I’m looking for a good grafting knife, but something not too expensive. Any recommendations?
Thanks!
Try these, Rob:
http://www.growingfruit.org/search?q=grafting%20knife
A pretty fair amount of discussion there!
2 Likes
I used a razor knife for a year or two but had quite a bit of trouble with "dishing " out my cuts. I bought an old carbon steel knife at a junk store and my brother resharpened it into a single bevel blade . Works great, I think a really sharp knife that is single bevel will make you happy, not sure if the brand makes a huge difference
2 Likes
Single sided knife is nice to have. I found having a left handed or right handed knife make a difference depending how you like to cut away from you.
Victorinox Swiss Army Floral Knife, Red https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007LL4SY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_09KCAb853WNQZ
5 Likes
Here is my favorite budding knife. The one on the top I’ve used for 17 years making
chip buds, t buds, bark grafts, etc. If you send me $5 I’ll mail you one, send $10 and I’ll also
send a roll of vinyl tape. I don’t like the victorinox knife except as a pocket knife. The blade is too thick for grafting IMHO. Some like them however. The blade I like has a thinner blade and comes from a florist supply house for cheap. Most of the $5 is for postage. Lasts forever! I like the Tina 685 but why pay $43 when a $1.50 plus postage works just as good. https://mrtexasgrafting.weebly.com/
Some like buddy tape at $30 a roll and I’m sure it is a good tape. I use vinyl tape for $2 a roll and it works just fine. Some people use parafilm but I think it doesn’t wrap tight enough. I always go by you can use what you like if you let me use what I like! I’ve been wondering how to pay back the nice fellow who sent me bud wood without charge from this forum, I guess this is it although not to the same guy!
4 Likes
For five dollars I’d try one. Do you take PayPal ?
1 Like
I use a box cutter.
3 Likes
Paypal yes, pjsauber@gmail.com family and friends. Anyone else? I bought 25 of them for grafting classes I teach, urban homestead tree grafting: https://txrxlabs.org/classes/334/urban-homesteading-tree-grafting/
1 Like
Cool sites…yours and the Finca Tres Robles!
Mark, I searched for a grafting knife thread before I created this one, but nothing came up. Now I realize I actually searched for “pruning knife” 
2 Likes
Just search Amazon and get one of the single bevel grafting knives. Don’t overpay. When I started grafting I purchased a handful of knives and overthought it. What I learned is that it’s more about technique and graft placement than it is the knife. I have the victornox budding knife along with an Opinel #6. I also use box cutters if thats whats handy. I picked up one of the grafting tools over the winter I’m eager to try out this spring as well.
I’ve used a knife like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000AYIYKO/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517488031&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=victorinox+grafting+knife&dpPl=1&dpID=41HTUAh5MyL&ref=plSrch but I found razor knives work better for me for my purposes. After years of grafting using hundreds of dollars of special grafting tools and knives I really prefer the Stanley razor knife for several reasons which I purchase by the 5 pack https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00002X204/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1517488862&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=stanley+razor+knife&dpPl=1&dpID=3194XDYZ2HL&ref=plSrch. Razor knives are cheap and I graft over several acres of land at a time so sometimes I lose one in the grass. When I’m doing hundreds of grafts I take a lawn chair with me to make it easier to field graft the small trees. Back to the reason I like razor knives which is because they are razor sharp and one size fits all! When field grafting a lot I take different sized grafting wood with me to match up with trees that grow at different rates. A grafting tool is fantastic for bench grafting but that’s all pencil sized scion wood and rootstock. An Italian grafting tool makes short work of perfect grafting but a razor knife is the best for the cuts ranging from the size of your finger to the size of a pencil lead. I make my cuts very long so I get more grafting surface contact which simply cannot be done with anything less than something razor sharp. My take rate is far higher with longer cuts. I feel the graft unions are stronger because of the larger area. A graft knife can be razor sharp but even good steal won’t stay sharp forever and I don’t have the time to stop to sharpen a knife.
2 Likes
Yes, I’ll take one and the tape too. Not sure I will use the tape for grafting, but have other uses and I’m low. I’ll put my address in the PayPal comments. Thanks very much!
I found that the one sided Floral knifes stay sharp awhile. I have had a hard time with double edged razors or knifes. I cannot make a good cut with them. The Swiss army knife is what I use now, and I cut myself about 5 times the first year I used it, because it holds an edge as sharp as any razor. Still I see your problem with doing so many cuts. I can only do a few before my back tells me to stop. I sharpen the knife often.
1 Like
Hey mrtexas just send money through paypal for one grafting knife. Thanks
-+Do they sell floral knives for left handed people?
Thanks for the info, Clark. I already have several razor knives, and they are easy to purchase just about anywhere. And I don’t do near the amount of grafting that you do, so that would probably work fine for my purposes.
1 Like
Can I just mail you a $5 bill? 
yes phil sauber
7102 sentinel fls
missouri city,tx 77459
1 Like
I mainly use the cleft graft. for cutting the scions I use the cheapest utility knife possible like this https://tinyurl.com/yacox4v6 I buy the knife with 4 spare blades for a 1.99 at harbor freight. For cutting the root stock I use a wide thin knife that is thin that tapers to thick.
1 Like