AusBonsai

My kaneshin tools from Japan arrived on Monday morning
I got a-
-21.5 cm concave cutter
-21.5 cm spherical cutter
-7 inch butterfly shears
(The tools were all black metal because stainless cost a kidney)
The were all sharp and mildly oiled. They came with an extra gift (a rust and sap remover) from the owner.
The only thing they can improve on is their finish…
Everyhing else was perfect. I'm looking forward to tending for my bonsais. Spring is coming up
These tools if properly cared for should last me a life time or at least 20 years.

very cool orion
have fun

You should do alright with kaneshin - a very good brand. Those rust and sap removers are brilliant! I even use mine to clean up glazed pots that get salt residue on them.

Leigh Taafe wrote:You should do alright with kaneshin - a very good brand. Those rust and sap removers are brilliant! I even use mine to clean up glazed pots that get salt residue on them.

http://kaneshin-seki.com/crean_mate_use.htm
In here it shows how to use it:)

Thanks Dave.

Very cool tools! I also just got my set, and am very very happy with them. They cut clean as a whistle!!

hi mate,

excellent news! those creanmates are awesome, they are great for cleaning the tools up nice and shiny, but then they need a little wipe over with a liquid called blue steel, you should be able to find it in gun stores, it will restore that black colour to them and it protects them

the creanmates as leigh said are great for cleaning pots too, I have used them on glazed and unglazed alike

Thanks
Do you have the same brand Andrew?
My bonsai's are starting to "awaken"...
I should have a fun time:)
What do I do with the blue steel Jamie?
Do I put it on the crean mate or the tool?

Sure do

hi mate,

its just like an oil/liquid what it does is put the steel back to the black finish, you clean them up with the CreanMate and then with a rag with a little bit of the blue steel it will take the shiny polished metal and give you back the carbon black finish which will help protect your tools.

jamie

I googled blue steel; it came up with a wikipedia topic about bluing steel.
It also mentions something about chemically bluing steel.
Is this what your talking about because I can't seem to find the product you're describing.

hi mate,

some times the names are different, I have found a link to the product I am talking about, Im sure it can be sourced from any good arms dealer (obviously make sure they are legal! ).

the product description in the link describes it better than i can, but this stuff is great for carbon steel tools after using the Creanmate you get that shiny silver finish, wiping this solution on the tools will restore the metal back to the black carbon colour and protect them from rust.

http://secure.armorholdings.com/kleen-b ... ct172.html

jamie

Well thanks for that information. Ive always wondered what they put in the carbon black tools to make them black. Now I got my answer. Though I doubt it'll be easy to find here in NZ.
The shear is VERY sharp by the way...

hi mate


no problems, If you dont have any guns or fire arms stores near your place you should be able to get it sent via post without a problem, there would be countless of items on ebay and plenty of online stores throug ha google search

jamie

Did you guys buy your Kaneshin tools from the Australian dealer http://www.megumibennettbonsai.com ? I just got a few prices from them and they are only about 10-15% mark up compared to the direct prices on the Kaneshin website.