Hardware

Why I resist the urge to buy specialty tools.

Every hobby has its hardware, and for the beginning hobbyist, there’s always a temptation to invest in it. Bonsai isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve bought and sold enough teapots to know that it’s wise to wait on buying hardware. The early phase of a hobby is like an adolescence; your goalposts and possibilities are in constant flux. As you go deeper down the rabbit hole, priorities shift and budgets recontextualize. Six months after you buy an all-in-one kit of tools, you may realize you only need a fraction of your set and it’s better to purchase them a la carte.

In my first year of bonsai, my only tools were a pair of utility scissors and a carpentry saw. I bought copper wire and bonsai soil online as needed. At my dad’s I used basic garden shears. Most of my (rapidly expanding) budget was reserved for trees.

Now my spaces are at capacity. I’m not even letting myself look at trees currently on auction. At the same time I think I’ve learned enough of the basics to warrant a hardware purchase I won’t immediately regret. Thanks to a generous gift from an aunt I had a gift certificate to cash in at a bonsai supply website. I decided to take the plunge on some basic bonsai tools.

There’s lots of hubbub online about (dis)reputable bonsai tool brands and the advantages of carbon or stainless steel. The intensity of these debates reminds me of similar forum chatter about chef’s knives, grills, or sports equipment. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and all the arguments eventually wash together. It’s also on you to decide when enough is enough.

My advice to beginning hobbyists is this: You’re going to be clueless for a good long while. Spend money on better materials (trees, tea, I don’t know what else people buy) and scrounge for everything else. No matter how much buying a tool feels like a milestone marker, over time the other side of that purchase will feel like an increasingly goofy reminder of how much you once overestimated your competency.

All that said…I’ve been using the tools above for a few months and must come clean. They’re real nice. The trimmers allow for precise cuts; pruning crowded branches is a pleasure. The branch-pincers on the left leave a concave divot in a tree, which heals faster and cleaner. Since I’ve been using them, my trees look more mature with better defined profiles. All three tools are made from carbon steel. They’ll require maintenance to keep sharp, but their edges cut wood like butter.

I’m glad I bought them. I’m glad I waited, too, because now I know that these trimmers are all I’ll need for the next leg of my bonsai hobby.

Google has changed its search algorithm to prioritize shopping content, so forgive me for putting in some SEO copy here for The Best Bonsai Tools, Trimmers, Cutters 2022 deals best attributes Japanese carbon steel Shop Now.

I hope that helps get this message out. From years in the food media mines I can tell you what all the talk about chef’s knives comes down to: use a tool you like that fits well in your hands. Whatever you choose is probably fine if you don’t chase a gimmick. That’s it. Anyone who presses you harder is being weird about it or wants to sell you something.

Of course for the Enthusiast there’s more to it. There’s always another layer down the fractal. But the knife you use matters way less than what you cook with it. Hardware is more of an aesthetic choice than we’d like to admit.

Next week I’ll continue the hardware theme with notes on the totally function-driven, not-at-all-aesthetics-focused world of bonsai pottery. Doesn’t this ficus look handsome in its new pot? Chingwen Chen does beautiful work!

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Tree reading

Speaking of figs, behold these tremendous ficus bonsai by the artist Ke Chengkun. [WeChat]

A symbolic history of the pomegranate tree and its fruit. [LitHub]