cranny wrote:

Tbh the only things you need are cutters( i use regular rose pruning ones ), wire cutters, a knife can be useful, and of course wire:cheer: none of these have to be expensive. As you become more experienced and try out more advanced tequniques, you will certainly need more tools, but i believe those are the core ones. Good luck!

Sorry, but rose cutters just don't cut it once you really start to do bonsai.

Buy a good pair of pruning shear and concave cutter. The cheap one wears out fast.

Quite a few of the tools available on bonsai sites have equivalent tools from local sources much cheaper. Soil scoops for $20 or so or measuring cups for $2. Brushes for $30 or vegetable brushes for $5, etc. Tool carriers the same.

The wire cutters that snip wire off aren't available anywhere I have found here. Soil sifters might be replaceable with something, but I tried several things and gave up. Concave cutters aren't available here. Little bitty snippers are just scissors; I have used old fingernail clippers pretty well.

Look at the function you need to perform and see what you can get for a reasonable price. There was a video online of a motorized soil sifter, four cylinders of chicken wire of different size that rotated dropping smaller and smaller pieces and finally sifting out dust. That is probably more than you want to do.