Wire cutters

[Robert E Holt]

I'm looking to buy a good set of wire cutters. Looking at all that are available it's hard to figure out what to buy. I'm looking at the Kaneshin cutters. Thinking of starting with the #20 cutter since it can cut up to 14 gauge wire. However, I'm thinking that maybe something longer that make it easier o cut smaller wire from delicate branches might be a better investment.

Any thoughts before I buy? What is a common size that others use? Is there a particular range of wire sizes that get used most often?

 

[barrosinc]

I just love the 511 Kaneshin. Easier to cut the wire without damaging the bark.

 

[Paradox]

I'm looking to buy a good set of wire cutters. Looking at all that are available it's hard to figure out what to buy. I'm looking at the Kaneshin cutters. Thinking of starting with the #20 cutter since it can cut up to 14 gauge wire. However, I'm thinking that maybe something longer that make it easier o cut smaller wire from delicate branches might be a better investment.

Any thoughts before I buy? What is a common size that others use? Is there a particular range of wire sizes that get used most often?

That is too small. 14 wire is small. You should have something that can cut up to at least 6 or 8 gauge wire. In case you arent aware, wire size is inverse to gauge. So gauge 22 is smaller than gauge 8

 

[Bunjeh]

I am so not cool. I went to Lowe's and got a pack of wire cutters for $9.99 and they work great. Of course, all my clothes come from Costco.

 

[Robert E Holt]

I just love the 511 Kaneshin. Easier to cut the wire without damaging the bark.

Do they really cut 4 AWG wire? That's better than the #22 they only do 14 AWG.

 

[Robert E Holt]

That is too small. 14 wire is small. You should have something that can cut up to at least 6 or 8 gauge wire. In case you arent aware, wire size is inverse to gauge. So gauge 22 is smaller than gauge 8

Yea, I'm an electrical engineer, very familiar with wire sizes. I have mostly been using 12 and 14 AWG wire. I was thinking I actually needed to be using some smaller wire for fine wiring. Hard to imagine 6 AWG being effective. Aren't branches that would need that heavy of wire kind of brittle?

 

[Paradox]

Ive used up to 10 and 8 on some pines and junipers. Unless you are only going to grow very small shohin or only wire the very ends of branches, you're going to need larger than 14 wire.
I use a small tipped cutter that I bought from Home Depot (cant find a picture of it atm). If youre careful you wont damage the tree with them when you cut the wire.

 

[Robert E Holt]

OK, I can see that on pines, they are pretty flexible even when they thicken up. I've been messing with Azaleas. They get pretty brittle when they harden off.

The Kaneshen #511 look like a pretty good tool. It gets me well past what I am using now. Thinking about getting the #20d as well (maybe later). Long reach for finer wire on small Azalea branches.

Thanksgiving all for the help.

 

[Eric Group]

The 511 is the one I bought and it is the best tool I own.

 

[Adair M]

I know everyone is going to disagree with me, but spinning the old wire off is more effective than cutting it off. Especially the small wire. Larger wire, size 10 and larger, you can cut off in chunks if you like. I can usually spin off 8 and 10 gauge. 6 and 4, I cut off.

Why is it better to unspin it? A couple reasons. If you cut it off in chunks, there's a chance you'll leave some wire on. Especially in the crotches. I rewireed an old juniper recently, and found a chunk of wire that had been there a LONG time. The tree had healed over a portion of it, and it made a pretty oh god mess of the tree.

Another reason: if the wire has been on there a while, it may have started "cutting in". Well, wire doesn't cut in. The branch swells around wire. Sometimes the wire has swollen to the extent that the wire appears "imbedded. There's just no way to cut the wire when it's imbedded even without doing damage to the tree. So, you have to unspin it.

And, you don't leave little chunks of wire all over the soil surface.

 

[whfarro]

As with every question, the answer is..."it depends". What are your needs and what is your budget? I started out with Kaneshin #22A wire cutters because they met my needs. My trees tended to be smaller, deciduous (mostly maples) and thus I used appropriate sized, mostly aluminum wire. The #22A serves me well.

As I expanded my interests, larger more established trees, now including JBP and JRP and using larger gauge copper wire, I saw the need to also purchase larger / stronger wire cutters. Thus I also now have the Kaneshin #511.

I have found Kaneshin tools to be of high quality at a reasonable price.

 

[sorce]

everyone

Not me.

In fact, I'll add,
When spinning off wire,

you don't get shot in the face with bits,
you don't bend your branches when you can't get a good angle, doesn't matter if they're sharp if you don't get the right angle.

Easy clean up and recycle.

I use these cutters. Mostly because I strip my own wire, and cut it to size before use.

@Adair M. I wonder if you can shoot a video of Boon unwiring.
I'll try and make one, I may have a Sargents getting dewired this fall.

@Robert E Holt I read or heard recently of professionals using small bolt cutters for clean cuts through really big wire. I'm with that.

Because you Probly have regular cutters and such, I'd look for something with a thin neck you can get inside with if need be.

Sorce

 

[Adair M]

Sorce,

I don't have a video of Boon retiring, but that's the first thing he teaches when he teaches "wiring". Before you ever wire a tree at Boon's, you have to unwire a tree.

I do have a couple of photos of Akio Kondo and Uchi in the process of unwiring.


The technique is to grab the little "hook" of the wire at the end with Jin pliers. Support the branch and wire one turn back on the tree. Spin the pliers. Move the support hand one turn closer to the trunk. Spin pliers. Until you get back to the anchor point. Then find the other end of the wire, and repeat the process. Then pull the wire out of the tree.

If it's copper, you can't reuse it. I sell it to s recycler.

 

[M. Frary]

If it's copper, you can't reuse it.

Sure you can. I anneal longer ones pieces again and re use them.

 

[Robert E Holt]

Thanks for the help folks. I also un-wire and re-use my wire. I use copper and anneal it in my grill or with a mapgass tourch. There have been some cases were un-wiring was a problem and I needed to cut the wire, or I started with too long a wire. It sounds like the Kaneshin #20d and the #511 would make a good combination. The side cutters I have work OK for the larger stuff but are hard to get into tight spots for the lighter stuff, so I might start with the #20d. They are long and narrow and look like they would be good for working on Azaleas. I haven't found them on ebay yet, but from Kaneshin they are around $42 at the current exchange rate. Not sure what taxes and shipping will add. I can save on shipping if I buy both now.

 

[jk_lewis]

Whether you un-wire or cut also depends on he size of the tree you are working on. It is easier to un-wire a large tree than it is to unwire a small one because you have less likelihood of doing major damage to the heavier branches. With small tree, it is very easy to smap a branch as you unwind crooked twisted lengths of wire.

The key factor in choosing a wire cutter is one that can cut at the TIP. For these, I've found that Sears' wire cutters work equally as well as fancy cutters with the word "bonsai" appended to them. Been using one for nearly 4 years now.

 

[Robert E Holt]

Well, I just pulled the trigger. Saved some money and bought both the #20d and the #511 direct from the Kaneshin website. Less than $100 for both. If they are as good as I hear, I think I will be very happy with them.

 

[Bunjeh]

Do they really cut 4 AWG wire? That's better than the #22 they only do 14 AWG.

Yup.

 

[Eric Group]

I know everyone is going to disagree with me, but spinning the old wire off is more effective than cutting it off. Especially the small wire. Larger wire, size 10 and larger, you can cut off in chunks if you like. I can usually spin off 8 and 10 gauge. 6 and 4, I cut off.

Why is it better to unspin it? A couple reasons. If you cut it off in chunks, there's a chance you'll leave some wire on. Especially in the crotches. I rewireed an old juniper recently, and found a chunk of wire that had been there a LONG time. The tree had healed over a portion of it, and it made a pretty oh god mess of the tree.

Another reason: if the wire has been on there a while, it may have started "cutting in". Well, wire doesn't cut in. The branch swells around wire. Sometimes the wire has swollen to the extent that the wire appears "imbedded. There's just no way to cut the wire when it's imbedded even without doing damage to the tree. So, you have to unspin it.

And, you don't leave little chunks of wire all over the soil surface.

I agree Adair and generally do unwind the small wire, especially Al. Copper is really hard to unwind though, and even at small gauges you can risk breaking the branch or causing damage to the bark while trying to unwind. The other advantage to unwinding Al wire is you can reuse it sometimes! Shocking to some purists who have money to burn I am sure... But wire is hard for me to find without ordering online and it can get a bit pricey. I reuse some of the small wire I unwind from time to time and with Al it works just as good the second time without needing to be annealed again. Copper is so hard after it sets, not only is it difficult to unwind but it has to be annealed again if you want to try to reuse it...

The other thing that makes it easier to cut off though is- sometimes when you apply the wire, you are doing it to a freshly trimmed tree with somewhat sparse growth on it, or a deciduous tree that is dormant perhaps... And by the time you remove the wire, your tree may have grown a bunch of new foliage which is suddenly very close to the wire and easily broken off as you try to unwind it! In those cases, when removing large wire and generally most any size of copper, I am using my wire cutters to take it off... Which is about 40-50% of the time I am removing wire I'd say.. So it is a very important tool I have found.

Someone mentioned having bought just some regular hardware store wire cutters, and those are fine when applying wire. To cut it to shape... BUT, after believe the same thing and using regular wire cutters for years, I found that there really is so ring to the rounded tips Bonsai wire cutters have. The hardware store tools almost all have a sharp, pointed tip and to get it in close enough to the tree to cut the wire all the way that tip will invariably bite into the bark much more often than the rounded tip cutters you get for Bonsai, AND the long, thin design of the Bonsai tool allows you to get into tight/ tough to reach spots that the hardware store tools are just not made to get into.. May seem like minor reasons to spend extra on a tool, but once you get a BUNCH of trees that need wire removed, you will be glad you have a good set of cutters to do it! The Kaneshin tool is very high quality IMO and not that expensive compared to other quality Bonsai tools.

 

[jk_lewis]

both the #20d and the #511 direct from the Kaneshin website. Less than $100 for both.

On the other hand, my Sears wire cutters -- which do the exact same thing -- cost me $5 a number of years ago. Likely $15 now, but STILL . . .

That one word -- bonsai -- adds Many dollars to a price.