The use of tools for bonsai is an important point to consider. Although there are many specialized tools for this, you can start by buying only a few of them, basic and indispensable, such as a good concave mower and sharp scissors. The Japanese tools for bonsai are famous for their quality, but they are also known for their high prices, while Chinese tools offer a higher quality for the price paid.
The pruning and the pinching of the bonsai are fundamental techniques to be able to model and to direct the growth of the tree following the design that we are looking for. For this it is fundamental to use tools of good quality and use them correctly, each tool has a function and must be used for it, without forcing it into uses that do not correspond to it.
Tools for bonsai
There are many very specific tools for each of the actions that we are going to do to our bonsai, however some of them are especially important and constitute the initial kit that we must have to start in the world of bonsai.
Thin scissors: it is a multipurpose tool that is used for both pinching and small pruning. They are characterized by being scissors that allow us to reach deep areas of the bonsai.
Thick scissors: a tool that allows the pruning of branches of a certain thickness that we cannot cut with the thin scissors.
Concave trimmer: used to prune primary and secondary branches, making concave cuts that leave a space so that when the callus heals, it does not leave lumps on the trunk.
Concave vacuum: designed to make a concave cut, allowing the lips of the wound to close fast, ideal for cutting branches in the insertion with the main branch or trunk. This tool is also called a sprig pruner or spherical pruner and also serves to fix poorly closed cuts and stumps.
These 4 tools for bonsai can be considered as basic for the training and care of our bonsai and all of them can be found in different measures.
