If you have spent any time in a UK garden centre tool aisle or browsing Amazon for secateurs, two names keep coming up: Felco and Bahco. Both have a serious professional pedigree, both will outlast a drawer full of cheaper bypass pruners, and both are trusted by horticulturalists, head gardeners and weekend rosarians alike. So which brand should you actually put in your hand?
We have used both extensively across mixed UK gardens — small terraced plots, established cottage borders and a few overgrown hedges — and the honest answer is that they are both excellent. But they suit different gardeners, different hand sizes and different budgets. Here is what we have learned.
Quick Verdict
For most UK gardeners, the Felco No. 2 is still the best all-round choice — it is the secateur that professional pruners reach for, it is rebuildable, and almost every part can be replaced. But Bahco’s ergonomic PX range is a serious alternative, particularly if you have smaller hands, suffer with arthritis or spend hours pruning in one go. Bahco also tends to come in a little cheaper.
- Best overall for UK gardeners: Felco No. 2
- Best ergonomic / for sore hands: Bahco PX-M2
- Best lightweight / smaller hands: Felco No. 6 or Bahco PX-S2
- Best budget pick (still pro quality): Bahco P126-22-F
- Best for all-day pruning: Felco No. 8
The Two Brands in a Nutshell
Felco — Swiss precision since 1945
Felco is a family-owned Swiss company that has been making secateurs in the Jura mountains since 1945. The brand built its reputation on the No. 2, a bypass secateur with hardened steel blades and forged aluminium handles that is still the standard against which other secateurs are judged. Felco’s selling point is simple: every part — blade, spring, anvil, bumper, even the rivets — is replaceable, and you can pick up the parts at most decent UK garden centres or online. A well-cared-for Felco can last a lifetime.
Bahco — Swedish engineering with an ergonomic edge
Bahco started life in 1862 as a Swedish toolmaker (it invented the modern adjustable spanner). Its garden range, especially the PX and Ergo lines, is designed around the human hand rather than the cut. Bahco was an early champion of angled cutting heads, rotating handles for repetitive pruning and models specifically built for left-handers and small hands. They are widely stocked at UK trade outlets like Toolstation and Screwfix as well as on Amazon UK.
Cutting Performance
On a clean, healthy 20mm rose stem, both brands cut beautifully. The Felco No. 2 feels slightly more positive at the moment of bite — there is a satisfying snap that comes from very accurate blade geometry and a precisely tensioned anvil. Bahco’s PX-M2, with its precision-ground bypass blade, is just as clean but feels softer through the cut, partly because of its slightly more flexible handle composite.
Push beyond 22-25mm into hard, dry wood and the picture changes. Felco’s higher blade hardness rating means it holds an edge longer between sharpenings. Bahco’s blade is softer but easier to touch up at home with a basic sharpening stone — good news if you are happy maintaining your own kit.
Ergonomics and Comfort
This is where Bahco genuinely shines. The PX range was designed in consultation with occupational therapists. The handles flex slightly under load, the cutting head is angled to reduce wrist deviation, and you can choose from small (PX-S2), medium (PX-M2) and large (PX-L2) sizes, plus left-handed versions. If you have ever finished an afternoon of pruning with a sore wrist, this matters.
Felco’s answer is the No. 8 — a re-engineered No. 2 with a curved, more ergonomic grip and a non-slip red coating. It is a real improvement over the No. 2 for long sessions, but it still does not match the Bahco PX for out-of-the-box comfort. Felco does, however, offer the smaller No. 6 for people with petite hands — a quietly excellent secateur that is often overlooked.
Build Quality and Long-Term Durability
Both brands are built to last, but in different ways. Felco’s forged aluminium handles are essentially indestructible, and every wear part can be ordered as a spare — blades, springs, bumpers and bolts. Take a Felco apart on the kitchen table, swap the blade, and you have effectively a new pair of secateurs.
Bahco’s composite handles are tougher than they look, but they are not user-serviceable in the same way. Blades, springs and locks are available for the PX range, but it is a less straightforward process. For a casual UK gardener who buys a pair of secateurs and uses them for a decade, that probably will not matter. For a professional who rebuilds tools every winter, Felco wins.
Price and Value in the UK
At the time of writing (May 2026), the Felco No. 2 sits at around £55-65 from UK retailers, and the No. 8 a little above that. Felco No. 6 is closer to £50. The Bahco PX-M2 is typically around £40-50 and the budget P126-22-F around £20-25 — remarkable value for a professional-grade bypass secateur.
Factor in that a Felco can be rebuilt indefinitely, and the long-term cost is lower than it looks. But if you simply want a brilliant pair of secateurs without the running-cost philosophy, the Bahco P126-22-F is hard to beat at the price.
Specs Compared at a Glance
| Feature | Felco No. 2 / No. 8 | Bahco PX-M2 / P126 |
| Cutting capacity | Up to 25mm | Up to 20-25mm |
| Blade material | Hardened high-carbon steel | Hardened steel, precision ground |
| Handle | Forged aluminium | Composite with rubber coat |
| Hand-size options | Standard / smaller (No. 6) | S / M / L plus left-handed |
| Replaceable parts | Almost everything | Blades, springs, locks |
| Made in | Switzerland | France / Portugal |
| UK price (typical) | £50-65 | £20-50 depending on model |
| Best for | Professionals, longevity | Comfort, ergonomics, budget |
Who Should Buy Which?
Buy a Felco if…
- You want one pair of secateurs to last twenty years and never have to replace them — just rebuild them.
- You are a serious rose grower, fruit pruner or allotment-holder and value cut quality above all else.
- You are happy paying a little more upfront for kit you will hand down.
- You like the satisfaction of buying a tool the National Trust gardeners use.
Buy a Bahco if…
- You have small hands, large hands, are left-handed or have arthritis — Bahco’s range covers all of these.
- You spend several hours at a time pruning and want maximum comfort.
- You want professional cut quality at a more accessible UK price point.
- You are happy with a tool that is built to last but not endlessly rebuildable.
Our Verdict
If we had to pick one secateur for a typical UK garden, it would still be the Felco No. 2 — there is a reason it has been the professional standard for nearly eighty years. But that does not make Bahco the wrong answer. The PX-M2 is a more comfortable secateur in a long pruning session, and the P126-22-F is the best value pro-quality bypass pruner you can buy in the UK today.
Our advice: try both in your hand if you can. A specialist garden centre will usually let you do this. The pair that feels right is the pair you will reach for every weekend, and that is what matters more than any spec sheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Felco secateurs worth the price?
For most keen UK gardeners, yes. A Felco pays for itself over its lifetime because every wear part can be replaced — you essentially never need to buy another pair. If you only prune occasionally, a Bahco P126 will do the job at a fraction of the cost.
Can I sharpen Felco and Bahco blades myself?
Yes, both are designed to be re-sharpened. Felco sells a dedicated sharpening stone (the Felco 903) and most UK garden centres stock it. Bahco blades are softer steel, so they take an edge easily with a basic carbide sharpener — convenient, but they need touching up more often.
Which is better for left-handed gardeners?
Bahco wins comfortably here. The PX-M2-L and P125-L are dedicated left-handed models with reversed blade geometry. Felco does make left-handed models (No. 9, for instance) but the range is more limited.
