Anyone using one of these needs to learn how much “chop” to do when closing/slamming the handles together to make their cuts. That’s how this tool works and once you find the right amount of force for each species & along with their stage of maturity of growth, then you learn how to make proper cuts.
I easily use it for 1/8 inch stuff (sometimes). Again, it’s all about the age of wood; the species; natural density or how fine grained (strong) the wood is; etc-etc-
Dax
Nope. Honestly, absolutely not. I can cut really thin stuff with it. And to emphasize if one side is ripped or torn a little, don’t ever concern over it. Pinch it between your fingers still as you would with normal & clean cuts and keep it as pressed together as possible to encourage any tearing to callus rolling the sticks as you wrap so you can see that you’re helping as much as you can. That is the #1 complaint people have brought up on this thread.
This video I’m linking everyone to now is of a old grape grafters tool restoration. What I wish to emphasize to you is how the guy uses a pocket knife/similar to space the blades as he’s replacing them to the machine (minute 11 for those skipping forward.) That’s one way to help while you have the tool closed with the blades on each side of the anvil with our Zenport/Generic graft tool. I’ve not used a spacer like this guy, instead I eyeball it and then go cut practice wood and eventually I get everything lined up enough where there’s hardly any scrape on the side of scion or rootstock that is often being complained of as being damaged or, I get real lucky and have it tweaked so perfectly, there’s no tear whatsoever.
Hey guys, this video is really fun to watch & he demonstates cuts on citrus after the restoration. He’s probably not even a grafter. I looked at other videos and his hobby is farm tool restoration. It’s amazing watching him sharpen the blades, too. Truly a marvel to watch, this video is.
It took me a while to figure out how to line it up, and the smaller the branch/scion is, the harder it is to line it up. I never tried measuring how thick a branch can fit in the tool, yet the harder it is the more force you need to use for the thickish cutting/branch, and the faster the blade dulls down. I don’t think that any of the grafting tools are designed for the harder woods. Yet it still seems to work for them.
I used this tool on jujubes with success this year. That wood was much tougher than pawpaws and persimmons but it still worked.
The one you show in the picture looks the exact same one I got, with the exact same packaging (I still have my original packaging.)
Mine broke after only a minimal amount of use, but I may have gotten a lemon.
I posted of it broken earlier in this thread, but post it here again because there is so many posts to read through in this thread.
In this thread I posted how I fixed it.
Earlier, in the same thread danchappell had an idea for an easier fix than I did.
Just want to point out that the tool with the packaging which simply says “Grafting Tool” and “Save Labor” on the front is the same one I got which broke quickly on fairly small wood.
Still I wouldn’t worry too much if it breaks because danchappell’s repair method is easy and seems like it be an effective repair method to me.
That said, if there is an alternate choice of one of these knock-offs, one which doesn’t have the aforementioned packaging, you might try that one instead?
Yes, I think that yours was a lemon, I did 20 something cuts with mine, some where very hard branches.
Yeah, I’m going to say lemon, too. I did 400+ cuts and was fine. My hands were trash, but the tool is fine. I am ordering another and going to figure out how to rig it as a table model with foot cutting.
Sounds like I got a lemon, although some percent appear to be lemons. Bob C. in post number 237 above also got one that broke in the same spot. Either way, the weak spot seems to be where the post meets the base. The way the post fastens to the base is a cheap, but not very sturdy design, imo.
Francy, you should have one of these sewing machine conversions, too. 
best regards,
Dax
The seller has my blade order on the way. It’s already moving along the process.
Best of luck to anyone trying to navigate this mess.
The wrapping was what killed me, so not a terrible idea! And i rehab sewing machines, so i have extra motors around. Getting strange here…
Ehhhh. Mine made a few good cuts the first year or two then started crushing the stock.
I made some “emergency” saddle grafts and splice grafts—-that took.
I’m not up for all these modifications and work arounds I’m reading about.
All in all it’s been easier for a low-volume guy like me to learn how to use a knife. Preferably under non-emergency conditions.
I visited the wonderful orchard of @scottfsmith the other day. Got a few things to graft this winter, and got to ask about how well things grow around here. It strikes me I might have appeared strange as I grabbed random wood from the ground. Scott did not know what I neant by having a backer for cuts with this tool, so I took some sad photos to show. The tool is great, particularly for when my hands are not going to make cuts well. With a knife, I had to make several attempts at each graft, the tool did this right away. One issue- as cheaply made as the tool is, there is wiggle in the cutting, and the anvil isn’t very tight. There is quite a bit of tear-out at the back of cuts. I wanted to figure out how to make a better cut, and thought if I had a tighter arear for the blade to hit the anvil, there would be less tear-out and a cleaner graft. I eventually settled on adding waste sticks of the same thing I am cutting, so there is no difference in density as the blade goes though. Worked great with apple, pear and kiwi so far. It is much easier if the tool is modified following Dax’s instructions, so there is room for this at the cutting edge. I would think you would just get more crushing if not widened.
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Interesting. I’ll have to try doubling up on sticks. Thanks franc
I wonder if you could do some sort of additional “insert” fabricated to reduce that gap on the tool itself that could be bolted on to accomplish the same goal. This is a cool idea @franc1969!
It would fit below the anvil and attach to it. That’s an additional thought, too. hmmm, interesting.
I thought of that, but went with the extra wood, simpler and makes me cut more deliberately. It is fresh every time, and the cut can go straight through. I thought of adding cork or foam to the anvil, but since the blade/shaft has wiggle because of the inexpensive construction, it would need babying.
You bring the blade down slow and steady the “wiggle” while you’re at it you can learn to use the tool better is all I’ll say.
I steady the blade until it’s on the wood and I sort of press in to get a bite of the cut to be made and then (may or many not) hammer that mf. It depends on the grain strength of the wood to be cut.
Anybody has to figure out how the wood cuts from cultivar to cultivar or Genus/species being cut. They all require different amounts of pressure placed on the graft wood.
Dax
I looked thru this thread - and didn’t see any ‘sharpening’ advice for the Zenport. Has anyone had any success with that? Any advice?
When it works well . . . it sure creates a nice fit!
My only problem with the thing is that the cuts are so ‘short’. I think I may have mentioned this before. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of strength potential with so ‘short’ an area of contact.
