Good price for beginner tools

[R3x]

Cheap tools aren’t good.
Good tools aren’t cheap.

Generally I'd agree. But there's always some but.

A friend of mine recently said he's steering away from anything labeled bonsai because it is usually the same stuff you can buy but with price significantly raised.
Also a beginner (I count myself as one too) wouldn't utilize top-notch tools up to their potential. Let me put it another way: suppose you want to start skiing. You can buy skis from $100 available in every sport shop to $10000 used by olympic skiers and custom made for them. Would you go for $10000?

So for the beginning I'd stay with cheap tools. You'll learn much using them and you'll know the difference when you up your game.

 

[Timbo]

Generally I'd agree. But there's always some but.

A friend of mine recently said he's steering away from anything labeled bonsai because it is usually the same stuff you can buy but with price significantly raised.
Also a beginner (I count myself as one too) wouldn't utilize top-notch tools up to their potential. Let me put it another way: suppose you want to start skiing. You can buy skis from $100 available in every sport shop to $10000 used by olympic skiers and custom made for them. Would you go for $10000?

So for the beginning I'd stay with cheap tools. You'll learn much using them and you'll know the difference when you up your game.

Yeah i agree mostly, which is why i bought Garden scissors for normal small trimming and only use 3-4 tools most of the time. I use metal chopsticks for the soil...works well. That being said there a few tools and wire you have to buy if you are going to get much done. I've tried store bought annealed aluminum, It's harder to deal with IMO. About the only thing i buy 'bonsai' is some tools and wire.

These tools we were talking about are mainly standard tool lines. There is a balance between over-hyped products and buying decent quality that will make life easier.

If i was seriously thinking of skiing, not sure i'm buying bottom end products either, but i get the point. Going 50-100Mph on bad ski's would seem like suicide!

When i first tried it out i got one of those scam Bonsai kits that is suppose to help you grow a bonsai from seed. All you get is a tiny overpriced pot and a few seeds that never grow, Really a bad first impression.
I feel this way about classes/online courses. You go to a bonsai show and they charge $75-150 each person for a hour or 2 basic class. "bring your kids for $75" I know they have overhead but cmon.

If the Bonsai community wanted more people doing bonsai, things shouldn't be so expensive IMO. I Look at prices, some people would say that's not bad, for me this isn't an option even if i had the money for a lot of this stuff. That's a different topic though.

 

[just.wing.it]

Generally I'd agree. But there's always some but.

A friend of mine recently said he's steering away from anything labeled bonsai because it is usually the same stuff you can buy but with price significantly raised.
Also a beginner (I count myself as one too) wouldn't utilize top-notch tools up to their potential. Let me put it another way: suppose you want to start skiing. You can buy skis from $100 available in every sport shop to $10000 used by olympic skiers and custom made for them. Would you go for $10000?

So for the beginning I'd stay with cheap tools. You'll learn much using them and you'll know the difference when you up your game.

That line of thinking applies best to anything sold for weddings...
A turd on the shelf costs $5....same turd in the wedding isle, $1000.
I'm so glad I'll never be doing that again....

Anyway, anyone like the Tinyroots Tools?
I have some of their Butterfly Shears, and I like them for light trimming...

 

[Timbo]

I think reviews on amazon had them as decent...I just have the feeling though, that a lot of the stainless standard tools are the same. They just stamp the name on it...Just my Opin.

 

[flor1]

I have a couple of the Tiny Roots tools in my opinion probably the best tools going for the money.

 

[Gsquared]

I am going to be the dissenting voice on buying the cheap set of bonsai tools or trying to replace them with western tools from Home Depot.

If you are just dabbling with bonsai to see if you like it as a hobby, you can certainly get by with a pair of garden shears and a pair of pliers and wire cutters. Your trees will survive. BUT, once you decide you like the hobby and want to keep with it (say in year 2?) you really do need to get a couple of proper, basic tools: at minimum a concave cutter, a knob cutter, and a pair of bonsai wire cutters (or the Knipex mini bolt cutter that Ryan Neil recommends). Each of these are highly specialized tools that are specifically designed for bonsai care. You can pick these up from American Bonsai or TinyRoots for about $35-55 each. I've done a lot of searching at hardware stores and tool shops and have never found anything that comes close to doing what a concave cutter and a knob cutter do.

Good bonsai tools last. I have a pair of concave cutters that I have had since 1991. I have sharpened them a few times, and they still work fine 27 years later. Just used them on Tuesday.

I would not agree that just tacking the word "bonsai" on to a tool makes it more expensive, but essentially the same as any ordinary tool. That might be said for a few tools like pliers and scissors. Not for specialized tools. They are designed for specific uses, namely making a branch cut that is slightly concave to promote healing and are a must for an experience bonsai practitioner.

So, if you are serious about bonsai, I really think you are better off buying the few basics and using them for the next 5 decades.