Choosing the best lawn edging shears will depend on your height, budget and garden. The following information should help give you more of an idea what to look out for.

Enter: lawn edging shears. Capable of taking your lawn from an 8 to a 10, they trim and neaten the grass at the edge of your lawn to produce a crisp finish.

How we tested

It doesn’t matter what your wife/girlfriend told you, size does matter when it comes to edging shears! 😀 The whole point of these tools is to negate the need for stooping or crouching down low to trim the edges of your lawn, so you need to work out what would be a comfortable length for you, personally. Too short and you’ll be bending over, too long and the tops of the handles will be in your armpits. Typically from testing the overall length is about 900-950mm in most of these – this is comfortable for a standard height man like myself as I found from testing. Handle and shaft material Lawn edging shears are very low maintenance, but most will still require sharpening every once in a while. Before you begin, assess whether you are comfortable to sharpen the blades yourself. Shear blades are sharp and could cause serious injury if not treated correctly. If you have any doubts, take them to a professional. The 20 cm blades are drop forged and hardened with chrome plating; in real-life terms this means they are powerful blades that create a very clean cut against edges. They’re sharp, and stay that way for a long time thanks to their self-sharpening mechanism, and have a smooth cutting action. Some edging shears have self-sharpening blades. The angle at which the blades work produces a small amount of friction, which means the blades sharpen with every cut. Longer blades, measuring 21 cm + are more suitable for bigger gardens because they allow more edge to be cut in one go. However, be aware that the bigger the blade, the more depth it needs to open fully. If your verge edges are quite shallow, you may find that longer blades often end up digging into the dirt when you open them.

Confusingly, there are similar products with very similar names from this brand, the only difference is the word ‘steel’ added between the Razorsharp and edging shears. Our final reviewed product is another set of edging shears from Finish brand Fiskars, makers of the innovative ‘servo-system’ shears we reviewed earlier. Lawn edging shears traditionally have long handles which allow them to be used from a standing position. However, if the handle is too short or too long, it could arguably be more uncomfortable than simply working kneeling down.Even after mowing your lawn from top to bottom, the edges can still look a little wobbly and untidy. Most other shears have a handle length ranging from 80 – 100 cm and will be suitable for the majority of gardeners. The shears can be used by either a right- or left-handed user – they possibly favour right-handed use, but are comfortable enough to be used by a left-handed person as well. If you’re looking to cut the tops of your grass, in places where perhaps the mower can’t reach, you’ll want lawn shears. If you want to sort out the edges of your lawn, go for lawn edging shears. You can’t easily use one type of tool for both tasks. Speaking of comfort, there are plastic sleeves on the top sections of the handles to help with grip, making the shears easier to hold.

Wilkinson swords are known for offering long guarantees on their products and this one is no exception. The Brand is offering a 10 year guarantee against faulty material or workmanship, and their confidence in these edging shears inspires confidence from me too. Shorter blades, measuring between 17 – 21 cm are better for smaller gardens and getting into more intricate areas. If your garden has shallow verges, you may find it easier to work with smaller blades. Shears that weigh between 1.5 – 2 kg can still prove difficult to manage for a lot of gardeners. Naturally, they are slightly more manageable, but the weight will become noticeable after a while and more rests may be required than with lighter shears. At the top of the handles are large, yet soft and comfortable grips made from rubber that are designed to be anti-slip and they work really well. I used these shears without gloves on for a short while and I liked the way they felt in my hands, secure but still comfortable.Fiskar have chosen heated steel as the material for the blades on these edging shears to give them more strength and durability, and there is a cushioned ‘bumper’ to reduce jarring and strain on the user. However, carbon steel blades to blunt faster so you do need to keep on top of maintenance to keep them cutting optimally. You will also have to oil them from time to time too as carbon steel isn’t as rust and corrosion resistant as aluminium or stainless steel.