[alikat]

For Christmas I wanted to buy my boyfriend a bonsai tool kit, but not knowing anything about Bonsai apart from what he has told me I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction of what is good to get him and maybe a reliable source?

Thank you again

[slothrop]

It depends on a few things. Is he new to bonsai?

You could get him a starter kit for anywhere from $40 to $100 depending on the brand. Everyone I've talked to seems to go for Joshua Roth stuff, but there are a lot of different brands available. If you search for "Joshua Roth Kit" on amazon it should yield some results. Same with eBay, for that matter. Otherwise, since JR is a little expensive sometimes, if you wanted to go a cheaper route, you could always just search for "Bonsai Tool Set," or, more vaguely, "Bonsai Kit," and you can find something.

Do you know what he plans to do? If he's just getting into it, he would be good with a starter set and a chop stick (no, seriously, get him a chop stick. It's good for a lot of things. ).

[Treefan]

Hi, From long experience, I'll suggest that you concentrate on what really matters, as opposed to getting a kit with lots of tricks for either not enough money to have any of them worthwhile, or so much that you'll be unnecessarily broke. Far and away the most important thing is a 'concave cutter', about 8" long, and $50. to infinity. Good ones are good for life if taken care of, and Joshua Roth are good, though others are available. Apart from those, annealed copper wire, or aluminum wire are good, but then you'd need a variety of guages, which can be hard to choose without knowing what he's working on. Other than that, I've been able (for decades) to get away with everything from long, narrow bladed manicure scissors for pruning tiny stems, my own fingers for 'root hooks' which can tear roots otherwise, and all kinds of things not called "bonsai". It's the cutter that counts and you'd be far better off to spend just on that than a cute rolled up thingy with a lot of other tools that probably won't last a year and aren't really needed.

[slothrop]

..........Touché.

You could also shop around for some pots.. I've seen some really cool pots in made by this guy Tony Remington in Sheffield that would make for a great Christmas present.

http://www.bonsaipotsuk.com/

[mudman]

The most important arsenal to a bonsai hobbyist, beside knowledge is a good bonsai tool kit! Each tool has a specific purpose and worth the investment!
I've had this set for 8 years now, it is good quality and an excellent value, made from quality Japanese steel....
http://www.dallasbon...lack-metal.html

[alikat]

thank you all so much for your help, he has been looking after bonsai for about a year but has over the last few months started to actually get into bonsai and get some starter trees so i wanted to get him a tool kit for christmas which would help him with that, and also any other 'things' like wire etc that he would need to get the tree that I brought him going.

The pot site is great, but I wouldn't know where to start on buying him those, so I may just send him the link and then see which ones he talks about the most.

Thank you again for your help

[shiloh1]

Another idea is a subscription to a bonsai magazine - hubbie got me one when I was just starting, and I loved it - still have all my old mags!

[alikat]

Slothrop, I was wondering if you could help me with another question I have.

I went on the Bonsai Pots site, and they have some lovely pots on there, I resently recived a San Jose Juniper for my boyfriend for Christmas and wanted to get a pot off there, but being useless at Bonsai myself was wondering if there was a certain pot I would need for this tree, and if size matters etc....all I picked up from what he wanted to do with the tree is cascading??? The tree is raw material if that helps at all...and again sorry for the very little information I have regarding bonsai.

Thanks

[jkl]

Quote

Another idea is a subscription to a bonsai magazine - hubbie got me onewhen I was just starting, and I loved it - still have all my old mags!

That is the absolute best suggestion here yet. I recommend International Bonsai Magazine. It has step-by-step articles that are great for beginner and expert alike. www.internationalbonsai.com

[Treefan]

Hi, I'm not Slothrop, but I can tell you that when it comes to pots, there's a lot that matters re the individual tree, and I would strongly advise you to find out if the store/site has gift certificates, rather than buying him a specific pot. For one thing, good bonsai are often not put into pots until they've been trained and grown for a number of years, then there is of course the question of size, shape, etc. etc. and different materials are better for different trees. You'd be a lot better off to not try to match pots to existing new trees, but instead give him the option of choosing his own. I also recommend Bonsaimonk.com, of Bonsai by the Monastery, because they have pots which, while not being fancy display ones for finished trees, are a big step up from cheap plastic ones small trees often come in. They're called mica pots, and are just about unbreakable, lighter than pottery, conservative in color (dark brown, etc.) and are tiny to huge, all bonsai shapes and sizes, and are terrific for growing trees while working on them for years before they go into the final ones.

[alikat]

Treefan, on 10 November 2009 - 08:46 PM, said:

Hi, I'm not Slothrop, but I can tell you that when it comes to pots, there's a lot that matters re the individual tree, and I would strongly advise you to find out if the store/site has gift certificates, rather than buying him a specific pot. For one thing, good bonsai are often not put into pots until they've been trained and grown for a number of years, then there is of course the question of size, shape, etc. etc. and different materials are better for different trees. You'd be a lot better off to not try to match pots to existing new trees, but instead give him the option of choosing his own. I also recommend Bonsaimonk.com, of Bonsai by the Monastery, because they have pots which, while not being fancy display ones for finished trees, are a big step up from cheap plastic ones small trees often come in. They're called mica pots, and are just about unbreakable, lighter than pottery, conservative in color (dark brown, etc.) and are tiny to huge, all bonsai shapes and sizes, and are terrific for growing trees while working on them for years before they go into the final ones.

That's brilliant thank you, I only thought about getting a pot as the tree has come in one of those standard plastic plant pots and thought he may want to put it straight into a traning pot or something while he starts working on it as you can see I know nothing ...