Cleaning of new tools

[Tinyjames]

I was going to ask how to clean my tools and found a post with info I needed

99% Isopropanol to clean of oil and cam oil to store tools after use

 

[RJG2]

Isopropyl alcohol will disinfect.

Olive oil is good for getting sap off (tools and hands)

For stubborn sap and rust stains, you can use a sap eraser:

Sap Eraser Set for Bonsai Tools, Medium and Soft Grade

【Free Shipping to the United States】Made in Japan | Removes sap, rust, scratches and stains that might have accumulated on the blades of your bonsai tools and scissors. Also suitable for rusty knives, chisels, saw blades, steel items. Sap eraser can be cut by cutter knife and resize the shape to...

wazakurajapan.com

Many oils will work for storage, camellia oil and WD40 are both commonly used.

 

[Maiden69]

While that Wazakura set may be nice, it is overly priced. I've been using this set for years, it is the same grit as the Wazakura set. The sap eraser is nothing more than a rust eraser from Japan used extensively for kitchen cutlery.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FS0BFJC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As far as oil, I use what I have on hand, WD40 is great, but it evaporates with time. If you don't use the tools often use an oil grade that is not a "penetrant" oil.

 

[RJG2]

While that Wazakura set may be nice, it is overly priced.

Maybe, but I added @Bonsai Nut's referral code to that link, so it supports this website

 

[Bonsai Nut]

For sap, nothing removes it better than turpentine... which is distilled pine sap

 

[bwaynef]

I'd long used butter (and margarine) to remove sap from my hands after my summer decandling sessions. It gets it off easily, but then you've got to get the butter off your hands. At Boon's he had hand sanitizer to get rid of sap. Worked as well as the butter, ...and evaporates. (My wife's Young Living Peppermint hand sanitizer might also be the best smell in the world.)

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

I use a creanmate block with camelia oil to clean my tools (mostly on the scissors I use).

 

[Deleted member 47471]

I used Lysol wipes on all my tools today, wiped down with paper towels. Then soaked with 70% Isopropyl Alcohol, brushed gently with soft unused toothbrush, then wiped with paper towel. I’ve had my tools less than one year and had not cleaned them previously l. But having pruned away plenty of foliage and interior branches likely infected with a fungus (some tips were black on Hinoki Cypress) with my bonsai scissors, I wanted to be sure I cleaned them before using them again, and on another tree (though I have two pairs).