I'm a beginner to bonsai and I am getting twig shears and a concave cutter. Are there any good tool brands to buy and what is a good price range for them? Where should I get them from? On an unrelated note, are there any other uses for the twig shears and concave cutter? Are there any other vital tools I should get after?
Thanks for the help in advance.

~Josh

Get a beginner's set, cheap as you can. Probably $150-$200 USD is reasonable. Stainless, plain steel - doesn't matter much. Stainless can be harder to sharpen. Plain steel rusts.. You'll probably ding them up in the beginning whichever you go.

Concave and knob cutters can do most anything you need - super handy. A proper bonsai wire cutter. Bonsai scissors are really good and strong, but any large pair with a sharp point (to get in tight spaces) will do if you need to save cash right now.

Jin pliers are nice, but I still use needle nose pliers for many things (wiring and Jin). The moss/pot knife? - butter knife works just as well. I actually don't use the rake very much these days, but handy. I prefer a strong chopstick or my fingers.

Instead of posting a long reply.. Here is one I wrote last year: www.growingbonsai.net/which-tools-do-i-need/

As for prices.. How many trees do you have. The al cheapo tools work fine for light work (Which you will have initially, I am sure) and with proper care can certainly last a few years. At that point, you have decided whether this is a hobby, with 5 small trees to work on every month or so, or whether it has become an addiction and you are in the garden every night. Which would affect the quality of the tools needed, and the amount of money you want to spend.
My starterkit of tools came with the first real tree I got; It was from a retiring bonsai hobbiest who realized I had just started and allowed me to take all his duplicate tools for free. I think 200 USD is a bit much to shell out initially. I would initially spend money on a concave cutter which is really needed & hard to replace by anything else.

Leatherback,
I really enjoyed the information you shared with me in the article you linked. I will definitely be buying myself a nice(but not too nice) concave cutter and have a nice pair of kitchen scissors to use. Thanks for the article and response you wrote to me. I enjoyed reading and I will be on my way to amazon.com or a bonsai store to buy some tools.
Much appreciated,
Josh

We sell American Bonsai Stainless Steel tools at our nursery. Never have had to sharpen and they don't rust. The also come with a 2 year unconditional warranty. They are made right here in Florida and the company plants a tree for every tool sold.

HOWEVER, I agree with Leatherback & brkirkland22. Just get a cheap set at first. They are half the cost and you WILL damage them until you learn the limits so learn on a cheap set (carbon steel).

This is a great, cheap shears. They are stainless for about 15.00 to 18.00. You don't need 6 different sizes of shears to start. Made by Aesthetic from China.


Next:
Concave cutters...




Jin Pliers


Wire Cutters


Knob Cutters




Shears

Thanks for the help Artisans. I will definitely consider buying your tools after I have more bonsai experience. Thanks for the sharing of basic tools and your help will not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Have a great day(or night)
Josh

FYI..I just started back on this hobby last year. I bought my tools off Amazon for around $40. I also had other tools and build my own turn table. Then I found a 5 gallon bucket and put a paint tool organizer inside of it. Works great, pretty cheap (around $12), and it keeps my basic tools all in one handy carrying bucket.

simplysaid wrote:

Then I found a 5 gallon bucket and put a paint tool organizer inside of it. Works great, pretty cheap (around $12), and it keeps my basic tools all in one handy carrying bucket.

NEVER seen one of those. Cool !