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Swiss help needed...

AndrewE

Established Member
Joined
9 Nov 2015
Messages
7,300
Hello to all our friends abroad, and especially in Switzerland...

I have a couple of questions about household things for which Googling (or DuckDuckGo) hasn't helped me much...

My late parents and now my wife and I (>50 years) have always used "ZIPP" [runner] bean slicers, which say on them "SWISS" The blades are ageing now and some have snapped, but the ZIPP one is still far better than any of the replacements that we have tried. I suspect that either the Swiss steel was perfectly specified, or that it was actually made with self-sharpening bi-metal blades - which was the USP of the scythes and sickles etc. made by the Sticklepath Foundry (forge.) Are these bean slicers still available?

The other query is about replacement plastic sleeves for Felco secateur handles. There is one UK distributor for spare parts and [the last time I looked] for just the handle sleeves they want the price we paid for the secateurs! I can't find a Swiss main dealer (or any shop offering the parts) but would happily build a holiday around a town or city with a dealer where we could buy the things...
Any ideas?

(One of our favourite camping holiday souvenirs is a small plain cow (or big sheep) bell stamped 2/0 which we chose in an ironmongers in somewhere like Gstaad in about 1992. It has served as the dinner bell to summon the family - including the visiting grandchildren last week - ever since.)

Correction... she has just produced the original receipt! It was in Zweisimmen in 1981, and cost us 10.30 Francs, about £2.50 back then according to https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/b...rical-spot-exchange-rates/gbp/GBP-to-CHF-1981 and in our minds quite a pricey souvenir!
 
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najaB

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I'm not abroad, but I do happen to know a Swiss person who is staying here for a bit. I shall ask her.
 

Acathater

Member
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11 Dec 2025
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660
Location
NorthWest
Hello to all our friends abroad, and especially in Switzerland...

I have a couple of questions about household things for which Googling (or DuckDuckGo) hasn't helped me much...

My late parents and now my wife and I (>50 years) have always used "ZIPP" [runner] bean slicers, which say on them "SWISS" The blades are ageing now and some have snapped, but the ZIPP one is still far better than any of the replacements that we have tried. I suspect that either the Swiss steel was perfectly specified, or that it was actually made with self-sharpening bi-metal blades - which was the USP of the scythes and sickles etc. made by the Sticklepath Foundry (forge.) Are these bean slicers still available?
Three listings on Ebay for second hand ones, but they all use the same photo......
but these seem to be modern equivalents



== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

The other query is about replacement plastic sleeves for Felco secateur handles. There is one UK distributor for spare parts and [the last time I looked] for just the handle sleeves they want the price we paid for the secateurs! I can't find a Swiss main dealer (or any shop offering the parts) but would happily build a holiday around a town or city with a dealer where we could buy the things...
Any ideas?
Spare parts listing is here

you need to select the particular secateur you need
However.....looking at the exploded diagrams it looks like the red handles/sleeves are actually integral with the arms.
Best to e-mail them and ask
 
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contrex

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19 May 2009
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1,656
Location
St Werburghs, Bristol
Does it have to be an actual Zipp? (My mother had one in the 1960s). There are plenty of sources of Kitchencraft ones very similar.
 

AndrewE

Established Member
Joined
9 Nov 2015
Messages
7,300
Three listings on Ebay for second hand ones, but they all use the same photo......
but these seem to be modern equivalents



== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
We have the Kitchencraft one (and another) and they aren't a patch on the ZIPP. I am surprised that one is called Zipp, as it's not the same and I thought the name would have been protected.
Spare parts listing is here

you need to select the particular secateur you need
However.....looking at the exploded diagrams it looks like the red handles/sleeves are actually integral with the arms.
Best to e-mail them and ask
Yes, I have used them for something before. Actually it now looks as though the red sleeves are available at a much more realistic price, https://world.felco.com/en-gb/products/7-36-counter-blade-handle-grip is only 10.5 grams, so that must be it - even though the colour is shown as black.
Does it have to be an actual Zipp? (My mother had one in the 1960s). There are plenty of sources of Kitchencraft ones very similar.
as above, some hand tools are "just right" and nothing else quite matches up to them.
Thanks all.
 

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