Grafting knife recomendation?

Wires_Guy_wires

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Not sure if it's Japanese, but I ordered myself one of these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pruning-Gr...506305&hash=item2cf8ab8cdd:g:-hwAAOSwVc5bWWgo
And it's pretty decent.

I'm also a big fan of Opinel. They're a French brand that have knives so sharp that they'll cut your eyes if you look at them. For some reason, they stay sharp too! For longer than Victorinox for instance. They (opinel) also sell grafting knives.
In all honesty, I've never been a fan of Japanese tools. They get the work done, but they're never comfortable. If there's an alternative, I'll gladly put my money in that basket.
If you've ever pruned a garden tree with a Japanese cutter, you start to understand why some bonsai people are so grumpy. Ergonomics? Never heard of that!

At the end of the day, I believe that having fun is what matters. If you like Japanese tools, use them! But I believe nobody is going to judge you for choosing something more comfortable that's just as effective.
 

PiñonJ

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These are made of good steel and are easy to sharpen:
 

Deep Sea Diver

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I concur with Wires_Guy_wire. In the Apple orchard we had only one word for a good grafting knife.... sharp! (As I found out to my dismay a couple times).
I just had a friend come back from working with Michael Hagedorn for the weekend. She said Michael used a razor blade (with handle?) as he felt only a really good person with a whetstone could get a blade that sharp consistently.
(He does have a point, but I like to sharpen tools!)
Cheers
DSD sends
 

TN_Jim

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I have been veneer (many synonyms) grafting Japanese maples at work, a lot of them. I purchased the three knives pictured on amazon. Among the two Japanese blades I grew to prefer the thinner blade with brass handle because of it’s thinness. On a whim, I tried the Mora (didn’t get for grafting) and stopped using the Japanese blades -the blade is longer, just as sharp, and handle has more control.

Blade length is important because a push cut is not as clean or precise as a sliding cut -I’ve heard this from others as well, definitely agree.

Then, last week I forgot my tools at home and bought three $1.50 extending break-away-blade razor knives from the dollar store. 127 more maples later I have not went back to my true “knives”.

Whatever route you go, as mentioned above, sharp is the most important factor regardless of the specific tool. That said, the Mora and Japanese blades are very easy to sharpen relative to other types grafting blades.
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