It didn’t used to be this way
Have you noticed how almost everybody carves deadwood these day? It wasn’t always the case. I just thumbed through Kyuzo Murata‘s classic Four Seasons of Bonsai (first edition 1991 and long out of print) and could find only 3 or 4 bonsai that had some carving (out of over 100 trees). The same goes if you look back through other older bonsai publications.

New horizons
Even though it’s overused, carving opens up whole new horizons for us bonsai hackers, so that’s a good thing. The problem is, many of us go ahead and carve without knowing much about it. This ignorance puts our trees at risk in at least two ways: health and beauty (a hack job is worse than no carving at all). My suggestion: pay attention to people like Cheng, Cheng-Kung and Francios Jeker, start with hand tools, and take your time.

Western deadwood maven
A long time ago I promised you some more photos of Francois Jeker’s carving from Bonsai Today issues 103, 104 & 105 (unfortunately the printer shorted us on 103 and 104, so they are long gone). Thank you for your patience (not that a single one of you remembers). BTW: our post on natural aging (below) by Francois is particularly enlightening.

Francois hand and a simple hand carving tool. From Bonsai Today issue 105.

Francois Jeker’s illustrations on natural aging of deadwood. Originally from Bonsai Today issue 103 and later featured here.

All remaining back issues of Bonsai Today are now 52% off.

New, nearly new, or back after a long break
This post is to let you know about new products at Stone Lantern. It’s also a way to let you know about products that were gone (for whatever reason) and are now back.

Also new; low prices
As you may know, we’ve been lowering prices on almost all of our products to near wholesale levels. We’ve learned that in this age of digital shopping, you want our quality products, service, information and the lowest prices. So feel free to compare. We may not have the lowest price on every single item, but we’ll be close. And you’ll still receive quality products, friendly service and a wealth of free information.

Myconox mycorrhizal inoculant. Don’t even think about transplanting without it. Myocnox contains mycorrhizal fungi, which grow on (sometimes inside) roots and help make the following possible: water and nutrient absorption, loosening of compact soils, increased winter hardiness, antibody production, decreased transplant shock, flower production and more. Suggested retail $12.95, your price $9.80

Koyo Transplanting Sickle. We used to have a much more expensive Koyo transplanting sickle, but then they came up with this perfect (and perfectly affordable) little tool. Retail $12.05, your price $7.70

Moss Milkshake. Moss fragments for growing your own. Just add water. Covers up to 20 square feet. Original price $26.00, now $17.15.

Flexcut Draw Knife. Draw knives are the most useful hand carving tool for bonsai and this is the sharpest, most versatile draw knife we’ve ever used. We sell a much less expensive Chinese draw knife (it’s very good for the price), but this one is pure butter. Was $34.25, now $25.60

Bonsai Pro fertilizer (7-9-5). Blended to provide all the known essential elements for plants. Low in soluble salts and urea free so you can use it without worrying about root burn and salt build up. Highly concentrated. $7.70

If you want one (no discounts though)
In agreement with Marco, Stone Lantern is acting as the Ichiban’s U.S. (and beyond) distributor. The one caveat is that this tool cannot be discounted. Your price is $350.00 plus shipping, no matter what discounts Stone Lantern is currently running.

A multiplicity of uses. This illustration and the text below (both provided by Marco), give you a pretty good idea of the Ichiban‘s versatility.

What Marco Invernizzi has to say about his soon to be famous new tool
The follow text by Marco provides  detailed (and enthusiastic) descriptions of the uses and advantages of the Ichiban.

“ICHIBAN is the new revolutionary bonsai multi-use tool created, designed and tested by Marco Invernizzi and produced by hand by Masakuni in Japan.

Why will the Ichiban soon become one of the most popular bonsai tools in the world?

1) Its innovative ergonomic design helps you to assume a healthier and more comfortable back, shoulder and elbow position enabling you to work longer and with less fatigue.
2) Its effective weight is slightly lower than that of a standard tool on the market but, in your hands, its design makes it seem 50% lighter than any other bonsai tool.
3) 7 tools are united in the ICHIBAN design. This will enable you to work faster and remain concentrated on your bonsai and at the same time have a much lighter toolbox. ICHIBAN is: shears for shoots, shears for small branches, shears for large branches and roots, wire cutter, chisel, hammer and pliers.
4) The two ICHIBAN blades are united by a special rivet of new design, 4 times stronger than a conventional one, enabling you to use its blades to create jin, shari, to bend branches and cut aluminium wire and branches even 4 mm (1/8″) thick.
5) The two ICHIBAN blades are also 20% longer than a normal tool, enabling you to have access only with its point where before you did not manage to arrive, thus helping you to keep your hands far from the most delicate parts of your bonsai. Even with more intensive use, the blades length will make it practically useless to sharpen them for many years.
6) ICHIBAN is forged by hand one by one with the best, most sought-after materials available by these artisan blacksmiths who have made Masakuni world leader in the production of bonsai tools for the last three generations. If maintained in suitable conditions ICHIBAN is guaranteed rustproof. When you purchase ICHIBAN you will receive free of charge a blade cleaner specifically created for ICHIBAN which will be very useful to remove resin residues from the blades.
7) The design of the ICHIBAN grip, together with its special rubber coating, will enable people with large hands, women, nervous people and anyone who cares about the health of his hands to use a bonsai tool without annoying finger pain and without creating hard skin. ICHIBAN is a tool that may be used with the right or left hand and its grip enables you to use it in the opposite direction, with the blades pointing upwards, thus arriving where no other shears have ever arrived before.
8) Bonsai tools of different makes, besides being mostly produced by the same factory, are identical, making it easy to lose or exchange them unintentionally with those of someone else. ICHIBAN has instead a specially created space on which to engrave, write or mark its unmistakeable sign. Therefore, from now on, if someone steals your ICHIBAN it will be because he can’t do without it!
9) When normal shears fall, the point often breaks, making them unusable. The same points of the ICHIBAN blades have been designed to make them unbreakable and, if ICHIBAN falls, there is an 80% possibility that, due to its weight, the chisel point touches the ground before the thin point. This point sharpened on one side has been designed to rapidly enable you to use the shears as knife or chisel to cut the bark or scratch undesired residues.
10) ICHIBAN will not tear the pockets of your trousers or the toolbox. Its innovative design will enable you to put it in your pockets even more easily and rapidly than a cowboy’s pistol (Marco likes cowboy stuff).
11) To insert the wire and hold the tool in your hand at the same time isn’t a problem, with ICHIBAN. You need only raise your forearm and open your hand and in a second ICHIBAN will turn 180°, leaving thumb, forefinger and middle finger free to apply the wire. Its position, limited weight and diagonal non-pointed blade will enable you to take, bend and apply the aluminium or copper wire with full freedom.
12) Its wonderful silk-lined wooden box is hand-made by the same craftsman who created the boxes of the artistic objects of the private collection of the Japanese emperor. ICHIBAN is the ideal gift for anyone who wants to improve the quality and pleasure of his work with bonsai.
13) Purchasing ICHIBAN you can enter the ICHIBAN CLUB, a site created to communicate all the ICHIBAN owners all over the world and receive useful news, updates and advice from Marco Invernizzi in person.
14) ICHIBAN isn’t a bonsai tool only for experts. In many years of career Marco Invernizzi has given over one thousand seminars in 5 continents working with bonsaists with the widest range of ability, style, techniques and characteristics. Thinking about all of them, we offer you the greatest, most useful revolution of the world of bonsai in the last 100 years: ICHIBAN. ALL IN ONE, ONE FOR ALL!”

Each Ichiban comes in its own handsome wooden gift box.

If you want your own Ichiban (no discounts though)
In agreement with Marco, Stone Lantern is acting as the Ichiban’s U.S. (and beyond) distributor. The one caveat is that this tool cannot be discounted. Your price is $350.00 plus shipping, no matter what discounts Stone Lantern is currently running.

Good tools and the price is right
A few months ago we introduced some of Robert Steven‘s new line of bonsai tools. Robert is the author of Mission of Transformation and Vision of My Soul, and is one of the world’s most innovative bonsai artists. Like many of us, Robert realized that Japanese tools are gradually being priced out for many people, while Chinese tools are coming up in quality. So Robert went to China and hand picked tools that he could stand behind. The result is his Bonsai Aesthetics line of bonsai tools.

More than meets the eye
So far your response to Bonsai Aesthetics tools has been excellent. Hundreds shipped and no complaints. So, we’ve decided to expand the selection. In addition to the ones shown above, the following tools have just arrived: a grafting knife, a draw knife, a folding saw, and a second, different extra large branch jack than the one shown above.

And, if you missed the first batch
The original batch of Bonsai Aesthetic tools that we brought in include a very popular five piece carving set, 8″ concave cutters, 11″ concave cutters, 8″ knob cutters, 11″ knob cutters, wire cutters, wire pliers, and inexpensive light weight, all purpose scissors.

In this series of photos (from our Juniper book), Hideki Nakayatsu turns a needle juniper on its side to work on the apical jin (jin can be either a dead branch or a dead top of the trunk). He is using is a draw knife to carve natural looking grooves in the wood. Though there are other ways to get grooves in deadwood (dremels come to mind), a draw knife is a tried and true old standard.

This close up, though far from perfect, shows the grooves a little better. Deadwood naturally cracks and grooves along its length as it ages, so offering a helping hand is a quick way to give your bonsai an old weathered look. One secret to achieving a natural look is to let the knife move with the wood’s grain. It’s easier and the results are better.

A collection of carving tools, with draw knifes on either end. This photo and the one below are from Bonsai Today issue 85.

A close up of the head of a draw knife.

Mr Nakayatsu’s juniper, finished (for now) and turned right side up.

Go to Jin and Shari #4 for links to earlier posts on the topic.