Bonsai Scissors For A Newbie

[James N]

Hi,
I got into bonsai over the winter and am looking for a pair of general purpose scissors I can hopefully use for many years.

- Kikuwa 200mm Carbon Steel (~$50, bonsaibetter)
- Hanzo 200mm Stainless Steel (~$60, bonsaishop)
- Ryuga 201mm Stainless Steel (~$60 bonsaisensation)

My main question is what is the better type of steel, and if anyone has had experience with those brands.
Will appreciate any help or comments

Thanks.

[SuperBonSaiyan]

I'm new as well. I have a pair of Kikuwa and a pair someone gifted me from Japan. Not sure of brand.

They both work great. The finish is slightly better on the Kikuwa, but I find functionally they're identical.

No complaints with the Kikuwa. Once it got a bit loose and I really hammered it back into my desired firmness.

I've also read good things about Kaneshin.

I prefer carbon steel as they're easier to sharpen (and I don't mind sharpening).

[Bougy Fan]

I would go with the Ryuga - they are made in China but great quality. I also use and recommend Tian tools - if you buy from the manufacturer they ship for free. I am full stainless steel now and would never go back to carbon steel. I am not so sure about this perception that Stainless tools are harder to sharpen. I feel it may have applied to Stainless steel tool from many years ago.

[delisea]

Hi James,
Go the stainless steel. Unless you are fastidious high carbon steel can be a pain. It is more important to actually sharpen your tools. It is possible to get a sharper edge with high carbon steel, but you are cutting twigs not sushi so IMO what is the point?

I use Kaneshin. They are excellent but a well maintained cheaper pair will be just as good.Try to get a pair that you can easily tighten. I cut wire with mine (yes I know poor form) and need to adjust them sometimes.

There is some good info here:
https://kaneshin.shop2.multilingualcart ... 7-163.html

Cheers
Symon

[Trimmy]

Is there a benefit of scissors over pruners? I have a branch cutter and a knob cutter and clearly they are essential. (yes, another newbie)

[SuperBonSaiyan]

Scissors are lighter and more precise (for cutting buds/twigs).

I bought these to try recently and like them. Very cheap compared to other bonsai specific tools.

https://www.amazon.com.au/CHIKAMASA-B-3 ... ROF5IWQ41I

[Bonsai-En]

Hi James,

I will leave some of our resources here for you so you can do some reading on all things Bonsai Tools.

Ultimate Guide On Tools ( learn about the common tools used ) https://bonsai-en.shop/blogs/tips/the-u ... nsai-tools

A Guide On Japanese Steels ( learn why they last a life time ) https://bonsai-en.shop/blogs/buyers-gui ... sai-tools

A Guide On Scissors https://bonsai-en.shop/blogs/buyers-gui ... yers-guide

Also you mentioned the Kikuwa 200mm scissors for $50, Dont over pay for them. We sell them for $36.99
https://bonsai-en.shop/products/kikuwa-bonsai-scissors

[Matty7]

I have Ryuga stainless steel stuff and they are great for the price. I'm very happy with them.

I couldn't justify spending almost twice the price for Japanese stuff.

[thoglette]

It is more important to actually sharpen your tools. It is possible to get a sharper edge with high carbon steel, but you are cutting twigs not sushi so IMO what is the point?

There’s stainless and there’s stainless.

Random stainless is likely to be as soft as butter and impossible to keep sharp.

Then there are proper knife grade S/steels like AUS-10, VG-10 etc. They can get and hold an edge but they tend to be brittle.

Then there’s fake stainless, labelled as the good stuff (eg proper marine grade 316) but which turns out to be whatever was cheapest that week.

Short version: know what sort of steel you want to live with (for each tool) and buy from a reputable vendor who supplies what you want.