• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bonsai Tonight

An educational website about bonsai development

  • Blog
    • How-to Guides
  • Podcast
  • Shop
    • Bonsai
    • Books
    • Soil
    • Soil (wholesale)
    • Supplies
    • Tools
    • Video Consulting
    • Northern California Bonsai Resources
  • About
    • Workshops

Basic Bonsai Tools

June 12, 2012 by Jonas Dupuich

Part of the fun of visiting large bonsai exhibits is shopping in the vendor area. Sometimes there are hundreds of shiny, new tools for sale. After taking a good look at each, I usually tell myself – or try to anyway – that I have enough for the time being. And sometimes that works.

The reality is that I rarely use more than a handful of tools when I’m working on my trees. (I’ll cover repotting tools in a future post.) My short list of essential bonsai tools includes scissors, wire cutters, pliers, branch cutters, and tweezers.

Basic tools

Basic bonsai tools

Scissors made for bonsai are great for detail work and they fit well in the hand. I can’t think of a workshop during which I failed to reach for my scissors.

Scissors

Bonsai scissors

Wiring bonsai typically requires wire cutters and pliers. Wire cutters come in a variety of sizes, some made for large wires, others for small wires. Pliers too come in a variety of styles. Just about any can work well for bonsai, including the hardware store variety.

Wire cutters

Wire cutters

Pliers

Pliers

Branch cutters come in many styles. Of the cutters pictured below, I get the most use out of the third pair from the left.

Concave and other cutters

Branch cutters

Cutter profiles

Different styles of branch cutters

Tweezers are a must have for working with black or red pines. I use tweezers for other varieties as well, but not as often as I do for pines.

Tweezers

Tweezers

You may have noticed the blue stripes on my tools. Anyone who has lost a tool at a workshop knows why. The easier it is to identify your tools, the easier it is to keep track of them.

Electrical tape

Electrical tape – simple ID system for tools

I find it hard to write about bonsai tools without mentioning little brooms and chopsticks. Chopsticks are the most versatile tools I carry around with me. Little brooms are fun and help out a lot during repotting season.

Little brooms

Little brooms

Chop sticks

Chopsticks

Although I have a fair selection of bonsai tools, I’m not a very good tool snob. Scissors need to be sharp, not expensive; pliers – effective, not pretty. And if I’m not sure that I need a new tool, I don’t hesitate to do some research before buying. I talk to teachers, vendors, and friends who have used the tools. I ask about sizes and styles and brands and any other criteria about which I’m not too sure. I check what’s available, and occasionally my budget, and then make the purchase. I also try to keep the following idea in mind – the less I spend on tools, the more I can spend on trees!

There are plenty of other tools I could have mentioned from chisels to grafting knifes to leaf cutters – are there others you find to be “essential”?

Subscribe to Bonsai Tonight

New Posts Delivered Every Tuesday and Friday

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit

Filed Under: Bonsai Care Tagged With: Tools

Previous Post: « New bonsai tools from Japan
Next Post: Basic bonsai tool care »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marty says

    June 12, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    When asked by new members for the most important tools I list brain, fingers, chopstick, and tweezers/bent tip forceps first. I then suggest a pair of bypass style pruners, needle nose pliers, and diagonal cutters. A pair of florist scissors and finally a pair of concave cutters. 9 tools with 1 specific to bonsai to get them started. Once they really engage in the hobby they can add the bonsai versions that do a slightly better job.

    I have several pairs of florist scissors around that are cheap, nice and sharp, and have plastic coated handles so I use them for a lot of coarse pruning. Overall I like your list and agree with you about the ones I use most (except for the brooms – I guess I am just not that tidy).

  2. Jonas Dupuich says

    June 12, 2012 at 6:56 pm

    Thanks Marty – I think that’s a great approach. Start out with general tools that do the job and move up to the specialized tools in good time.

    btw, I don’t use the broom much either – just thought it would be fun to mention.

    Best,
    Jonas

  3. Steve Moore says

    June 13, 2012 at 4:43 am

    The single tool I use (and value) most is a pair of needle-nosed shears from Masakuni; they’re originally made as floral shears, but they work wonderfully for bonsai!

    I got my pair 20 years ago at the ABS ’92 Symposium, mainly on the advice of Bruce Baker.

  4. Ravz689 says

    June 18, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    Thanks for this post! It really helped me with my selection for my first tools! I look forward to reading more.

Footer

Follow Bonsai Tonight

Subscribe

Instagram ● Facebook ● Twitter
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Shop
  • About

P.O. Box 6560, Alameda, CA 94501 · 510-915-2025 · jonas (at) bonsaitonight (dot) com

© Copyright 2009-2025 Bonsai Tonight · All rights reserved · Privacy · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can opt-out if you wish. Accept Decline Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT