Felco No. 2 Pruning Shears Review

Overview

The Felco No. 2 is where the whole Felco line starts. Introduced in 1945, it’s the original bypass secateur pattern that every later Felco model — including the No. 6 we’ve already reviewed — is a variation on. Felco’s own literature calls it the benchmark; independent tool reviewers tend to agree. It’s still in production, largely unchanged, because there’s been no real reason to change it.

The distinction that matters for houseplant keepers: the No. 2 is full-size, built for large hands, with a 25mm (1 inch) cutting capacity. The No. 6 is a scaled-down version of the same design — medium hands, 20mm capacity. They’re not better-or-worse; they’re sized for different hands and different jobs, and picking the wrong one is the most common Felco buying mistake.

Felco 2 vs Felco 6 — Which One

If your hand length (base of palm to middle fingertip) is on the larger side, or you’re regularly cutting anything past pencil-thickness — a maturing rubber plant’s woody stems, a fiddle leaf fig’s thicker growth, hard pruning on an outdoor-summered citrus — the No. 2’s 25mm bite and larger handle span are the right fit. The No. 6 will struggle to close cleanly on stems near the top of its 20mm range, and a handle that’s too small for your hand tires you out faster over a long session.

If your hands are medium-sized and most of what you cut is soft indoor growth — pothos vines, trailing philodendron, deadheading — the No. 6 is lighter, more compact, and loses nothing you’d actually use. We’re not going to tell you to buy both; buy the one sized for your hands and your stems, and you’ll be right.

Design

Same bones as the No. 6: forged, hardened steel blade sliding past a stationary anvil for a clean shearing cut rather than a crush. Aluminium handles, red plastic grips, the classic Felco pivoting lock catch, and a wire coil spring that’s the most commonly replaced part (about £5). The difference is scale — everything on the No. 2 is built to full size rather than the No. 6’s compact remake.

Performance

Tested across four months on a mix of houseplant and balcony work: rubber plant trunk cuttings up to 12mm, fiddle leaf fig woody growth, and a genuinely thick (18mm) overgrown jade plant branch that our No. 6 had refused to close on cleanly. The No. 2 took all of it without crushing or requiring a second squeeze.

On thinner stems — the 1–5mm range that makes up most routine indoor pruning — it performs identically to the No. 6: clean, no tearing, no roughness. The only real difference at that end of the scale is hand fatigue over a long session, where the larger handle costs you a little if your hands are on the smaller side.

Where the No. 2 Isn’t the Right Buy

If everything you cut is soft, thin indoor growth and your hands are medium or smaller, the No. 6 does the same job in a lighter, better-fitting package — there’s no cutting-quality advantage to the No. 2 at that end of the scale, only extra weight and a handle span you don’t need. Save the price difference (there usually isn’t one) and buy whichever actually fits your hand.

Sharpening and Servicing

Identical to the No. 6: a flat hand stone at roughly 20°, run along the inside of the curved blade, once or twice a year for indoor use. Every part — blade, anvil, spring, bumper, lock — is sold individually through Felco’s published parts diagram, so a No. 2 bought today has the same multi-decade service life as its smaller sibling.

The Verdict

The Felco No. 2 is the right choice for larger hands and the heavier end of indoor pruning — anything the No. 6’s 20mm capacity can’t close on cleanly. It’s not a better tool than the No. 6, just a differently-sized one, and buying the wrong size is the one way to end up disappointed with either. For most routine indoor plant care, the No. 6 is still the more comfortable everyday pick; for thicker stems and bigger hands, this is the one. For methodology see how we review.