Burgon & Ball RHS Collector Bypass Secateurs - Navy

Sometimes a tool earns its keep on engineering alone; sometimes a tool earns its keep because you actually enjoy reaching for it; the best ones manage both. The Burgon & Ball 'Collector' Bypass Secateurs in Navy are a properly handsome example — a fully RHS-endorsed working pair of secateurs in a deep, considered navy finish that lifts them out of the shed-tool bracket and into something you'll happily leave on the windowsill between jobs.

From Burgon & Ball, the Sheffield toolmaker who've been making garden tools since 1730, and supplied to us through our partners at AllotMate. These are part of their well-loved Collector Range — the coordinated, design-led line that also includes our Heritage Green and Red Check gingham gloves and the Mushroom seed-packet storage tin. Same coordinated cottage-garden look; different jobs to do.

Properly engineered, despite the looks

The pretty navy finish does the eye-pleasing job. Underneath, this is genuinely capable working kit:

• Precision-ground high-carbon steel blades — clean, sharp cuts that hold their edge well, and a blade you can sharpen yourself as the seasons go on
• Bypass cut — two blades passing like scissors, the right design for living stems and the workhorse cut for the majority of garden pruning
• Sap groove — channels resin and sap away from the cutting edge, preventing the slow build-up that makes blades stick mid-cut
• Wire-cutting notch — for the everyday small jobs that aren't really pruning at all: snipping plant ties, garden wire, twist ties, the unexpected bit of string
• Robust alloy handles — lightweight but durable, with a comfortable shape that reduces hand fatigue during longer sessions
• Easy-to-use blade lock — flick-on, flick-off, no fiddly mechanism — for safe storage between uses
• 21cm overall length, 2.5cm cutting capacity — full-size secateurs that handle most pruning tasks, not a compact tool
• RHS-endorsed — the Royal Horticultural Society stamp of approval, only given to tools that meet exacting standards
• 10-year guarantee — properly stood behind by Burgon & Ball

How it fits with our other secateurs

We stock three secateurs in different styles, and the genuine question is which one suits you. Worth knowing the difference before you choose:

• Collector Bypass — Navy (this) — RHS-endorsed, bypass cut, 2.5cm capacity, navy Collector Range finish, £19.99. The best-value bypass we stock, and the prettiest. Coordinates with the rest of the Collector Range. Wire-cutting notch.
• RHS Bypass Secateurs — RHS-endorsed, bypass cut, 2.5cm capacity, classic terracotta grip, £23.99. The traditional working version, same cut and capacity, just in the standard RHS-line finish without the wire notch.
• RHS Anvil Secateurs — RHS-endorsed, anvil cut, 2.0cm capacity, terracotta grip, £23.99. For woody stems and dead growth, where the anvil mechanism delivers more force with less effort.

For most pruning jobs, both bypass pairs do the same thing equally well. Choose the Collector Bypass if you like the navy finish, want the wire-cutting notch, prefer the lighter alloy handles, or already own pieces from the Collector Range; choose the standard RHS Bypass if you prefer the classic terracotta look and the more traditional working aesthetic. And the anvil pair joins either as the heavier-duty partner for woody pruning.

Specifications

• Type: Bypass secateurs — two blades passing like scissors
• Blade: Precision-ground high-carbon steel, with a sap groove and wire-cutting notch
• Handles: Robust alloy in a deep navy finish
• Length: 21cm overall
• Cutting capacity: Up to 2.5cm stem diameter
• Mechanism: Easy-to-use blade lock
• Endorsement: Royal Horticultural Society approved
• Guarantee: 10 years
• Range: Burgon & Ball Collector Range
• Made by: Burgon & Ball, Sheffield (since 1730)
• Supplied through: AllotMate

What you'll use them for

• Pruning shrubs and roses — the clean bypass cut is what you want for living wood
• Deadheading — the smaller cuts of summer maintenance
• Cutting flowers for the house — sharp clean cuts that let the stems take up water properly
• Light fruit-tree pruning — thin shoots and water sprouts within the 2.5cm capacity
• The unexpected daily jobs — the wire notch handles plant ties, garden wire, string and the small fiddly bits that come with a working garden
• General tidying — the kind of cuts that fill a Saturday morning in the garden

For heavier woody pruning (dead branches, mature shrub stems, the gnarlier end of winter work), pair these with our RHS Anvil Secateurs.

Part of the Collector Range

The Collector Range from Burgon & Ball is a coordinated line of properly considered garden kit — decorative finishes, country-cottage charm, and the same engineering quality the brand applies across its range. We stock several pieces, and they look beautifully together on a potting bench or in a garden shed:

• Collectors Bypass Secateurs — Navy (this)
• Heritage Green Collection Gloves — gingham check with ric-rac trim
• Red Check Collection Gloves — the bright cottage-garden sister
• Mushroom Seed Packet Storage Tin — with monthly divider cards for organising your seed collection

If you like the look of the Collector Range and want to build it out gradually, the navy of these secateurs sits comfortably alongside the gingham checks and the mushroom tin — a coordinated cottage-garden set rather than a random collection of working tools.

Looking after them

• Wipe the blade clean after each use, particularly after sappy growth
• A drop of light oil on the pivot keeps the action smooth
• Sharpen the cutting blade only (not the bypass plate) once or twice a year — high-carbon steel takes a sharpening stone beautifully
• Use the blade lock when not in use — protects both you and the blade
• Store dry rather than left out in the weather; the navy finish appreciates not sitting wet

Looked after properly, these are the sort of tool you'll still be using in twenty years — the 10-year guarantee suggests the makers expect you to.

As a gift

A properly-made pair of pruning secateurs is one of the most useful gifts a gardener can receive — and a pair as handsome as these even more so. Particularly thoughtful for:

• A new gardener — a quality first pair that won't need replacing
• A keen pruner — or anyone whose existing secateurs are old, dull, or rattly
• The design-conscious gardener — someone who appreciates kit that looks as good as it works
• Someone already collecting the Collector Range — the secateurs that complete the set
• Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays, Christmas — particularly paired with a pair of our Heritage Green or Red Check gloves for a coordinated gift

About Burgon & Ball

Burgon & Ball have been making garden tools in Sheffield since 1730, drawing on the city's centuries-old expertise in steel. They hold the official Royal Horticultural Society endorsement — a designation given to tools that meet exacting standards for performance, durability and design. Their Collector Range brings that same care to coordinated, design-led kit for gardeners who like their working tools to feel considered rather than functional. We're proud to stock the range; British-made tools at this quality are increasingly rare.

A small thought: there's no rule that says a hard-working tool has to look like a hard-working tool. A pair of secateurs in a deep, considered navy finish, properly engineered and properly guaranteed, will do exactly the same job as a plainer pair — and the small daily pleasure of picking up a handsome tool to do the work is one of those quiet bonuses of a well-considered garden shed.

1 x Burgon & Ball Collector Bypass Secateurs in Navy

- Wipe the blade clean after each use, especially after sappy growth
- A drop of light oil on the pivot keeps the action smooth
- Sharpen the cutting blade only (not the bypass plate) once or twice a year
- Use the blade lock when not in use
- Store dry