Compared to conventional shears, the effective cutting power is increased by about 50%.
The four-bar-linkage places the fingers of the hand at optimal positions to contribute to cutting – by lever arm and by matching movement. In conventional shears, the large, strong fingers are poorly placed close to the pivot – the pinky is at a good position, but to engage the handle it must reach further out than the index or the middle fingers. Consequently, much of the hand power is not utilized for cutting.
The hand force of fingers-to-thumb is about half of the fingers-to-palm force. However, force magnification of the four-bar-linkage facilitates the use of fingers-to-thumb instead of fingers-to-palm only, as in conventional shears.
The fingers are protected by a guard which also allows ORCA™ to be held without the use of the thumb or the palm when not cutting.
ORCA™ is made from a high-performance 40% carbon fiber reinforced polyamide. The weight is only half of the professional pruning shears made from aluminum without a significant compromise in the stiffness.
The blades are coated for high resistance to abrasion, low friction, and superior resistance to corrosion.
A Bellville spring in the main pivot maintains constant blade-to-blade pressure.
The return spring is tension-type, compliant, and robust. The lock is conveniently placed at the distal end.
