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How to use a pruning saw

Updated: October 2026

The branch is thicker than the loppers, you are on the ground, and the bark will tear if the weight falls on a half-finished cut. How to use a pruning saw is the sequence that stops that tear: where you stand, where the three cuts go, and what you do when the blade pinches. Products Compared is an editorial team, not a tree crew. The distances below are the RHS figures, not a blend with American inch guides. The saws are in the [pruning saw comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/pruning-saw). A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. If the stem is still thin enough for loppers, that decision is on the [pruning saw vs loppers](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/pruning-saw/sub/pruning-saw-vs-loppers) page.

The branch is thicker than the loppers, you are on the ground, and the bark will tear if the weight falls on a half-finished cut.

Our top picks

HAUTMEC HAUTMEC folding 230 mm

Best overall

HAUTMEC HAUTMEC folding 230 mm
7.9/10about £16.99
View offer
GRÜNTEK GRÜNTEK folding 180 mm cork

Rank 2

GRÜNTEK GRÜNTEK folding 180 mm cork
8.3/10about £15.98
View offer
forest Originals Fixed pull saw 240 mm

Alternative

forest Originals Fixed pull saw 240 mm
8.0/10about £32.39
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Before the first stroke
  2. 2.Three cuts, then the collar
  3. 3.If the saw sticks
  4. 4.Sap, rust, and no wound paint

Before the first stroke

Start with a clean tooth and a blade that cannot fold onto your hand. Click a folder until the lock catches, before the teeth touch the bark. Sheath a fixed blade until you are at the cut, then again before you walk. Look at the drop. If you cannot see where the limb will land, you are not ready to cut. An English tree preservation order prohibits topping or lopping without written consent. It is an offence to damage a wild bird's nest while it is in use or being built, including outside 1 March to 31 August. Most pruning saws cut on the pull. The fixed saw in this set whose bullets state a pull stroke will skate if you lean on the push. The RHS tree guide sends branches under about 2.5 cm to secateurs or loppers, not to this saw.

Three cuts, then the collar

The RHS sequence is the one to follow. Make an undercut about 20 cm out from where the final cut will sit, so the bark cannot rip down the trunk when the limb drops. Then saw from the top, about 2.5 cm further toward the tip than the undercut, until the branch falls. Take the stub off just outside the branch collar, the slight swell where the branch meets the parent wood. Do not cut flush, and do not leave a coat hook. The RHS also says not to take more than about one fifth of the canopy in a year. Folder or fixed, once you have chosen, is on the folding or fixed pruning saw page.
HAUTMEC HAUTMEC folding 230 mm

Testsieger

HAUTMEC HAUTMEC folding 230 mm
7.9/10about £16.99
View offer

If the saw sticks

A pinched blade is the kerf closing, usually because the branch is sagging. Do not force it, and do not twist or bend a folder to spring it free. Support the outer end of the branch so the kerf opens, then draw the saw out. Once the saw is out, finish the cut or stop. Fold the blade, or seat the fixed saw in a sheath that retains it, before you walk. A case that does not hold the saw, which reviewers report on the long curved GRÜNTEK, is not a sheath. If the work needs a ladder, stop.

Sap, rust, and no wound paint

Green wood loads the tooth with sap, and sap left on carbon steel is how a saw rusts in a damp shed. The RHS cleaning advice is a nylon scourer or wire wool, then a water-displacing spray, then a wipe until the metal is dry. Do not soak a cork handle, and do not store any of these saws wet. Do not paint the wound as a routine step. UK arboricultural advice is not to seal a normal pruning cut, because paint can trap moisture against the wood. Leave the collar cut clean.

Common questions

Where do the three cuts go?
The RHS puts the undercut about 20 cm out from the final cut, so the bark cannot rip. The top cut is about 2.5 cm further toward the tip, and that is the cut that drops the branch. The last cut takes the stub off just outside the branch collar. Do not mix in a 12–18 inch American undercut. Use the 20 cm figure.
What is the branch collar, and why not cut flush?
The collar is the swollen ring where the branch joins the parent wood. Cutting just outside it leaves the tree's own barrier in place. A flush cut slices into the trunk and makes a larger wound than the branch needed. A long stub is the other mistake. It dies back and holds water.
How much of the crown can you take in one year?
The RHS guide says no more than about one fifth of the canopy in a year. That is a limit on the tree, not a target. Taking a quarter of an apple tree because the saw is sharp is still too much. Spread a renovation over more than one winter.
What do you do if the blade jams?
Stop pushing. Lift or prop the outer end of the branch so the kerf opens, and draw the saw out. Do not twist or bend the blade. The Basingstoke note says to take the weight off with help. If you cannot open the cut without standing on something, put the saw down and call someone.
Should you paint the wound?
No, not as a routine. UK arboricultural advice is to leave a clean cut outside the collar and not to seal it. Paint can hold damp against the wood. A torn cut is a reason to recut to the collar if the stub allows it, not a reason to reach for sealant.
When do you put the saw down and call someone?
Put it down when the branch is overhead, over a path, glass, or a cable, or when you would need a ladder. Also stop if you have not checked a tree preservation order or a conservation area, or if a nest is in use. Felling, hanging wood, and paid chainsaw work are not hand-saw jobs. Chainsaw training does not make a ladder safe.

Related pages

Pruning saw buying guide

Pruning saw

Best pruning saw UK under the published score rule

Folding or fixed pruning saw: lock or a real sheath

Pruning saw vs loppers: where the published guides stop

Sources

Buying notes from the sources below, checked for this page on 22 October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk captures of that date.

  1. Gardeners' World: best pruning saws (11 February 2026) (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. The English Garden: the best pruning (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. RHS: how to prune a tree (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. RHS: pruning apples and pears (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK: Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: wild birds, protection, surveys and licences (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK: hedgerow management, cutting and trimming (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. HSE: chainsaws at work (INDG317) (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (satisfactory quality) (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  10. amazon.co.uk listings for the ten hand pruning saws, captured 22 October 2026 (retrieved 22 October 2026)