Reddit reviews ARS SA-IK10R Bonsai and Ikebana Saw
We found 2 Reddit comments about ARS SA-IK10R Bonsai and Ikebana Saw. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Specifically designed for ikebana and bonsai pruningFeatures very fine toothing perfect for sawing small bonsai stemsSlender blades fits tight spotsChemical nickel finish on blade for rust and sap resistance
Here is what I use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EQAY0Y
It cuts fast and effortlessly. I've actually been using it to quickly cut up 2x4s lately. The blade is only 4 inches long but it can handle a lot.
I've gotten a dozen or so blood blisters from pinching my fingers in my butterfly shears. Maybe I'm an idiot, I don't know, but I much prefer the long shears for that reason. They also reach between branches easier. Honestly, I do a lot of pruning with my ARS bypass pruners (regular gardening shears), but bonsai shears come in handy when defoliating trees.
> It seems like you want a concave cut when you snip off most branches, but the knob cutter can be used to finely trim down a larger branch nub.
Yep, that's the biggest difference. When I first started someone told me it's better to get a pair of concave cutters and a pair of knob cutters, but to ignore the rounded concave cutters. I've not yet run into a situation where I wished I had rounded concave cutters.
Kaneshin makes some very nice, but very expensive bonsai tools. I can't afford them, but this page has some interesting info. Specifically the part where it says what size branches you can cut with concave cutters. That a branch can only be maximum half the length of the blade. If you cut something 3/4 the size of the cutter's blade, you stand a good chance of ruining the tool. I ruined several bonsai tools when I first started, because I was always trying to cut branches too big for the tools I had. For large branches, I now use a small folding saw.