I was just curious, would a sharp army knife be good enough for grafting? The blade seems similar to the grafting knives I see sold at stores.

yes, i would think it could work. i believe a tutorial here shows the uses of a utility knife.

I am not sure about grafting in general... But for T-budding, the shape of the blade should not be important as long as it is razor-sharp and the knife is easy (comfortably) to hold. The tip should be sharp though.

Myself I use a simple cutter and it works well.

thanks

I use a utility knife with a blade that only has an edge on one side. - Millet (776-)

Don't forget about the bark lifters on budding knives, pretty useful for t budding. Otherwise other types of blades can be used. Budding knives are usually bevelled on one side, according to left hand or right hand users. This is required to get a flat cut when removing the buds.
Utility knives etc, bevelled on one side can do the same job.
As with most things, budding knives are specific tools, and perform their job well.

I was probably going to do a cleft graft for the small plants and the bigger one is where I'd like to graft some scions onto to hopefully get a multi citrus fruit in one going. I think I will end up buying the grafting knife with bark lifter on it eventually. Most likely get that when I will try bark grafting.

Hey ron ive used both and i prefer the utility knife method. Very sharp and i dont like to or know how to sharpen a knife to keep it at its peak sharpness. I use a one sided blade and use the back side to lift the bark on t budding.

I learned about the Utility knife with a one sided honed blade from Ned. You can find the one sided blades at Home Depot in the carpet department. People who work with carpets use utility knifes, and use blades that are sharpened on just one side. - Millet (776-)

I often use an old single ply leather belt to put a finnished edge my cutting tool too. I put auto buffing compound (used to buff scratches from automobile paint) on the leather belt, which I think serves the same purpose as GT's green polish, only most rubbing compound I have seen is a rust color.

Ned

Ned,

I think we are using the same good old method to sharpen the blade . I brought my paste back from Russia where we call it Goya paste (perhaps, this name may have a meaning here too) but you are right and the buffing compound should work just fine.

GT,

I think you are right. The rubbing compound helps polish the blade, after sharpening it with a diamond dust embedded sharpening tool. I keep the belt hanging in my greenhouse and use it to touch up the blade on my knife as needed. Normally that is all it needs.

I still use the utility knife Millet mentioned, but when I have a lot of budding to do, I find the knife is easier to work with.

Ned

I keep toying with the idea of starting an online grower's supply company that amongst other things sells grafting knives like the Tina brand. I keep thinking of gardening/growing products that seem like they have great potential, but are hard to get. Take the Rootmaker products that Millet told us about. You've got to buy them by the case and for a backyard gardener that just wants a few sizes from one step to the next it seems like there should be a retail source for that without buying a case.

Also thought about the possibility of selling bare root trees locally. We have plenty of wholesale growers nearby and as winter sets in and my gardening hobby slows down, it would give me the ability to do something else to do that I'd enjoy. My problem is though I already have a full time job that pays well. Do I really want another hobby?

Phillip