About this product
Full description
For the proper woody-stem work that secateurs can't handle, the Burgon & Ball RHS Folding Pruning Saw is the right answer — a properly serious 15cm blade that handles branches up to 10–12cm diameter, folds away neatly into a tool belt or pocket, and brings British toolmaking heritage to the kind of cutting work that matters. Whether you're pruning apple trees, renovating an overgrown shrub, removing storm-damaged dead wood, or tidying woody growth at the allotment, this is the cutting tool that completes the gardener's kit.
From Sheffield toolmakers Burgon & Ball, who've been making proper garden tools since 1730 — nearly three centuries of British toolmaking heritage. RHS-endorsed, part of their officially recommended tool range. The right tool when secateurs and pruners can't go further.
Why a pruning saw is the missing tool in most gardens
Most gardeners stop at secateurs — they handle 1.5 to 2.5cm cutting capacity, which covers everyday rose pruning, shrub work, and herbaceous cutting. But properly mature gardens accumulate cutting tasks that secateurs can't manage:
- Fruit tree maintenance — apple, pear, plum, cherry trees need annual pruning of older wood. Branches over 3cm need a saw; thick scaffolding limbs need a proper saw
- Mature shrub renovation — the long-neglected hedge, the overgrown lilac, the elder that's outgrown its space. All need a saw, not secateurs
- Dead wood removal — essential after winter storms, properly important for tree health and safety. Dead branches over 2.5cm need a saw
- Climber renovation — old wisteria, established jasmine, mature clematis bases. Saw territory
- Coppicing and pollarding — willow, hazel, dogwood, mulberry. The saw is the proper tool
- Roses (the big ones) — old shrub roses with thick base canes; renovation pruning of climbers
- Allotment trees — apple, pear, plum, fig — the cutting tool every allotmenteer eventually wishes they'd bought sooner
A folding pruning saw handles all these jobs cleanly without needing a chainsaw or bow saw. Properly the right tool for the working garden — substantial enough to do real work, compact enough to live in the tool kit rather than the shed.
The patented triple-cut blade
The genuine engineering differentiator is the patented tooth design with three cutting faces per tooth. Traditional saw teeth have one or two cutting faces; the triple-face design properly accelerates cutting:
- Cleaner cuts — the three-face geometry removes wood fibre more efficiently per stroke
- Faster cutting — significantly reduces the number of strokes needed for any given cut
- Less effort per cut — the cutting force is distributed across three faces rather than one
- Properly suited to harder woods — the engineering is at its most useful with mature hardwood (apple, pear, ash, oak, beech)
- Less binding in soft wood — the patented design also clears sap and sawdust efficiently
This is genuine British engineering in service of better gardening. The kind of small refinement that translates into significantly less fatigue across an afternoon of pruning.
Designed for safe overhead work
One of the genuine engineering choices in this saw is that it's designed to cut primarily on the pull stroke rather than the push stroke. That matters for safety reasons:
- Overhead cuts — pulling the saw toward your body is safer than pushing it away above your head. Less likely to slip during the cutting motion
- Better blade control — the pull stroke keeps the saw blade engaged with the wood naturally
- Reduced fatigue — pull-stroke saws are properly easier to use over extended sessions; your back muscles do the work rather than your arms alone
- Better visibility — you can see the cut you're making more clearly when pulling toward you
For the apple-tree winter pruning that takes a full afternoon, the pull-stroke design genuinely matters. Less tired hands, less risk of mishaps, properly controlled cuts.
Folding design — the genuine USP
Beyond the cutting innovation, the folding format itself is what makes this saw genuinely useful in the working garden:
- Folds for storage — the 15cm blade folds back into the handle for safe, compact storage
- Fits in a tool belt — the folded format slips into a pocket or belt loop without taking up the space of a full-size bow saw
- Pocket-portable — properly the right size for the garden round; carry it on you rather than trailing back to the shed
- Secure blade locking — locks in both positions (open AND closed) for safety. No fumbling or risk of the blade slipping during use, and no risk of it opening during storage
- Safe for tool-belt carrying — locked closed, it's safe to carry on your person without risk of injury
This is properly the difference between a saw you actually carry (and use) and a saw that lives in the shed (and gets forgotten). Compact tool-belt-friendly format makes it part of the daily gardening kit rather than special-purpose equipment.
What you'll use it for
- Fruit tree winter pruning — the headline use; apples, pears, plums, cherries, figs, quinces. The proper annual maintenance work that establishes good fruiting structure
- Mature shrub renovation — long-neglected lilac, philadelphus, viburnum, syringa, weigela. Cutting back to the framework
- Hedge restoration — thick old hedges that need taking back hard. The folding saw handles the heavier base stems
- Dead wood removal — essential post-storm work; safety pruning; tree-health maintenance
- Coppicing and pollarding — willow, hazel, dogwood (for winter stem colour), mulberry
- Old rose renovation — established climbers and shrub roses; reduction pruning
- Tree work above secateur capacity — the 3-12cm range that's beyond hand cutting tools
- Allotment fruit and woody crops — the proper allotment cutting tool for soft fruit canes, fruit trees, hedgerow management
For thinner cuts up to 2.5cm, our FloraBrite Bypass Secateurs or other B&B secateurs do the proper everyday work. The folding saw is the next tier up — for the cutting jobs that need real cutting power.
Specifications
- Brand: Burgon & Ball (RHS-endorsed)
- Type: Folding pruning saw
- Blade length: 15cm
- Cutting capacity: Up to 10–12cm diameter branches
- Blade: Fully hardened and tempered high-carbon steel
- Tooth design: Patented triple-cut tooth geometry (three cutting faces per tooth)
- Cutting action: Designed primarily for pull-stroke use (safer for overhead work)
- Folding mechanism: Blade locks in both open and closed positions
- Endorsement: Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) endorsed
- SKU: GTOPS
Particularly good for
- Fruit tree owners — the right tool for annual winter pruning of apples, pears, plums, cherries
- Mature garden owners — established gardens with shrubs needing periodic renovation
- Allotmenteers with woody crops — fruit trees, soft fruit canes, hedgerow management
- Anyone doing dead wood removal — essential post-storm or winter tree care
- Gardeners who like to take cutting tools with them — the folding format lives in the tool belt rather than the shed
- Older gardeners — the pull-stroke design and patented teeth make the work properly easier than older bow saws
- Anyone tackling mature climbers — wisteria, jasmine, established roses
- As a gift for a serious gardener with mature trees — a properly considered choice for someone whose secateurs alone aren't enough
How it fits in our cutting and pruning range
The folding pruning saw is the heaviest-duty cutting tool in our B&B range — the proper finishing piece for the gardener's cutting kit:
- FloraBrite Flower & Fruit Snips (£13.49) — soft work, precision harvesting
- Ergo Deadheader (£11.99) — ergonomic deadheading, soft growth
- FloraBrite Pocket Pruner (~£15-20) — compact 1.5cm pruning
- Collectors Bypass Secateurs Navy — heritage 2.5cm everyday pruning
- FloraBrite Bypass Secateurs (£23.49) — anti-loss 2.5cm everyday pruning
- Flora & Fauna Gift Set (£33.99) — trowel + secateurs in coordinated gift presentation
- Folding Pruning Saw (this, £34.49) — heavy-duty 10–12cm cutting capacity
The full range covers everything from delicate flower-stem snipping to mature-branch cutting. Most working gardens need at least three tools across the range — the snips, a pair of secateurs, and this saw for the bigger jobs. With all three, you have everything you need for proper cutting work.
About Burgon & Ball
Burgon & Ball are one of Britain's oldest toolmakers, founded in Sheffield in 1730 — nearly three centuries of British toolmaking heritage. They're RHS-endorsed, supplier to the Royal Horticultural Society, and the chosen manufacturer for the Sophie Conran licensed garden tool collection. We stock their range because they make proper garden tools the proper way — tested in real working gardens, built to last decades rather than seasons.
As a gift
At £34.49 the Folding Pruning Saw sits at the substantial-gift price point — a properly thoughtful gift for a gardener who needs it. Particularly suited to:
- A new orchard owner — the right tool to start their annual fruit-tree pruning properly
- An allotmenteer — the cutting tool that fills the gap between secateurs and a chainsaw. Genuinely useful
- A gardener moving into a mature property — properly substantial garden tool kit needs a saw
- Anyone who's mentioned a tree problem — storm damage, overgrown limbs, fruit tree maintenance
- Father's Day, Mother's Day, milestone birthdays — properly considered for the serious gardener
- Retirement gift — for someone moving into more time-rich gardening with mature trees
- Christmas gift — arriving in time for January winter-pruning season
- As part of an "essential gardener kit" bundle with secateurs and gloves
A small thought: there's a quiet satisfaction in dealing with a job properly — pulling a folding saw out of your tool belt, taking down the awkward overhanging apple branch you've been walking past for weeks, and watching the tree breathe again with proper light reaching the new growth. The right tool for the right job is one of the small pleasures of gardening. A folding pruning saw is properly the right tool for the woody work that secateurs can't manage. Once you have one, you'll find yourself doing the cutting jobs that you've been putting off — and the garden gets better for it.
What's included
Care and use
- Apply a drop of oil to the pivot point if action becomes stiff
- Sharpen blade teeth occasionally with a triangular file
- Always engage the blade lock when folded for storage
- Store dry; avoid damp or outdoor storage
- The folding mechanism should be checked periodically for smooth action