Anyone using the shear for scion prep? Looks like a Felco spring and handle design. Moser and Grandpa’s Orchard are the only US sales but don’t have much written on their websites about the tool.
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Anyone using these now? They look really good.
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I think im going to order a pair of these in a week or two and try them.
They seem nice but pricy. (230-280 euro in europe)
The grafting technique and knife choice around 1:40 in the video does not inspire confidence for me though. Although that could have been done poorly on purpose to exaggerate the need for the shears over a knife.
They mention you can chip bud with these. To me it is not immediately obvious how. Seems like quite a large tool for such a finnicky technique.
I can imagine these to be quite useful when doing field grafting though. Cutting a W&T on a branch attached to a tree can be a real pita.
i also noticed they seem to be moving the shear (like a knife cutting away from yourself), I suspect if you where to purely use it as a shear. The bottom tip of the cut scion would be damaged.
I have tried the omega tool 2 years ago and wasnt impressed with the results. Its one that cuts a notch out of the wood for them to fit together. Last year I used a grafting knife and had 99% success, but it did take time to do the whip and tongue grafts. This tool looks like it makes them super fast.
Here is a video on the chip bud cut.
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And how do they do the receiving slot?
I don’t think it will do the receiving slot just the chip bud.
Here’s a review on them.
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i don’t know how useful it would be for chip budding than though.
Matching the chip of the shears with a knife wil take some practice. And constantly switching seems like a pita.
I am a bit scared of the tongue cuts. The blade of the shear seems to get really close to your radial artery in your wrist. And unfortunate slip could be very bad if you hit that.
I am really impressed by the consistent diagonal cuts though. Please let us know how you like it when you receive it.
Also do you plan on wrapping the extra wounds the shear makes from the tongue cut?
they seem worth it for grafts in awkward places. Not so much for bench grafting imo
I have the tool and have used it for long flat cuts. I prefer to do the tongue myself. If you are able to do a similar cut yourself the tool would not be that helpful. I noticed my cuts were not very flat and I was losing contact so this helped me make a better graft.
The chip bud cut seems similar. A nice quick flat cut but experienced grafts can do the same without the tool.
It’s convenient for cutting ends off scions without having to switch between a knife and pruners.
It’s not uncommon for pieces of wood to get lodged inside the blade mechanism so care is needed when cleaning it out safely
Mine was the zenport brand but a similar tool. .
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I use this tool for making my whip cut for a w&t graft. Similar concept but it’s a anvil style cut instead of a bypass cut like the Scionon tool. Its not going to be as consistent as the Scionon tool but with a little practice it does a good job.
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What about these? Anyone have experience with similar tools?
I want to graft a lot and will somehow but have nerve damage in my right hand that makes traditional methods impossible to do safely. Try making a tongue and whip with only 10% strength in one hand
I used one of those and didn’t get a good take on most of my grafts. I think it smashes it a little when it cuts it. I used a knife the next year with mostly whip and tounge grafts and i got 99 percent takes vs 10% with that tool. Maybe someone else has had better luck with it.
I bought these way back in 2016 and used them for about 10 grafts. They were very expensive. Over $200 I recall.
The grafts all mostly took. That’s the extent of the good news.
The bad news is that the blades are made of the worst cheese grade steel. They would crumple after every 1-2 grafts. The blades had to be removed and resharpened each time.
Then I learned to graft properly with a knife. I have never used the scionon since.
We’re you referring to the scionon or my comment?
Your comment. I had one of those tools and it seemed to smash the scion and rootstock. I had way better takes with a knife and whip and tounge grafts.
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i think a shear might be your best option.
But i want to throw out the option of chip budding. All strength from that comes from 1 hand. The other hand just has to lightly hold the stick.
It might take a while to learn to chip bud left handed, if you are right handed though.
Proper technique and sharp knife also helps. I use very little force while chip budding.
Thank you very much. I’ll definitely give it a go