Anvil Versus Bypass The two pages that follow show a selection of 11 pruning tools. The tools pictured on the left are known as anvil types, and those on the right are known as bypass types.

Anvil: medium-sized anvils you can only find in jewelers' tools stores or handmade tools. A few years ago, when I couldn't find a suitable anvil, I used a flat, glossy ceramic tile instead.

No other object is shaped quite like it. Unique yet ubiquitous, it was the tool upon which all other tools were made for centuries. It is the common anvil. "How do you feel when you're surrounded ...

The Anvil set provides the necessary items without useless filler inflating the tool count, which was a common flaw we saw in competitors’ kits.