block. Bypass or anvil loppers is a choice about the wood, not about which mechanism claims more force.

Our top picks

Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 8100RS

Best overall

Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 8100RS
9.2/10about £22.86
View offer
Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 8090RS

Alternative

Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 8090RS
9.0/10about £36.95
View offer
AIRAJ AIRAJ 43 cm bypass

Best value

AIRAJ AIRAJ 43 cm bypass
8.8/10about £12.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the two heads do
  2. 2.Living wood takes a bypass
  3. 3.Dead or hard wood can take an anvil
  4. 4.When the listing will not say

What the two heads do

A bypass lopper is a scissor action. Two blades pass and slice. An anvil uses one blade and a block. Dead, dry, or very hard wood is where that block earns its place. Burgon & Ball say choose by whether the plant is alive, not by how large the branch looks. Green bark can be bruised even when the stem falls away. Bypass blades can bend or nick if you force them through dead wood. The English Garden has called an anvil a good all-rounder for living wood. That line fights Burgon & Ball, Gardeners' World, Gardens Illustrated, and Gardena. This page does not adopt it.

Living wood takes a bypass

A living shrub, a fruit spur, or a green rose cane wants the slice, inside the printed cut. If you are unsure of the diameter, the order is on the loppers buying guide. The AIRAJ 2046 is the short one: 3 cm on the bullet and the field, 43 cm, 660 g. The Spear & Jackson 8090RS is the bypass that also ratchets. Its field says 42 mm and the bullets do not repeat that figure. The ratchet does not change the head. A green 2 cm watershoot on an apple tree is a bypass job. The same shoot met with an anvil can leave a crushed collar.
Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 8100RS

Testsieger

Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 8100RS
9.2/10about £22.86
View offer

Dead or hard wood can take an anvil

Dead wood, dry sticks, and a rough first shortening are the anvil's work. Burgon & Ball include a heavy living limb you shorten before a clean bypass or a saw finishes it. That is a first cut, not a reason to use the anvil on every green stem. The Spear & Jackson 8100RS is the ratchet anvil, 42 mm on the bullet and the field, about £22.86. The best loppers page explains why that file leads. It does not make the anvil safe for a fruiting stem. The Kimura Pro 302 is a compound anvil, 35 mm in both places, at 1.26 kg. The HAUTMEC bullet says 5 cm on fresh wood and 3.5 cm on dried wood. Use the dried line when the wood is hard.

When the listing will not say

Two AIRAJ cards will not tell you the head in one voice. The 618991 says anvil in the title and bypass in the blade-type field. The bullet describes a serrated shark-mouth block. If you can see a pad, treat it as an anvil and keep it off living fruit wood. The 616C91F has no blade-type field. The bullets describe a thickened cutting pad, and the title says 4 cm while the field says 52 cm. That 52 cm is not the jaw. If you need both heads, you need two tools.

Common questions

Which head for a living shrub or fruit tree?
Use a bypass. The blades pass and slice, which is the cut living bark can close over more cleanly than a crush. Keep the stem inside the printed capacity and inside the point where a saw should take over. An anvil on that same green stem can bruise the growth you meant to keep.
Which head for dead, dry, or very hard wood?
Use an anvil. The blade meets a block, which is what Burgon & Ball and Gardeners' World describe for dead wood, brush, and dry sticks. Bypass blades can nick or bend if you force them through that wood. The anvil still has a printed ceiling. Dead does not mean thicker than the listing.
Can you use an anvil as a stronger bypass?
No. The block does not make a cleaner cut on green growth. It changes the cut from a slice to a crush. A ratchet, a gear, or a 3 times claim sits on top of the head. None of those words turn an anvil into a bypass. If you want a slice, buy the bypass.
What does a crushing cut do to green growth?
It can bruise bark and the living tissue under it, so the stem you hoped would heal is damaged beside the cut. That is why the UK sources that agree keep the anvil off plants where health is the point. A rough anvil shortening of a heavy limb is a first step only if a bypass or a saw then makes the final cut.
What if the title says anvil and the field says bypass?
Read both, then look at the photos and the bullet. On the AIRAJ 618991 the title and the included line say anvil, the field says bypass, and the bullet describes a shark-mouth block. The block is the head you will use. Do not let the single word bypass in a field overrule a description of a pad.
Is a cutting pad the same idea as an anvil?
Yes. A blade that closes onto a thickened pad, a cup, or a toothed platform is crushing onto a block. The AIRAJ 616C91F has no blade-type field and still describes that pad. It is not a bypass. The 52 cm figure in its cutting-width field is not the opening of the jaw.
Does a ratchet change the head?
No. The 8100RS is a ratchet and an anvil. The 8090RS is a ratchet and a bypass. The steps change how you close the handles. They do not change whether the blades pass or meet a block. Buy the head for the wood, then decide whether you want the steps.
Do you need both heads?
You need the head that matches the wood you will cut this season. If the garden has both living fruit wood and a pile of dead stems, one head will be wrong for half the work. Two listings that contradict themselves are not a way to own both. A second tool, or a saw for the stem that no longer fits, is the honest stop.

Related pages

How to prune with loppers

Telescopic loppers

Loppers

Best loppers: stars first, then by the review count

Loppers buying guide: wood first, then cut and reach

Sources

Public UK sources for cutting action, tree cuts, nests, hedgerow dates, and the 30-day right to reject. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved on 19 October 2026.

  1. Burgon & Ball — anvil, bypass or scissor (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. BBC Gardeners' World — best loppers (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. RHS — pruning trees (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. RHS — renovating overgrown climbers (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. Arboricultural Association — guide to pruning (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. GOV.UK — hedgerow management rules (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 22.10.2026)