In the end, there are lots of ways to graft. It can be hard to imagine, but people grafted tree’s many centuries ago, without fancy tools or parafilm.
Lots of ways to get into grafting.
i have a mixed feeling about those tools.
I don’t own one. But have had one in my hand.
The problem with those tools in my mind is, that beginners tend to buy them, because they are afraid of the “knifework” in grafting.
Those tools however only work if you can perfectly match scion wood and rootstock thickness.
This is possible in commercial or semi commercial situations, where you have dedicated tree’s for growing 100s of twigs of scion wood of all thickness.
But is usually not the norm for hobbyists.
So if you want to graft different things/thickness of scions and rootstocks. Sooner or later you will need a sharp knife.
If i where to start all over again i wish i went for
- good 1000 grit sharpening stone. Sharpen your knives - #3 by oscar (33$)
- decent knife, can be anything from a grafting knife, to a reground pocket knife. Or a repurposed thrift store find. (1$ to ~20$)
- a few feet of parafilm. A whole roll is usually overkill. Some sellers on ebay or similair websites like it. sell parafilm in smaller lengths at a markup. If you really like it you can always buy a 125 feet roll later. (~7 dollar to get enough for 100+ grafts)
it would cost you a little bit more than the set your looking at now. And you would have to learn 2 new skills
-sharpening knifes. (also useful for kitchen knifes etc)
-cutting grafts with a knife
But in the end, it would be way more versatile and useful than such a tool.
And you woul need little else to continue for a long time. And you can also sharpen your kitchen knifes!
you could however with some practice and lower expectations (less % take) also graft with a Stanly knife and some strips of the bags of potting soil. it’s always a tradeoff between time/money/skill