Hi shitaki08
I will try and remember to let you know. They are due for delivery on April 7th so give me a few days after that and remind me if you don’t hear from me.
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Hi shitaki08
Ref. Zenport ZJ60
Well, I have finally got back to you with nothing but praise for this tool and yes it does increase consistency as the cuts are smooth and reasonably easy to match. I was doing the whip & tongue style and the cutting of the tongue was much safer and far more accurate, enabling a much better fit than I had ever achieved with a knife.
I had 30 odd grafts to do this year over apples, pears, cherries and plums and it made the task much easier and less stressful as results were of a far better quality and much easier to achieve. However, I am an amateur and have not had the opportunity to hone my knife skills like some and although this tool in not cheap like a lot of others, it is far more reasonable than the real quality genuine item.
The build quality is good and it is useable straight out of the box with no adjustments necessary. It takes a little getting used to but when you have got your head around it, you’re away and my wife even made the comment that she has never known me get through my grafting so quickly!
Obviously, no idea of my success rate yet but I did change the way I secured the graft, as I used a closely wrapped and stretched flat elastic band over the whole length of the graft and then wrapped, rather than the other way around, so just have to wait and see what I achieve. No matter what my results are, the tool itself is a big improvement on my previous efforts and the grafts all have a tongue which I found very difficult just using a knife.
Regards
BadgerBB1
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I’m interested in trying this tool to graft some plums. Does anyone have a current link to the better version of the tool? From reading the thread it sounds like there is a reddish colored one that is a little better quality but the links I found don’t work anymore. Thanks.
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I have that Zenport tool, but find an exacting knife easier to use on my grafting, which is all done on existing trees in the orchard.
Hey Jose, you got any advice about techniques for the Genus: Prunus? You’ve said that cleft grafting Prunus is “ugly” but does that also mean the union is being compromised in any way for a shorter life as in: inclusions or I’m going to say less of a “greater union.” Which could also lead to swelling and that’s not good. So your thoughts are appreciated.
Thank you, Jose …
When it comes to clones there really only 1 manufacture for each Zenport clone and other tool which at this point I guese is not even a clone anymore just its thing.
You could save a $10 buying directly from china but your going to wait for it till the end of janurary for it to arrive.
You might as well get it from Amazon. In the end its coming from the same people it has just been preshipped to the US.
If you don’t mind the extra month shipping time you can get here here
You need the Zenport clone for mulberries and other hard woods. Apples, pears and plums can be handled by both tools but the plastic one is better with smaller gauges.
Just to be clear, I’m referring to this post which shows the 2 different versions, and I see some people saying that the reddish colored one is heavier duty and stronger. But I’m not sure how to tell the difference on all these on Amazon and Aliexpress.
I have searched Ali a lot and have never seen the red tinged one. And I can pretty much guarantee you the Amazon and Ali products are the same. Any company with a name like FUNTECK,KTKT, or MESTUDIO are basically Chinese vendors.
Is there a source for additional cutting blades?
I bought extra blades for mine and they didn’t fit……not far off but enough that they were useless. You might want to get extra blades at the time you buy it.
I bought a generic version of the Zenport grafting tool, and when I looked for replacement blades I could not find anything like it, the blades seem to be discontinued, and I am wondering if the generic ones might all be using similar yet different blades, that is why I switched to a grafting tool that uses a standard blade size and shape, a lot of brands use the same exact shape and size blades. It seems like all the grafting tools have their weaknesses and strengths, yet I’d like to at least be able to buy new blades.
Replacement blades are on aliexpress. I got them for about 3 bucks a set. I haven’t switched any yet but they look exactly like what came with the tool.
US $20.99 40%OFF | Garden Grafting Machine Garden Tree Pruning Shears Scissor Grafting Cutting Tool Vegetable Grafter Tree Grafting Tool
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNz6Bu0 This one is almost exactly 10 dollars less, for anyone currently looking. Waiting until January shouldn’t be a problem for the majority of grafting…
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It looks like mine might be the same thing. Did the holes for mounting them match up? If so, what I plan to do is take my 13 dollar harbor freight grinder and manually shorten whichever side is too long. You can always take a drill and “adjust” the location of the holes a little bit to line up too.
I have one of these ZEN grafters and have always wondered . . .
The cut it creates is so ‘short’ . . . shallow . . . not a long V. I just can’t help but wonder if there is enough contact there to produce as strong a union - as when it is created by hand ???
When I do a hand-cut cleft graft - the angle that results is not as sharp - and there is a longer area to heal over.
Does this matter?
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My thoughts exactly.
Mine did too until I tried to put them in…
Yeah… G.41 for instance is known for weak graft unions in some scenarios. I use it and try for a very long/secure whip-and-tongue union. Hopefully they’ll be fine, I’d be somewhat concerned with it and one of these tools.
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As a practical matter I don’t think it will make a difference. All grafts need to be supported for at least a year. If the calipers match up the Zenport can make a seamless graft union. The union can hardly be seen unless bark color is different. A seamless graft union is probably more important than length. I’ve even seen people miss aligned the graft on purpose just to be sure the cambiums contact. Now that’s a weak graft.
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