Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Reciprocating saw for pruning

Updated: October 2026

You are in the garden with a laurel stem, a bamboo clump, or an ivy-covered branch that loppers will not finish, and a chainsaw feels like the wrong tool for one awkward limb. A reciprocating saw for pruning can take shrubs and small limbs you can hold still, with a coarse blade, and it stops being the right tool when the job is felling. The Products Compared editorial team used amazon.co.uk listings from 15 October 2026. We did not cut a measured diameter, and we do not claim this saw is safer than a chainsaw. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The product table is on the [reciprocating saw comparison](/hub/saw-accessories/reciprocating-saw).

You are in the garden with a laurel stem, a bamboo clump, or an ivy-covered branch that loppers will not finish, and a chainsaw feels like the wrong tool for one awkward limb.

Our top picks

Enventor Enventor 850 W 28 mm

Best overall

Enventor Enventor 850 W 28 mm
5.7/10about £41.69
View offer
XIAZIR XIAZIR 21 V brushless kit

Rank 2

XIAZIR XIAZIR 21 V brushless kit
6.3/10about £79.99
View offer
EZUVITA EZUVITA 850 W with dial

Alternative

EZUVITA EZUVITA 850 W with dial
4.2/10about £50.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What this saw is for in a garden
  2. 2.Fit a coarse wood or pruning blade
  3. 3.The branch has to stay still
  4. 4.Stop before it is tree work

What this saw is for in a garden

The job here is growth you can secure: a shrub stem, a small limb, ivy on a fence, or bamboo you can pull clear of the panel. Tool Den describes an 18 V recip saw taking shrubs and small limbs with a coarse blade, and it draws the line at felling. If you cannot hold the limb and stand clear, the cut is outside weekend pruning. XIAZIR reviews are mostly garden work, and corded reviews mention laurel, ivy, and bamboo. Starter blades snap on thick green wood. Cordless is the practical constraint at the back of the plot, because a lead across wet grass is its own hazard. Which battery line to believe is on the corded versus cordless reciprocating saw page.

Fit a coarse wood or pruning blade

Green wood wants a coarse blade. Tool Den treats 6 TPI as a practical start for rough, damp wood. Enventor includes four 240 mm 5 TPI wood blades. EZUVITA, at £50.99, includes two 240 mm pruning blades, the listing that uses the word pruning on the blades in the box. WORKPRO’s 8 TPI wood blades are finer than that 5–6 band. A 24 TPI metal blade clogs in a wet stem. Change it with the plug out or the battery off, then tug it. That sequence is on the how to use a reciprocating saw page. Teeth cut on the backstroke, so the shoe needs something solid to pull against.
Enventor Enventor 850 W 28 mm

Testsieger

Enventor Enventor 850 W 28 mm
5.7/10about £41.69
View offer

The branch has to stay still

Hold the limb, or tie it, so the cut closes neither on the blade nor on your hand. Frank Key’s hire sheet tells you to secure the work. If the branch moves, the shoe lifts and a thin starter blade folds. Cut so the offcut can fall away, and stand out of that path. A bamboo cane that whips is the same problem in small. Ivy on a fence is a better recip job than a vertical stem you are trying to fell in one pass, because the fence supports the shoe. There is no diameter in this guide. The test is whether you can control the limb. If you cannot, the saw stays off.

Stop before it is tree work

Stop when the stem is a tree, when tension is more than you can read, or when the wood could swing into a fence, a greenhouse, or a person. The Health and Safety Executive expects users of tree-work machinery to be trained, and it sends chainsaws to separate guidance. Call a tree surgeon when the wood is above head height. Electrical Safety First’s pole-saw page says not to cut within 15 metres of power lines, and not in rain or high wind. That page is about pole saws, so the 15 metre figure is their clearance, used here as a warning. If you have not picked the saw yet, the buying checks are on the reciprocating saw buying guide. EZUVITA includes the named pruning blades. Enventor includes the 5 TPI blades. XIAZIR is the cordless kit reviewers already use in the garden, with stroke unstated.

Common questions

Will a reciprocating saw replace a chainsaw?
For shrubs and small limbs you can hold still, a reciprocating saw with a coarse blade does the pruning cut. Tool Den draws that line and keeps felling and heavy timber on the other side. The Health and Safety Executive treats chainsaws under separate guidance. A recip saw is a poor substitute when the stem is large, leaning, or above you. Use it on growth you control, and call a tree surgeon when the wood has become a tree.
What TPI should I use for green wood?
Use a coarse wood blade, around 5 or 6 teeth per inch where the listing states it. Enventor includes 5 TPI at 240 mm. Extbtfor’s notes include 6 TPI wood. Tool Den uses 6 TPI as a start for rough, damp wood. WORKPRO’s 8 TPI wood blades are a step finer. A 24 TPI metal blade clogs in a wet stem. Keep a spare coarse blade, because starter blades still bend on thicker green wood.
Which saws in this set mention a pruning blade?
EZUVITA includes two 240 mm pruning blades, at £50.99. Enventor includes four 240 mm 5 TPI wood blades without having to use the word pruning. WORKPRO boxes 8 TPI wood blades. Most other kits say wood or metal without a pruning label. XIAZIR’s reviews are full of garden cuts, and the listing states neither a pruning blade nor a stroke.
Can I cut a branch that is moving?
You will struggle to finish the cut, and you raise the chance of a snapped blade. Reviews say a moving branch stops the cut because the shoe cannot stay braced. Secure the limb, or cut a short piece that can fall clear, and keep both hands on the saw. If the branch is whipping, or it is under tension you cannot see, stop. That is where ordinary pruning ends.
When do I call a tree surgeon?
Call one when the work is felling, when the stem is above head height, leaning towards a building, under tension, or within sight of an overhead line. Electrical Safety First’s pole-saw page uses 15 metres from lines and says not to cut in rain or high wind. The Health and Safety Executive expects competence around tree-work machinery. A shrub you can hold can stay a recip-saw job.

Related pages

Stihl petrol chainsaw comparison

Reciprocating saw

Best reciprocating saw UK: reviews, plug and stroke

Reciprocating saw buying guide: stroke and the plug

Corded vs cordless reciprocating saw: house or garden

How to use a reciprocating saw: fit the blade, then cut

Sources

Public UK sources and the ten amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison. Listings captured 15 October 2026. Page updated October 2026.

  1. HSE, hand-arm vibration assessment (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  2. HSE, vibration calculator guide (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  3. HSE RR1182, reciprocating saw vibration measurements (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  4. Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  5. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  6. BS EN 62841-2-11:2016+A11:2024 (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  7. Electrical Safety First, garden safety (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  8. Frank Key, reciprocating saw hire sheet (retrieved 15.10.2026)