The use of special bonsai tools when caring for a bonsai tree is important as time goes by. Like any specialist hobby these tools have been designed to be the most effective in achieving the desired results of that pursuit. Taking care of a bonsai tree is no different, however you can get away with owning only a few of these special bonsai tools at first if you are a beginner bonsai owner. You can even substitute some of them!
For example, the root rake, which is used to separate small to medium sized capillary roots during the transplanting and repotting of a bonsai tree, can be substituted with a chopstick, crochet hook or the likes. As long as it has a single prong that can be used to do the job without doing damage.
When it comes to bonsai tools for the foliage and branches of the bonsai tree, there are three that I feel that you must have, even as a beginner.
Firstly, for the heavier branches, you will need a pair of concave branch cutters. These are a razor sharp tool designed for cutting branches flush to the trunk. The resulting wound can then heal over quickly with very little scarring. Obviously, this is good for the health of the tree and more pleasing to the eye. Concave cutters are considered by many bonsai enthusiasts to be the most important of the bonsai tools.
Next, for the pruning of the lighter branches, a pair of butterfly shears is recommended. These are used, primarily like scissors, to trim, cut and prune areas that are a bit harder to get to than most. The rounded shape of the butterfly shears make them more comfortable to use when carrying out the basic and general bonsai tree trimming for which these are used. As with the concave cutters these shears are razor sharp to make quick, clean cuts that result in less harm being inflicted upon the tree.
When looking for bonsai tools, you will find that there are also a variety of each of the tools. There will be varying degrees of work load that each is designed for. For example, heavy duty, regular duty, small etc. At first, just keep it simple and go for a regular tool that will cover most areas of use. As you begin to add many different shapes and sizes of bonsai trees to your garden, then you may find that you will need the varying sizes of tools.
Another bonsai tool that you may find useful in your beginner stage of bonsai care is the budding and trimming shears. These are used for finer work to remove leaves and buds from within shoots, particularly on very delicate areas. These are ideal for cutting inside the bonsai tree without disturbing the branches, however if you are short on cash to start with, you can use a small pair of tweezers (while not as fine tuned) to achieve this result.
One more tool you may want to consider is the bonsai wire cutter. These are used, as the name suggests, to remove wire from the tree. While normal wire cutters can be used, the bonsai equivalent is designed to be friendlier to the tree and to be less likely to inflict damage. Incidentally, you should never unwind wire from a bonsai tree as there is too much danger of scarring the branch, or breaking nearby small branches.
So, if you are a beginner bonsai owner, these are the tools that you may want to consider purchasing for use, as you first begin to trim and shape your tree. After all, that is why we use these, and other, special bonsai tools... to maintain the miniature status that makes a bonsai tree so beautiful and unique.
| Price : $54.99 | Post Date : Jan 24, 2012 21:45:05
