I am not sure why I waited so long to buy these.  These cut through thick items like butter.  The only issue I found was cutting a dried palm frond that was pretty thick.  The cool thing about these bypass pruning shears is they don't ever seem to try and pinch you.  It's hard to explain, but on my cheap set, (one metal blade cuts into a plastic blade) I am quite certain that I would have accidentally pinched my hand during the course of about 30 minutes that I used these.  The lock mechanism is much more efficient and does not appear that it will break.