The gardening shears (1), for cutting branches, has moving cutters (2) held by a handle (10). They are operated by a pull wire (7), which is flexible at least in sections. The wire roller (6) has a surface with an out-of-round contour for the wire to pass around. The roller carries a pinion (21) to mesh with a rack (22) at one cutter to give the closing action in cutting a branch.