Tree care tools

Sharp and clean matters more than expensive. A clean cut at the branch collar closes over; a torn or crushed cut is an open wound. Bypass pruners cut cleanly; anvil pruners crush. For anything above about an inch, use a pruning saw rather than forcing loppers through it.

Cut location is the part most people get wrong. ISA's reduction guidance - cutting back to a secondary branch "at least one-third the diameter of the cut stem" - reflects a general principle: cuts should go to a branch or to the branch collar, never leaving a stub in the middle of a limb. Stubs die back and invite decay. If the cut you want to make is not at a branch or a collar, it is probably the wrong cut.

Pole saws are the tool that gets homeowners hurt. They put a cutting edge above your head, with limbs falling toward you, while your balance is compromised, and they encourage you to reach for the branch that is a bit further and higher than you should. If a pole saw is what makes a job possible, that job has already crossed the line into professional work.

On chainsaws: a homeowner saw is a legitimate tool for cutting fallen wood on the ground into manageable pieces, with chaps, eye and ear protection, and both feet planted. It is not a tool for cutting above your head, from a ladder, on a leaning or storm-damaged tree, or on anything under tension. OSHA identifies electricity and falling objects as leading hazards in tree care work; a saw plus elevation plus stored energy is how those combine.