I spent a good deal of time practicing with some freshly cut Scion wood. After numerous cuts I’m still unable to get the nice flush cuts shown in that video. Should I be using a different tool to make my cuts? And suggestions for getting the nice flush cuts Tom showed in the video?
If it is single beveled as the description claims, it should be ok. Did you sharpen it? When sharpening a grafting knive you have to keep the one side bevel. In short you sharpen just one side and just touch the other side to remove the flash. There could be the problem. Those curved knives are more difficult to sharpen than knives with a straight blade.
Everything else should be personal preference and practice. Even with the best knife you won’t be able to cut as straight as Tom shows in that video without a lot of practice. I am sure you already know that.
When cutting don’t move your wrist. The motion comes out of your shoulder and elbow. Some people don’t move the arm holding the knive at all but the other arm holding the scion.
Plus you have to lay the blade quite flat onto the wood preparing the cut. I don’t know how to describe it right. But don’t do a 90°angle between the blade and the scion, do a wider angle. That way you are more sliding/cutting than just pushing the blade through the wood.
He makes them out of normal knifes himself. He is talking about that in another video. If you find the time you should browse through some of his other videos. Some are really really helpful. Others show his daily routine grafting but I believe I watched all of them at least twice
I’m pretty new to grafting but have had very good success so far. Sometimes my cuts come out curvey. I feel like the cut isn’t as important as the aligning and keeping the two pieces tied together. That’s the only way I can explain my poor cuts and good success. Somebody who has done this for a while can comment on it. Cuts made in that first video would probably heal together even without tying. They are perfect. But even without that quality cuts you should get good success rate I think.
His name is Ken Coates (sp?). His original grafting videos are mixed in with his rat-rod clips on YouTube under 1963impala2dr and his new ones are under a new YouTube channel, All About Grafting.
@Mickster One more word in regards of the knife you purchased. Those knives here are called “Hippe”. It are multi purpose knives that also can be used as a grafting knife, when sharpened to a single bevel. There are some techniques that actually are easier done using a “Hippe”. I myself like a straight blade, cause knives with a straight blade are more versatile and much much easier to sharpen. You couldn’t do a bark graft with a Hippe. Well, you could but it is not well suited for that job for instance.
I am relatively new to grafting. I used a sharp hunting knife with replaceable blades for skinning game. After trying other knives, I felt it worked best for me as I felt that sharpness was key. It can be found on amazon: Gerber Vital Pocket Folding Knife Exchangeable Blade [31-002736]
There are multiple different sellers/makers of those knives on Amazon. They all look the same (probably the same factory) but not all are real grafting knives. I got the NAYE knife and it was sharpened on both sides, returned it and got the Zen Garden knife which is a very nice knife so far. Make sure it has a flat side (like a real grafting knife)! Some sellers (incorrectly) sharpen both sides of the blade. Mine has a curved blade and a straight blade, one left handed and one right handed. I don’t feel like the blade shape really matters that much, they seem to cut the same.
[quote=“Mickster, post:7, topic:19884”]
("Which of the knives would you suggest for a first time grafter? ")
Any of those knives are suitable , the floral Swiss army victrinox knife in Mr Texas post above is a good " beginner " knife.
What ever you use…
Sharpen so the flat side is against the wood, bevel on top
“Learning to sharpen” a knife so that it will shave hair ,…
Is a skill that can take as long as learning to graft.
A sharp knife is key. In the Vidio above, you see how easily that knife cuts .
Another option is a good hand pruner. We’re small-moderate grafters (6 - 40 a yr for last 8 yrs) with good success and last year changed from knife to hand pruner for initial cutting the wood. I say “we” but my husband does the knifework on the scions (everything else is my domain). He’s an experienced woodcarver and quite comfortable (and honestly very good) with a knife but year before last I got a pair of ARS pruners which arrived as we were heading out to do some bench grafting for friends. We quickly tried them out on some branches and wow!!! were they NICE, and very sharp. He used them that day and never went back to the knife. This is for the initial angle cuts on scion and stock. He finds it easier to get even, matching angles. He does use a knife for the tonque work (we do almost all w&t), a small replaceable blade XActo knife, very sharp. He has also used a regular replaceable blade utility knife. We have a plentiful collection of knives of all kinds, but there’s a reason he goes for the thin very sharp “disposable” blades (they can be sharpened) - they do a very good job. The hand pruners are also kept clean and sharp.
I agree with all the comments on importance of a well sharpened knife but it’s just not an easy skill to come by, especially if you only do it occasionally. I can do an adequate job but this after many years of sharpening my own carving tools, often daily, and even then never got the hang of the really flat razor sharp edge. Thankfully I’m married to someone who can do that and do it well, and has many decades of experience. Of course, what’s most important is to find the tool you most like and are most comfortable with! If it’s a knife that needs sharpening you’ll likely learn to sharpen it. Good luck finding your most favorite. Sue
Mickster, i see you asking which knife to buy…Full disclosure, I have never owned a one-sided grafting knife. That said I would say the right knife is the one you’re most comfortable with: My absolute favorite is a box cutter that I just like the weight and feel of. It may not cut as well as a one-sided knife technically, but I cut well worth it and perhaps better than I would with a special knife. That’s not a slam on grafting knives at all and I would like to own one, but I definitely perform very well with what I have. Practice and your own personal comfort/fit probably count for as much as the bevel or the steel of a particular knife—If you want a nice knife there’s a lot of people here who can point them out, but that’s probably not the whole story…
I really like the Tina knives. They seem to keep getting more expensive. After 10 or 15 years, knowing that my interest in growing fruit isn’t fleeting, and being able to afford it, I’ve sprung for the folder and love it. Before that was the fixed blade that also works great but is more dangerous to store and carry around.
That red Victorinox is also a great tool for the price. I’ve had 6 or 7 other single bevel grafting knives but these 3 I’ve settled on.
For me its important to have a straight edge, sharpened on one side, and rigid but reasonably thin. A grafting knife should be significantly sharper than a new box cutter or utility knife blade.
This A.M. Leonard knife is inexpensive and looks like it ticks all of the boxes. I’d expect to sharpen it upon arrival:
Tina knives are really the best in my experience. I’ve been able to get mine sharper than a scalpel blade with a regular strop. I could never do this with any other knife.
I have the 605L (left handed folding) as well as the fixed blade.
