Loppers are a type of

scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting var ...

used for

pruning Pruning is the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. It is practiced in horticulture (especially fruit tree pruning), arboriculture, and silviculture. The practice entails the targeted removal of di ...

twigs and small branches, like

pruning shears Pruning shears, also called hand pruners (in American English) or secateurs (in British English), are a type of scissors used for plants. They are strong enough to pruning, prune hard branches of trees and shrubs, sometimes up to two centimetres ...

with longer handles. They are a larger type of manual garden cutting tool, but not as long as pole pruners (

averruncator An averruncator or pole pruner (American English) is a form of long shears used in arboriculture for averruncating or pruning off the higher branches of trees, etc. Etymology The word averruncate (from Latin ''averruncare'', "to ward off, remo ...

s in British English). Loppers are usually operated with two hands, and have handles typically between and long to give good leverage. Some have telescopic handles which can be extended to a length of , in order to increase leverage and to reach high branches on a tree. Loppers are mainly used for the pruning of tree branches with diameters less than . Some of the newer lopper designs have a gear system, a compound lever system, or a ratchet drive, which increases the force applied to the blades.

Etymology

The word ''

lopper Loppers are a type of scissors used for pruning twigs and small branches, like pruning shears with longer handles. They are a larger type of manual garden cutting tool, but not as long as pole pruners (averruncators in British English). Loppers ...

'' can be used in the singular or the plural, with precisely the same meaning. The plural form, most common in speech but less so in print, is a

plurale tantum A ; ) is a noun that appears only in the plural form and does not have a singular variant for referring to a single object. In a less strict usage of the term, it can also refer to nouns whose singular form is rarely used. In English, are oft ...

, and seems to be on the model of a ''pair of scissors''. The name of the tool is derived from the verb "to lop", meaning to cut off (especially branches or twigs), which in turn is related to a noun of precisely the same form: a "lop" is a period or session of branch cutting. The noun and verb first appeared in

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

as '' loppe,'' but have no known antecedents or cognates in other languages.

Construction

The two main types of loppers are the "bypass" type, which is better for cutting live wood, and the "anvil" type which is better for cutting dead wood. Bypass loppers operate like scissors, except that they generally only have one blade that moves past a jaw or hook that has an approximately square edge that is not typically sharpened and is usually concave or hook shaped in order keep branches from slipping out of the jaws. The jaws of bypass loppers may be straight, curved, or one curved with one straight. Anvil loppers have a single sharpened blade, with a straight or sometimes curved edge, that closes against a similarly contoured flat anvil like surface on the other side of the jaws, usually made of a softer metal than the blade. Anvil loppers have the disadvantage of tending to crush rather than cut, sometimes leaving an untidy wound, more vulnerable to infection. Their main advantages are of relative strength and of being less likely to jam with fibrous material. Very hard or resilient branches can sometimes deflect a bypass lopper so that material either binds between the blades or even levers them apart, which can be dangerous both to the tool and the operator. Both types of lopper generally have a sprung adjusting screw at the

fulcrum A fulcrum (: fulcra or fulcrums) is the support about which a lever pivots. Fulcrum may also refer to: Companies and organizations * Fulcrum (Anglican think tank), a Church of England think tank * Fulcrum Press, a British publisher of poetry * Fu ...

, which can be used to tighten the blades as they loosen in use. With bypass loppers, it is also useful for releasing material jamming the blades. Anvil loppers usually have a screw for adjusting or detaching the plate, so that it can be moved to compensate for wear or replaced entirely.

References

External links

* {{Garden tools Gardening tools Habitat management equipment and methods Scissors ar:مقصات التشذيب bg:Лозарска ножица pdc:Baamscheer ksh:Boumschėer

Etymology

Construction

See also

References

External links