North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Justin West <cjustinwest@gmail.com>]

 I'd take a chance on that tool at lee valley too.  I am intrigued.  I have
used the italian one (listed for 75$) for years, and have done something on
the order of 2000 grafts with it.  It works.  Well.  However, the blades do
wear out, and fairly quickly if you are cutting larger diameter stock.  they
tend to push wider and wider as you graft, so eventually the back of the
blade is wider than the front.  No problem as long as you line up the right
side with the right side of the other cut.  the blades are not easy to find
and are expensive (I think i paid close to 30 $ for three of them this
winter)  Also, it is a hassle to change blades, involving nuts and screws
etc.  So if you have larger stock and want to switch to the more rugged
omega cut from the V blade it takes some time.  I also do a lot of whip and
tongue grafting with a knife.  I feel that my success with both are
comparable (90-95%), however the knife is a bit slower, as it requires four
cuts, instead of two with the pliers.  It also requires a bit more parafilm
tape it seems.
Justin
NJ