Cutting Tools in Agriculture: 12 Tools, Sizes and Safety

Cutting tools in agriculture are hand and powered tools with a blade or cutting chain, used to harvest, prune, trim, graft and clear on farms, orchards, nurseries and woodlots. The core set is the sickle, scythe, hand pruners, loppers, pruning saw, pole pruner, hedge shears, harvest and grafting knives, string trimmer, axe and chainsaw. Purdue Extension sizes them by branch diameter: hand pruners for up to 1/4 to 1/2 inch, loppers for up to 1.5 inches, and a pruning saw for anything over 1 inch.

This guide lists 12 tools with what each is best for, compares them in one table, and shows when a powered tool pays back its cost. It also covers noise limits, chainsaw gear and how to disinfect blades. For the wider set of field equipment, see our guide to Modern agriculture tools.

12 cutting tools in agriculture and what each one is for

The list runs from the smallest cut to the largest. Each entry says what the tool does and where it fits best. Branch sizes come from Purdue Extension’s pruning guide HO-4-W; the rest is general use.

1. Grafting and budding knives

A grafting knife has a short, very sharp blade, often bevelled on one side. A budding knife adds a spatula or bark lifter on the back. Clean, flat cuts help the scion and rootstock line up, so the blade must be kept razor sharp and used only for this job.

Best for: nurseries, fruit tree propagation, vine grafting and top-working old trees.

2. Harvest knives

Harvest knives come with straight, hooked or serrated blades. Hooked blades suit cutting lettuce, cabbage and broccoli heads at the stem. Straight blades suit trimming roots and leaves. Stainless steel resists rust from wet produce.

Best for: vegetable harvest crews, market gardens and pack sheds.

3. Hand pruners (secateurs)

Hand pruners cut small shoots and twigs. Purdue sizes them for branches up to 1/4 to 1/2 inch across and notes they come in 6- to 9-inch sizes. There are two main types. Bypass (scissor) pruners have two blades that pass each other. Anvil pruners press one blade onto a flat surface. Purdue prefers the scissor type because anvil types can crush plant tissue. Ratchet models cut in stages, which helps people with less grip strength.

Best for: vines, berries, young fruit trees and nursery stock.

4. Loppers

Loppers are long-handled pruners. Purdue rates them for branches up to 1.5 inches and gives handle lengths of 16 to 30 inches. Longer handles give more use but weigh more, so Purdue stresses light handles. As with pruners, the bypass type gives the cleaner cut.

Best for: thick canes, mature shrubs and lower limbs of fruit trees.

5. Pruning saws

Pruning saws take branches over 1 inch thick. Purdue notes their coarse teeth resist gumming and that most cut on the pull stroke, which is easier and safer. Folding saws fit in a pocket; fixed curved saws cut faster on big limbs.

Best for: orchard renewal cuts, removing dead wood and thinning older trees.

6. Pole pruners and pole saws

A pole pruner puts a rope-action cutting head or a saw on a long handle. A take-apart or telescoping pole makes storage easier. Purdue warns that pole pruners are not safe near utility lines.

Best for: high branches you cannot reach from the ground without a ladder.

7. Hedge shears

Hedge shears have long straight blades, 6 to 18 inches in Purdue’s guide, and come as hand or powered models. They clip soft new growth into a shape. Purdue says not to use them on large branches or for pruning meant to keep a plant’s natural form.

Best for: windbreak hedges, field margins and formal hedges around farm buildings.

8. Sickle

The sickle is a short curved blade on a handle. It cuts small patches of grain, forage, weeds or cover crop close to the ground. It is light, cheap to keep and easy to sharpen with a stone.

Best for: small plots, research plot harvests, cutting samples and spot weeding.

9. Scythe

A scythe has a long curved blade on a long shaft (the snath). The user swings it in a steady arc to mow grass, hay or weeds. It is quiet and needs no fuel, but it takes practice and a well-set, sharp blade.

Best for: small hay fields, orchard floors, ditches and steep banks where machines struggle.

10. String trimmers and brush cutters

String trimmers cut grass with nylon line. Brush cutters swap the line for a metal blade to cut thicker weeds and saplings. Both come as gas or battery models. Cutting along fences, ditches and between rows is their main job.

Best for: keeping lanes, fence lines and the base of trellis posts clear.

11. Felling axes and bucksaws

An axe splits and fells; a bucksaw (a bow saw with a steel frame) cross-cuts logs by hand. They are quiet and need no fuel. They are slower than a chainsaw on big wood.

Best for: small woodlots, fence-post work, firewood and remote sites.

12. Chainsaws

Chainsaws fell trees, cut up fallen limbs and clear brush. Purdue calls chainsaws dangerous for pruning and says they are best used for cutting up limbs already on the ground. They are also among the loudest tools on a farm (see the noise section below).

Best for: woodlots, storm clean-up, orchard removal and clearing fence lines.

Comparison table: cut size, task and power source

The table sums up the list. Cut sizes and blade lengths are from Purdue Extension; noise ranges are from Penn State Extension and WorkSafe Western Australia. A dash means the source gives no figure.

The older version of this page gave efficiency gains for each tool. We removed them because no study backs them. Your gain depends on the crop, the crew and the tool’s condition, which is why the calculator below asks for your own numbers.

How to choose the right cutting tool for the job

Start with the size of the cut, then the number of cuts, then who will do the work.

• Match the tool to the diameter. Forcing a pruner through a branch that is too thick crushes the wood and sprains the hinge. Step up to loppers at about half an inch and to a saw past an inch, as Purdue advises.
• Pick bypass over anvil for living wood. A bypass blade slices; an anvil can crush. Keep anvil pruners for dead wood.
• Count the cuts. A few trees by a house need hand tools. A block of vines or a commercial orchard may justify battery pruners, which cut the hand effort per cut.
• Fit the hand. Purdue says to buy pruners that fit your hand. Left-handed, small-hand and rotating-handle models exist.
• Check reach and site. Use a pole pruner instead of a ladder where you can, but never near power lines.
• Think about noise and fuel. Battery tools are quieter than gas tools and need no fuel mixing, but check run time against a full day’s work.

Timing matters as much as the tool. Fruit trees are mostly pruned in late winter while dormant, and vegetable knives come out at harvest. Satellite maps can show which blocks are stressed or growing fast, so crews go there first.

▶ A short, funny explainer on how satellite NDVI maps show crop stress before you can see it in the field. · 4:09

Hand tools or powered tools: does the switch pay?

Labor is a large cost on farms that do a lot of hand cutting. The USDA Economic Research Service reports that wages and contract labor were 40 percent of production expenses for fruit and tree nut farms in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, against 12 percent for all farms. Farm wages keep rising: ERS puts the 2024 average for crop, nursery and greenhouse farmworkers at US$18.24 an hour.

Chart

Average hourly wage by farm occupation

US$ per hour, US nonsupervisory hired farmworkers, 2024

So the question for a battery pruner, a brush cutter or a powered pole saw is simple. Does the time it saves, valued at your wage, cover what it costs each year? A tool that saves a few percent of a big pruning job can pay; the same tool on a small job may not. Enter your own numbers below. The defaults are examples set close to break-even, not benchmarks.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

Noise from powered cutting tools and how long you can work

Powered cutting tools are loud. Penn State Extension lists chainsaws at 77 to 120 dB(A) and leaf blowers at 110 dB(A). It warns that frequent exposure above 70 dB can lead to hearing loss, and one exposure at about 110 dB or more can do immediate damage. WorkSafe Western Australia gives chainsaws 105 to 120 dB(A) and says levels at the operator’s ear can reach 110 dB(A).

Chart

Noise ranges of farm machines and tools

Sound level in dB(A), low and high end of reported range

OSHA’s general-industry limits shrink fast as noise rises. Under OSHA’s noise standard, 29 CFR 1910.95, 90 dBA is allowed for 8 hours a day, but 100 dBA only for 2 hours and 110 dBA for 30 minutes. A hearing conservation program is required from an 8-hour average of 85 dBA. OSHA’s noise overview explains how the limits work. OSHA’s agriculture rules (29 CFR 1928.21) do not adopt this noise standard, so on most farm work treat these limits as a safe-work guide rather than a legal limit. Rules differ in Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia, so check your local workplace safety body.

The fix is simple: wear earmuffs or plugs with a good Noise Reduction Rating. Penn State’s example is that an NRR 25 protector in a 105 dB area brings exposure to about 80 dB, if it fits well and stays on. Keeping mufflers and bearings in good order and running engines at lower speed also cut noise, Penn State adds.

Chart

How long OSHA allows each noise level

Permitted hours per day under OSHA’s general-industry rule, by sound level (dBA)

Chainsaw safety gear for farm work

Purdue calls chainsaws dangerous for pruning, and a chain cut can be severe. OSHA notes that farmworkers face high risk of injuries and noise-induced hearing loss. Cornell’s Small Farms Program says most chainsaw injuries occur on the legs and knees. It lists head, hearing, eye and face, leg, foot and hand protection as the full set.

• Helmet system with face screen and built-in earmuffs.
• Chainsaw chaps or trousers. Cornell explains the fabric is not cut-proof; it jams the chain to reduce injury.
• Boots with steel toes and good grip.
• Gloves suited to the task. The UK Health and Safety Executive’s chainsaw PPE guidance names standards for helmets, gloves, leg protection and boots, such as BS EN 381-7 for chainsaw gloves.

Get trained before you fell trees. Felling and storm work need skills a manual cannot give. Follow the maker’s manual and your local safety rules, and get professional help for large or leaning trees.

How to clean and disinfect cutting tools between plants

Blades can carry disease from one plant to the next, so disinfect them when cutting out diseased wood and when moving between blocks. Extension guides agree on the products but differ on soak times.

• Alcohol (70 percent or stronger). UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says ethanol or isopropyl at 70 to 100 percent can be wiped on, needs no rinse and works at once, but it is very flammable.
• Bleach (1 part to 9 parts water). UF/IFAS advises a 30-minute soak, then a rinse, and notes the mix loses half its strength after two hours, so make it fresh. The University of Kentucky’s sanitation sheet PPFS-GEN-17 says bleach can kill surface microbes within 30 seconds, while alcohol, Lysol and TSP need a 3- to 5-minute soak.
• Household disinfectant. A University of Tennessee fact sheet says research found Lysol diluted 1 to 4 as effective as bleach and less corrosive, and that soaking for at least a minute works better than dipping when a known pathogen such as fire blight is present. Its current advice (revised 2012) is a quaternary ammonium disinfectant, which does not corrode metal.

Bleach and TSP corrode metal and can harm you if inhaled. Never mix bleach with other cleaners. Rinse and oil tools after a corrosive soak. Always read the product label, and follow local rules for disposal.

Sharpening, oiling and storage

A sharp blade cuts cleaner and needs less force, which is safer. Clean sap and soil off after each day. Dry the tool, hone the bevel with a file or stone, and oil the pivot and spring. Check handles and bolts and replace cracked parts. Store tools dry, off the ground and with blades covered. Our farm tool maintenance steps cover the wider routine for machines too.

For chainsaws, keep the chain sharp and tensioned, keep the chain brake working and clean the air filter. A dull chain pulls the saw and raises kickback risk.

Newer cutting tool designs worth knowing

Common design changes make tools lighter, quieter or easier on the hand.

• Battery pruners and shears do the closing for you. They suit vineyards and orchards with many cuts per day. Check battery life and spare-battery cost.
• Battery chainsaws, trimmers and pole saws start at a press and skip fuel mixing. They are quieter than gas models, though still loud enough to need hearing protection.
• Light handles in aluminium or fibreglass cut arm strain on loppers and poles.
• Coated or hardened blades resist sap build-up and rust and stay sharp longer.
• Rotating handles and ratchet heads ease grip strain for long pruning days.

Before you buy, try the tool in your hand if you can. Check that spare blades, springs and chains are sold for that model, because a cheap tool with no parts becomes waste after one broken spring. For battery tools, check whether the batteries fit your other tools from the same brand; one battery platform across pruners, trimmers and saws cuts cost and charging clutter. Ask the dealer for the run time on a full charge and compare it with your longest working day. Keep the receipt and register the tool, since warranty terms often depend on it. Finally, buy the safety gear at the same time as the tool, not after the first close call.

Where satellite crop monitoring fits

A blade cuts one plant at a time; a satellite sees the whole farm. The Farmonaut Satellite + AI Farm Monitoring System maps crop vigour from satellite images, so managers can see which blocks are stressed or growing fast and send pruning and harvest crews there first. You can try satellite-driven crop advisory on your own fields.

Field records also help with planning the tool fleet: knowing which blocks need work this week shows how many pruners, saws and trimmers each crew needs.

Related pages on our site: product traceability, carbon foot-printing solution, fleet management solution, large-scale farm management platform, satellite-based crop loan and insurance verification, API Developer Docs.

▶ Full walkthrough: reading NDVI, running a farm advisory and pulling a field report. · 19:36

How we checked the numbers

Branch sizes and blade lengths come from Purdue Extension’s pruning guide. Noise ranges come from Penn State Extension and WorkSafe Western Australia, and exposure limits from OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95. Wages and labor shares come from the USDA Economic Research Service farm labor page (2024 wages, 2022 Census shares). Disinfection steps come from UF/IFAS, the University of Kentucky and the University of Tennessee. Safety gear comes from Cornell’s Small Farms Program and the UK Health and Safety Executive. We checked all of them in October 2026.

FAQ

What are cutting tools in agriculture?

They are tools with a blade or chain used to harvest, prune, trim, graft or clear plants and wood. Examples are sickles, scythes, hand pruners, loppers, pruning saws, pole pruners, hedge shears, harvest and grafting knives, string trimmers, axes and chainsaws.

Which cutting tool is used for harvesting crops?

For small plots, a sickle or scythe cuts grain and forage, and harvest knives cut vegetable heads and roots. Large grain fields use combine harvesters instead.

What is the difference between bypass and anvil pruners?

Bypass pruners have two blades that slide past each other like scissors. Anvil pruners press one blade onto a flat plate. Purdue Extension prefers bypass for live wood because anvil types can crush tissue.

How do I disinfect pruning tools?

Wipe or dip blades in 70 percent alcohol, or use a 1-to-9 bleach mix and then rinse, as UF/IFAS describes, and oil the blades once dry. Soak times vary by guide and product, so read the label.

Do I need hearing protection for a chainsaw?

Yes. Penn State lists chainsaws at up to 120 dB(A), and OSHA allows only 30 minutes a day at 110 dBA under its general-industry rule, which does not formally cover farm work. Treat that as a guide. Wear earmuffs or plugs every time.