Types of Hand Pruners - Anvil vs Bypass Pruners

Bypass hand pruners are best for living stems and branches, they cut clean and do very little damage to the plant. Position the cutting blade toward the plant. There will be some crushing on the side with the hook.
Anvil style pruners are best for dead branches and stems. The crushing action explodes dead stem fiber.
A ratcheting pruner will help cut through tough or hard branches.
You can get pruners with compound levers to increase the force with less effort.
Coated blades will cut easier and have less buildup on the blade.