These pruning shears are supposed to be one of the top five rated models out on the market. I purchased a pair after a smaller pair was lost. I purchased from a big box store about a year ago. At first they seemed to work fine and cut well. I have many trees of various types on my property that I must keep pruned to avoid being raked while cutting the lawn. I have oaks, maples, ornamental pears, and white pines. We also prune various shrubs on the property. This spring is the second season we have pruned with these shears and the first one with heavy use. I had trouble with the branches twisting and getting jammed between the blade and anvil. A majority of the cuts were fine, but eventually I noticed the cuts became more of a tear as opposed to a clean cut as expected. This makes it harder to do the job as it requires me to wrestle with the tool to complete the cut. Eventually the handle covers came off. On examination of the shears I noticed that the edge of the blade was chipped and curled over making it dull.