Chinese made bonsai tools

Hello,
I had an affair with bonsai a few years ago but sold everything when I got unemployed,including the Japanese tools.
Back then Chinese made tools were of poor quality.
Time has passed and I'm aware that the Chinese have improved quality in many of their products i.e. Japanese katanas are decent at an affordable price(Dynasty Forge being an example).
However,I have no experience with the new Chinese made bonsai tools.Some kits at EBay are quite affordable-I can pamper myself now with a kit of Japanese tools-and I know that maybe I get a reply or two of buying the minimum required as concave cutters and shears,but I'm the type of person who feels better having a whole kit.
The question is:Is anyone aware of the quality of these Chinese bonsai tools in the present?Does anyone has experience first hand?Of course I can't expect the superb quality of the Japanese ones,but are they good enough to do the job,specially in an small collection of Shohin bonsai trees?
Your answer is highly appreciated,
Thanks in advance.

Don't buy them.

Can you elaborate more.Have you tested or used the new ones recently?
A bit of information will be advisable,not only the no buy them warning.You might have posted this based on experience,yet you can also have posted it because you use Japanese ones and won't compromise in high quality.

Every bonsai tool I've ever seen from China has been of inferior quality. The don't hold an edge, the metal breaks easily if dropped and blades don't line up right.
In general they are crap based on the ones I've seen. There may be better quality ones but I've never seen them.

I had a pair of Chinese concave cutters recently, bought from a little Chinese import bonsai shop down the street. They were fine and did the job but the blades went out of alignment within six months. All my tools are now of Japanese origin. The massive difference in quality was immediately noticeable.

Stickman wrote:I had a pair of Chinese concave cutters recently, bought from a little Chinese import bonsai shop down the street. They were fine and did the job but the blades went out of alignment within six months. All my tools are now of Japanese origin. The massive difference in quality was immediately noticeable.

Well,it looks like I must start buying the basic tools of Japanese origin and work my way up slowly for having again a collection of fine Japanese bonsai tools.

Hi Kagemusha,
I have all Chinese tools and they work fine for the time, I know that the jappanese brands are better in quality and will no doubt last a whole lot longer. But i'm not rich.
I will slowly collect the better tools as time go's and i'll also have a full set of crappy tools to do the dirty rough work, then i can clean up with the good ones.

I'm sure all that have a good set of jappanese tools have an old set to through around

Mick

handy mick wrote: Hi Kagemusha,
I have all Chinese tools and they work fine for the time, I know that the jappanese brands are better in quality and will no doubt last a whole lot longer. But i'm not rich.
I will slowly collect the better tools as time go's and i'll also have a full set of crappy tools to do the dirty rough work, then i can clean up with the good ones.

I'm sure all that have a good set of jappanese tools have an old set to through around

Mick

Hi Mick,that was my initial idea,invest in an inexpensive Chinese set and slowly start buying the Japanese ones,I found a site with Japanese ones at good prices.Sounds like a more smart plan.I don't want to wait too long to start collecting my trees.The sooner I have the tools,the sooner I can buy the bonsai stock.

Bob

I've always been told and it's been my experience, not just with bonsai but anything, that it pays to buy the best tool you can. In the long one its way cheaper than starting with cheap stuff and replacing it.

Bob just said exactly what I was going to. With cheap tools you get what you pay for and they will end up being recycled/thrown away. Much better to go for the best that you can afford straight away. Keep in mind that they don't have to be bonsai tools initially. A really good pair of secateurs (like Felco) and a decent pair of normal scissors will do most jobs for a fraction of the cost of a full set of Japanese tools. Then just add the ones that you actually need, wen cutters and knob cutters being the almost indispensible ones.

Later specialist tools that suit the style of bonsai that you enjoy can be added, as and when you can afford them.

I still prefer to find tools intended for alternative purposes that adapt well to bonsai.

My favorite set of anvil cutters I use for basic pruning are made by a company called SuperKnife. The blades are construction grade razor blades and can be touched up or replaced when needed.



My favorite root digging/detangling tool is an old hoof pick I had from a previous hobby.

Exacto knives, chop sticks, table forks with bent tines, hoof nippers, etc.

The only problem I have had is finding a good replacement for knob and concave cutters and I think I got the Chinese ones, because the blades appear to be easily chipped and dulled and they are both aligned improperly. Although, a good dremel tool can be used to replace both as long as power is close at hand.

Unless you are more concerned about how your toolkit looks than how your toolkit helps you get the job done, I would emphasize the tasks at hand and the best tool you can find, make or buy to get the job done.

Jay

I finally decided to buy some tools from Dallas Bonsai and others from Bonsai Outlet.The Dallas ones carry 3 years warranty while the Bonsai Outlet one year,but some prices are lower in some of them .....then,again,the 3 years warranty might make think twice and get all of them from Dallas Bonsai.

Bob

My opinion is based on personal experience with buying a few Chinese tools. The main reason is they don't hold an edge every long and the overall quality is very poor. In the bonsai world quality is everything.

Some say that the poorest Japanese bonsai tool is better than the best bonsai tool made elsewhere,

I also bought chinese tools when I started this hobby, it is much cheeper, thats what I thought but eventually, I had to replace them with Japanese ones so it came out more expensive.

Buy what you need most first but be sure its Japanese.

I wonder what the Chinese growers have to say about this? There is a well established Penjing culture in China; much older than in Japan. Are they buying the Japanese tools or buying their own (country's) tools?
Food for thought,
Todd

Todd Ellis wrote:I wonder what the Chinese growers have to say about this? There is a well established Penjing culture in China; much older than in Japan. Are they buying the Japanese tools or buying their own (country's) tools?
Food for thought,
Todd

Hmmm.....interesting.

Todd Ellis wrote:I wonder what the Chinese growers have to say about this? There is a well established Penjing culture in China; much older than in Japan. Are they buying the Japanese tools or buying their own (country's) tools?
Food for thought,
Todd

Hi Todd,
Most likely they are using the chinese tools,knowing them 1st it's cheap they can change it anytime cause of its availabilty,I think there are good quality tools that we are not aware of,But something to think about
Regards,
Alex

From my experiences, if u can afford it buy a good set of tools. Otherwise a pair of ordinary gardening scissor, an ordinary plier and a snap-off cutter should be enough.

Cheers.

CJ

Hi there,

We pay peanut, we get monkeys. I bought Chinese stuff if I absolutely had no other choice.

They are much cheaper. Yes, but last for only about one job. Other names (such as Bosch, DeWalt etc...) made in China are not so bad. But still, I will go none Chinese stuff.

My father has some Japanese cutters, he uses quite often for the last 20 years; and still good. I would rather have one good Japanese tool than a dozen bad Chinese ones.

Cheers.

Guess it's good at times having no other choice!
My one and only real bonsai tool is a concave cutter, no doubt chinese, been doing the job well enough for about 3 years. I do however see what everybody is moaning about........

I was gifted a bonsai tool set by my (dear, misguided ) sister that included miniature rakes and spades ( 2 sizes LOL), all the cutters are less than useless.

As with most things in life, putting something like 'bonsai' infront of the tool's name probably doubles the price, there are quality "normal" tools that I use for a fair substitute, but I would gladly invest in quality bonsai tools one day.

At the beginning a pair of snipers and a bypass and an anvil pruners from Fiskar will do the job without expending a fortune.Later Japanese tools can be added little by little.

Bob