Silky Saws

I bit the bullet the other day and bought myself a new extendable pole saw.
As you are probably aware I am very particular about the tools I use in the garden and if they are bad I will say so and if they are good I will also say so, regardless of whether I have bought or been given the product.
In this case I love this product.
Yes, it was expensive, just a tad under $300 but it is probably the best quality saw money can buy.
It is a Silky 'Forester' with a extendable reach of 4.5 metres, so that means with my height taken into consideration that the saw will reach almost 6.0 metres.
With the 'Forester' you can purchase a handle and use the blade as a hand saw.

Now that is real handy for me as we have over 70 trees that need pruning on a regular basis.
I looked at other and cheaper saws but of course they were for the most part made in third world countries so quality would be a bit suspect.
I have bought some saws in the past that either became very blunt very fast, rusted out or I could not buy replacement parts.
With Silky you know you are going to get the best quality made in Japan with steel that is top quality, plus the availability of spare parts.
With these type of saws the cutting is done on the downwards motion.
I am happy with my purchase.
The Silky representative called by the other day to inquire if I was happy with the pole saw, he dropped me off a set of secateurs on loan to trial, now I usually use Felco number 2 secateurs, anyway I did some cutting with the Silky ones and really liked them and thought the quality was great.

The saw that I have used in the garden for the past few years is a Silky 'Gomtaro', it's a small straight saw ideal for the smaller pruning jobs around the garden. This saw is around the $90 mark but lasts you for years.

Shadecloth

http://theshadecentre.com.au/

 

I feel like giving this business a plug.
We have been buying our shade cloth from this firm for a number of years, it's cheaper than Bunnings and they have a greater range.
For example you cannot buy 50% shade cloth at the big stores.
I ordered x metres yesterday and it arrived today and the postage was only $12.50.
They are situated at Brendale, just north of Brisbane.
Highly recommended.

New Gardena Hose Fittings

If you are familiar with this site then you will be aware that not only do I post positive reviews I also post in the negative.
With Gardena products I must admit I cannot say anything bad, they are well made, easy to use and last much longer than any other brand.
They have now brought out a new range of hose fittings which are very easy to use and of course very good quality.
Here are a few photos.
They are a bit more expensive than most other fittings but will last much longer so you should save in the long run.

Selecta Sprayer

This is not a good review.
Selecta sprayers have a very good reputation or at least used to
This is the second one of these sprayers as pictured that I have purchased from Bunnings.
The first one leaked through one of the seams as they are plastic welded.
The replacement has only lasted one tank of spray before leaking, only this time it was not on the join but in the main body.
I am taking this back to Bunnings to get a refund, twice returned means there is something terribly wrong with the manufacturing process.

As you can see the liquid is spraying out of the sprayer body.
I suppose that's what you get when you contract out to a Chinese company and are not too worried about your company's reputation.
I personally believe a company's reputation is everything, surely they want return customers.