Are Bonsai Tools Safe For Beginners To Use Without Professional Training?

Beginners are often wary about using bonsai tools and there is no need to worry. Using the tools is very simple, you will not have any problems using them and you do not need a professional to train you.

However, knowing why you should be using the tool is more important and this does require some training. You can go to a professional, but I will also point you in the right direction and that should be more than enough to really get you started and give you some confidence to use you bonsai tools properly, at the right time.

Bonsai Tools Are Like Any Other Gardening Tool

When you take a step back and look at the majority of bonsai tools, they really are very similar to the average gardening tool and this means you do not really need much training to use them.

The only real difference is the bonsai tools may be shaped slightly differently, especially at the cutting edge and this so you can cut at a slightly differently angle to a “normal” tool.

Using The Tools Is Easy

Really if you can use a pair of scissors, then you can use bonsai tools. Most of the tools have that similar style of hinged engineering that allow you to easily open and close a cutting blade like a pair of scissors.

Using bonsai tools is very simple and very natural. You will pick them up and just know instinctively how to operate them.

Anything that doesn’t fall into that category is going to be equally as easy to use, so there is nothing to worry about, you don’t need a professional to show you how to use them.

90% Of The Work I Do Is With Scissors

When I think about the bonsai work I do, the vast majority of it is done with just a pair of scissors …like, actual scissors.

Most of the pruning I do is with a normal pair of scissors that you might already have in your house. I also have a separate pair I use for root work, but I honestly think if you give me just 1 pair of scissors I could pretty much nearly do everything I need to do.

Bonsai are quite small and the branches that need pruned are usually thin enough for scissors to handle.

There really is nothing to be intimated about when it comes to bonsai tools.

Knowing When To Use The Tool Is More Important

I think using the tools themselves are not the issue, like I said, if you can use scissors then you can use bonsai tools. The real issue is knowing when you should be using the tools and this takes a little bit of studying.

If you give me poor quality tools, I would still be able to prune a tree to a much better standard than a total beginner who had all the worlds’ best quality tools … and that is simply because they are lacking the knowledge about what they should actually be pruning.

You need to learn about the principles of pruning. This means you need to know what parts of the tree you should be removing and why. This is going to make sure you are actually pruning the right parts at the right time, which is far more important that the actual physical action of cutting itself.

You can learn how to do this by reading – How To Prune A Bonsai Tree – A Beginners Guide. This will show you what you should be looking for when you are sitting down and pruning your tree. Once you are comfortable with this, selecting the right tool for the job will be fairly natural.

You could also go and take a course with a professional, but they are going to give you the same information as I will in the guide I just mentioned.

Bonsai isn’t a very hard hobby and once you know what you need to do, it simple. It just takes a very long time for the tree to react, but if you keep chipping away at things over years, using the basic techniques, your tree will develop.

Once You Know How To Prune, Selecting A Tool Will Make Sense

A lot of beginners worry about selecting the right tool for the job, but to be honest, it is pretty much common sense.

If you are trying to cut something; you want to be able to use something that is going to achieve that …it’s the knowing that you need to cut the branch in the first place that is more important.

If the branch you are cutting is very thin, your scissors may make sense, if it’s a little thicker, then you may need to use some sort of pruner and if that looks like it won’t bite through easily, then you will need to use a saw.   

Just always ask yourself “will this tool achieve what I want” if you think it can …then it is the right tool for that situation.

There are no golden rules that you need to be taught by a professional, it really is as simple as just looking at whatever you are cutting and using an appropriate sized tool to make that happen.

Worry About Pruning Too Much Off Your Bonsai

Most beginners find that they have no problem using bonsai tools, and they actually end up going crazy and pruning too much.

This isn’t always a bad thing, but often they remove more than they intended and this simply comes down to not understanding the principles of pruning well enough. 

If you slow yourself down and think about what you are doing and go through everything I mention in my pruning guide, you will be okay.

If you are ever unsure about something, just leave it. It is better to think about it and decide to prune it on another day, rather than cut it off now and regret it.

Be Careful With Power Tools

Most of the tools used in bonsai are hand tools that are pretty safe and easy to use. However, some people do like to use power tools.

It doesn’t matter if you are using a small handheld dremel …treat it like it is a huge chainsaw.

Take all the usual safety precautions you need to take. I don’t care if you think you look stupid wearing eye protection …just do it.

Power tools can cause you a lot of problems very quickly, so just be careful. Luckily you don’t really need them for bonsai and they are really only needed for carving deadwood. This isn’t really something you should be worrying about as a beginner, so focus on the basic fundamentals of pruning and then once you feel comfortable with that, you can start looking into carving and using power tools.

(You can read more about – Common Mistakes Beginners Make With Bonsai Tools (and How To Avoid Them))

Conclusion

Hopefully you can see that it is totally safe for a beginner to use bonsai tools.  So long as you have taken the time to work out what you should be doing, there is no risk.

If you understand why and when you should be pruning a certain branch, then there is no danger. You are not going to hurt yourself with the tools and if you are applying the correct pruning principles, you will not hurt the tree.

Really focus on learning about pruning and the rest will just fall into place.

(You can read more about – Frequently Asked Questions About – Bonsai Tools)