Omega grafting using a hand tool

I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to grafting, using a knife a secateurs. However I was asked why I did not use the new ‘Hand Tool’ for grafting. So I thought I would give it a go.

This version of the tool is a lot better than the previous one, as this has multiple plastic anvils. You have to ensure the rootstock and scions are lined up centrally in the tool, otherwise you get offset joints. Its the cambium layer you have to line up not the outside diameter of the rootstock/scion.

The up side is

1 – You can do a graft quickly

2 – You cut a lot of scions very quickly

The downsides are

1 – Anvil still needs changing

2 – I cannot find a source of new blades. But tool is so cheap, throw it away a buy a new one. Blade is fiddly to change

3 – The actual graft joint is tapered, as the blade is sharpened on the wrong side (dependent as to which way you look at it).

Photo of scions being cut. The top still needs cutting flush.

Here is a photo of a resultant graft.

The question I am asking myself is would I use it again ?? The honest answer is no, I have had too many failures.