Grafting knife

The vine grafting knife is a straight budding knife with a 5 cm (2in) steel blade set in an ebonite handle. It is used for bud grafts, one of the most commonly used grafting techniques, as it is quite simple and causes less damage to the plant than whip grafting, bevel grafting, or cleft grafting. It is mainly practised on grapevines, fruit trees, shrubs, and roses, as their pith is often fragile and does not tolerate cleft grafting well. It is particularly recommended for stone fruit trees!

Dimensions: blade: 5 mm (0in) - total length: 155 mm (6in)

This vine grafting knife is a small handheld tool with an extremely sharp, pointed, and relatively short steel blade for ease of use. It is used for grafting plants, which allows for the production of plants identical to the scion while benefiting from the qualities of the chosen rootstock. This practice is reserved for experienced gardeners and professionals, as it requires good technical mastery. However, with this knife and the tips below, you can achieve successful grafts. This particular knife is mainly used for bud grafting, which is primarily practised on grapevines, fruit trees, and roses. It involves taking "buds" from the plant to be multiplied, namely a bud located on a healthy and medium-sized branch of the desired plant, known as the scion.

The first piece of advice is to wear gloves, as grafting in general requires precise and quick movements with a perfectly sharpened tool.

To achieve good results with this type of grafting, it is best if the scion and rootstock have similar diameters.

August Shield Budding:

On the rootstock: at the desired height for grafting, use the sharp part of the knife to trace a T. With the grafting knife's spatula, lift the bark on both sides of the T to expose the cambium (the most vital part of the plant where sap flows, allowing for fusion). Be careful, as a properly sharpened budding knife is very sharp, so you must be cautious not to cut your thumb instead of the rootstock.

On the scion: choose a bud and cut the leaf, leaving a centimetre of petiole. With the budding knife, start two centimetres above the bud and slide along the stem to lift the cambium to about 1 cm (0in) below the bud. Once the shield is removed, insert it into the T on the rootstock, paying attention to the direction of insertion, with the leaf pointing upwards. Gently compress the shield so that the two cambiums come into contact. Trim the excess shield protruding from the incision so that the ligature completely encloses the graft. For dormant bud shield budding (the shield adheres throughout the winter), you can completely cover the bud. In spring, you will need to prune the rootstock above the graft so that the bud can emerge. You can repeat the operation on the opposite side of the rootstock stem to achieve a balanced head during regrowth.