Old Reviews Chikamasa B-500 SF Fluorine coated trim scissors

[Waira]

Great equipment makes all the difference in the world, especially when you're trimming entirely by hand! To that end, I've tried and used several types of scissors, trimmers and the like in combination for heavy cutting down to fine snipping of sugar leaves... Pruners, surgical curved blades, Fiskars Microtips, iris scissors... I am a picky SOB too when it comes to this! Switching up and cleaning endlessly is a PITA, so I wanted to find a style that could cover more than one base for this lengthy, tedious task--
I looked at a couple Bonsai type blades, and the ergonomics were great, but the blades weren't quite right for the task. Then I saw these show up at my local horti'-supply store, and the guys raved about them! The kicker was the slick Fluorine coating, which feels much like teflon. Better still, these blades were shaped just right for the job...
-- narrow in width, pretty thin, nicely finished smooth edges; sharp as hell, really really-! Get careless with these and you will loose some meat- As always, very high quality Japanese stainless steel,...
-- the feel of the large handles is great; plenty of working room so hang-ups and finger-tangling is not an issue anymore when you maneuver them around or try to put them down... The texture of the handle material is excellent, just the right balance of grip vs slickness; it absorbs shock as well. The tuning is nice too, they open and close with little contact along the blades, but not so loose that stuff gets caught and crimped instead... Effortless open/close, and when you do close, the natural action of your hands pulls the blades together so the edges meet cleanly and plenty close...
-- the Fluorine coating is bomb! -resins don't accumulate and gum things up nearly as fast, leaf bits tend to fall right off instead of sticking. Clean up is worlds easier and faster, just a quick wipe with alcohol and a piece of paper towel and done! - anything else now to me feels barbaric- Clearly, they had cannabis in mind when they engineered these - "..reduces resin and sap build-up".... *ding*
-- the blades are just right for med-heavy cutting down to fine nipping of tiny fans and trimming sugar leaves... I no longer needed the iris scissors (very narrow, thin short tips) for this level of clean-up... These blades are straight, but they do make curved (and now angled), which I'm going go get because that makes sugar leaf trimming even better for ease and appearance,... I am amazed at how well these slip in between budlets to nip-out the fans at the stem, without beating up the trich's as much, compared to the Fiskars...

So, for the $23 they cost, this is hands down the best performing, best value that I've tried to date! These are tops in all the important categories I can think of, so IMO, these are The Benchmark, A+!

 

[Arsenal]

Good review, just put in an order for these and the curved set. Thanks.

 

[Waira]

@Dudeski @912GreenSkell

 

[briman]

Great review Waira! Always good to have a sharp set layin around! I'll give these a go! Max rep for the review and suggestion!

 

[Waira]

Thanks Brim'! They come in curved blades too, which I'm going to try as well... I have some surgical type scissors with curved blades, but the wide blades collect too much resin and gum up fast... I like the curvature for some techniques and snipping fans at the base, straight for others,... I guess it all comes down to ones preferred MO!

 

[McDee]

Great equipment makes all the difference in the world, especially when you're trimming entirely by hand! To that end, I've tried and used several types of scissors, trimmers and the like in combination for heavy cutting down to fine snipping of sugar leaves....pruners, surgical curved blades, Fiskars Microtips, iris scissors,... I am a picky SOB too when it comes to this! Switching up and cleaning endlessly is a PITA, so I wanted to find a style that could cover more than one base for this lengthy, tedious task--
I looked at a couple Bonsai type blades, and the ergonomics were great, but the blades weren't quite right for the task,... then I saw these show up at my local horti'-supply store, and the guys raved about them! The kicker was the slick Fluorine coating, which feels much like teflon,... Better still, these blades were shaped just right for the job...
-- narrow in width, pretty thin, nicely finished smooth edges; sharp as hell, really really-! Get careless with these and you will loose some meat- As always, very high quality Japanese stainless steel,...
-- the feel of the large handles is great; plenty of working room so hang-ups and finger-tangling is not an issue anymore when you maneuver them around or try to put them down... The texture of the handle material is excellent, just the right balance of grip vs slickness; it absorbs shock as well. The tuning is nice too, they open and close with little contact along the blades, but not so loose that stuff gets caught and crimped instead,...effortless open/close... And when you do close, the natural action of your hands pulls the blades together so the edges meet cleanly and plenty close...
-- the Fluorine coating is bomb! resins don't accumulate and gum things up nearly as fast, leaf bits tend to fall right off instead of sticking,... Clean up is worlds easier and faster, just a quick wipe with alcohol and a piece of paper towel and done! ..anything else now to me feels barbaric- --- and it's clear, they had cannabis in mind when they engineered these-- "..reduces resin and sap build-up".... *ding*
-- the blades! Just right for med-heavy cutting down to fine nipping of tiny fans and trimming sugar leaves,.. I no longer needed the iris scissors (very narrow, thin short tips) for this level of clean-up... These blades are straight, but they do make curved, which I'm going go get because that makes sugar leaf trimming even better for ease and appearance,... I am amazed at how well these slip in between budlets to nip-out the fans at the stem, without beating up the trich's as much, compared to the Fiskars...

So, for the $23 they cost, this is hands down the best performing, best value that I've tried to date! These are tops in all the important categories I can think of, so IMO, these are The Benchmark, A++!

View attachment 738338 View attachment 738339 View attachment 738340

How long do they last? Does coating keep trichs from sticking? Need to get a good pair but for $20 gotta last.

 

[Waira]

:smoking: @Mcdee mate, they are a solid investment still! My concern was how ell the coating held up, and it's very durable IMO,.....Here's some pics to show wear & tear....
It's had two full outdoor and tent seasons on them, traveling and banging around, about a million alcohol wipes (never scrapes! forget scissor hash with these unless you want to fight the build up), and the coating is still fully intact nearly everywhere,... inner blade surfaces show some thinning (more direct blade-on-blade contact there), but the feel is still plenty slick, performance not affected that I can tell... Still sharp as hell too! Mind, I don't tackle 2-chopstick thick branches with them usually, not the tips especially, but the rear section can handle pretty thick stuff if you're lazy and don't want to swap blades... heavy cutting = heavier wear..... not what this lighter design was made for, think finish work, not heavy processing...
Put it this way, the Fiskars microtips would be junk by now! I have an old pair of actual Bonsai nippers that have heavier blades, same general design, with plain steel, and that's what I use for most all med-heavy cutting... If I need to really heavy chop (1/2"+), I have Felco pruners....

- get some 'Dee, they are worthy!

 

[McDee]

:smoking: @Mcdee mate, they are a solid investment still! My concern was how ell the coating held up, and it's very durable IMO,.....Here's some pics to show wear & tear....
It's had two full outdoor and tent seasons on them, traveling and banging around, about a million alcohol wipes (never scrapes! forget scissor hash with these unless you want to fight the build up), and the coating is still fully intact nearly everywhere,... inner blade surfaces show some thinning (more direct blade-on-blade contact there), but the feel is still plenty slick, performance not affected that I can tell... Still sharp as hell too! Mind, I don't tackle 2-chopstick thick branches with them usually, not the tips especially, but the rear section can handle pretty thick stuff if you're lazy and don't want to swap blades... heavy cutting = heavier wear..... not what this lighter design was made for, think finish work, not heavy processing...
Put it this way, the Fiskars microtips would be junk by now! I have an old pair of actual Bonsai nippers that have heavier blades, same general design, with plain steel, and that's what I use for most all med-heavy cutting... If I need to really heavy chop (1/2"+), I have Felco pruners....

- get some 'Dee, they are worthy!

View attachment 1134480View attachment 1134481View attachment 1134482View attachment 1134483

Already started looking them up lol. Watched a video said the 500 were made for cannabis. I also found the 550 that has a spring which I like better both have the coating. Here is a link for both pair.

Search: 1 result found for "Chikamasa"

We carry all the best automatic leaf trimmers, washers, drying racks, and storage bags. We carry Centurion Pro Trimmer, Centurion Gladiator and Silver Bullet.

www.harvesthelpertrimstore.com

I'm sure there are others just found this fast with a video on them. Thanks these may be the ones I go with!

 

[Waira]

Already started looking them up lol. Watched a video said the 500 were made for cannabis. I also found the 550 that has a spring which I like better both have the coating. Here is a link for both pair.

Search: 1 result found for "Chikamasa"

We carry all the best automatic leaf trimmers, washers, drying racks, and storage bags. We carry Centurion Pro Trimmer, Centurion Gladiator and Silver Bullet.

www.harvesthelpertrimstore.com

I'm sure there are others just found this fast with a video on them. Thanks these may be the ones I go with!

...think I'm going to try the curved, possibly angled/straight units.... I have a pair of mini-curved blade scissors, super thin blades that are perfect for getting deep in bud to nip out fans with buried stems, with minimal abuse to trich's... curve does offer nicer finish on buds too, but these tiny iris type scissors (may be found as cuticle scissors at some stores, higher end product not the junkie stuff) don't have the coverage to be practical,...
.... Angled, straight, curved-- it will depend on your technique too, what works best!

 

[McDee]

...think I'm going to try the curved, possibly angled/straight units.... I have a pair of mini-curved blade scissors, super thin blades that are perfect for getting deep in bud to nip out fans with buried stems, with minimal abuse to trich's... curve does offer nicer finish on buds too, but these tiny iris type scissors (may be found as cuticle scissors at some stores, higher end product not the junkie stuff) don't have the coverage to be practical,...
.... Angled, straight, curved-- it will depend on your technique too, what works best!

View attachment 1134739

I think a good trimmer would have all in their arsenal. All types have a niche and I have several old pairs I have to grab when needed. But getting dull and going to need to get some so might as well upgrade. I went cheap last time and got some from China. Not bad but they wont last 1 maybe 2 more harvest which aren't large under 1lbs. Thanks for the tip always looking for quality tools.