We use these loppers for our habitat restoration work at the Nature Conservancy's Ives Road Fen Preserve.  They can cut a fairly large bush or sapling.  After 100 hours or so of use the linkages wear.  After more hours the fiberglass handles become flexible and fracture where the rivets go through them.  We have figured out how to rebuild/repair both of these areas.  In seven years two blades have broken.  Replacement blades can be purchased from the Corona website.  A homeowner using these would have no problems in a lifetime of use.  These are the best combination of high capability and low cost that we have found.  The anvil type blade can be easily sharpened with a hand-held angle sharpener.