@Barkslip, @fruitnut, @txpanhandle1, You guys convinced me to get this tool. I purchased mine from aliexpress for $21.50 - $4 for being my first aliexpress purchase. So a total of $17.50. Less than half the cost of my grafting knife!
I hope it works well!
@Barkslip, do the blades from this fit your topgrafter? Might be a very cheap way to replace blades if they do.
@BobC Good job! Youāll never quit I bet. Thereās always some grafting to do at the edge of a woodland (I remember some of your last years graftsā¦) 
@Olpea itās the exact tool my buddy received. Same everything. He bought it from banggood.
@ramv these are great to have around. My topgrafter has a different cutting shape but Iām going to answer your question soon. They may work.
Dax
Took 10 minutes today with a round file and notched mineā¦ then painted āthe wound.ā hehehehe.
Dax
Zenport J68 / ZJ68A Grafting tool cuts on walnut scionwood
Zenport J68 Modification to tool
@ramv the Zenport blades do not fit the Topgrafter tool.
Best regards,
Dax
Beautiful cuts! especially in walnut. I am going to file the top off just like you did.
Like Steve, this season will be nearly all fig grafts for me so it should be even easier.
Right on sir!
Dax
I got mine over the weekend. I had to adjust the allen screws right out of the box, because the blade hit the anvil, like Austros.
Dax, I havenāt used mine yet, but why do you have all the black electrical tape on yours. Is this just to minimize wobble?
Donāt mind me. I covered those snap rings when I didnāt need to.
The bit of wobble is fine. These tools are made to give a bit. Itās not noticeable when you get going. You just learn to keep the wood centered and your eye on the ball as you clamp those handles together. And these tools are made to be calibrated from time to time. I calibrate my 450$ tool a few times or three every grafting season, sometimes more.
Keep some WD-40 on it and dismiss my wild tape adventure. Notch that top out however . . . and youāll be good to go.
Best regards,
Dax
Great information here. Thanks to everyone, especially Dax, for the reviews and suggestions.
For anyone wondering the validity of the aliexpress sellerā¦ I received my replacement blades 3-days ago.
Dax
Dax, Thanks for the info.
I ordered several blades from the same seller. It should arrive within a few days. (It is already in the US per tracking information)
I got the $23 tool from Banggood.com. It looks identical to the Amazon tool so Iām sending the Amazon one back. I also got two sets of replacement blades for what $7 or close to that. Iāll be grafting figs soon.
I was wanting to purchase the tool with replacement blade and canāt seem to find the blades to add to my cart. Got a link?
Look three posts above yours. Itās free shipping.
Dax
Just received the blades today from Daxās recommended seller on aliexpress. They look very well made!
I got them before I received the grafting tool itself which still appears to be in China.
Iām unwilling to use a credit card with Aliexpress. It doesnāt look like this seller offers paypal.
What a weird site Aliexpress is. I ordered one of the grafting tools along with the spare blades but Iām still not exactly sure what kind of site it is. It appears as if Aliexpress is some sort of broker for a bunch of Chinese wholesalers. I added the tool and the blades to my cart. When I selected checkout the āpaypalā option was greyed out. I was unwilling to use my credit card. It dis allow me to check out individually for each item using PayPal so thatās what I did. I paid about $31 for the tool and two spare sets of blades.
They take paypal. Thats how I paid them.
But I agree that the site needs a lot of usability work. They successfully completed the purchase and then silently canceled it for some unknown technical reason. when I checked the site again to see shipping details, I found out there was an issue and had to repurchase.
Amazing that they are the #1 ecommerce site in the world!
I went through the purchase process for the blades in BarkSlipās link. It shows paypal on the main page, but when you go to make the purchase, that disappears. The little digging I did said that AliExpress does handle paypal but each individual merchant decides if they will accept it. They even have a help page that shows you how to delete non-paypal items from your cart so you can pay with paypal for those companies that accept it.
If you can point me to a link for the blades that does have the paypal option, that would be great. I couldnāt seem to use it for the blades.
alibabba is a big Chinese company. They are trying to legitimize the wild wild west of Chinese commerce. Most folks here in the US wonāt take the risk. They have put a lot of money into there AliExpress site but it will take a lot of time to build trust. Like they have done in many markets, the Chinese are trying to buy in on price. That is why you see prices that are ridiculously low compared to say Amazon for the same item.
Iām not about to offer up a credit card number to them. I figure that with Paypal a trusted 3rd party holds my CC number.
![KIMG0465[1]](https://d55v7rs15ikf5.cloudfront.net/original/3X/3/a/3a34c6fb04422dddbb4ffdb3570fbf670a05f29b.JPG)