Re: [nafex] Is grafting a blood sport?

[Joe and Ellen Hecksel <jhecksel@voyager.net>]

del stubbs wrote:

> Derry, I'm on tap to demo grafting knife sharpening at the Nafex September 
> conference in Minnesota. I'd like to introduce your washer as safety 
> alternative when I speak about knife use and safety...must give credit where 
> due ...should I call it the Walsher? As a carving teacher I'd rather teach 
> folk strong known hand grips, but of one only grafts a few sticks a year, 
> then a safe alternative sounds pretty good.



The washer is a great idea.  I wonder if PVC plumbing pieces-parts can 
be found for the larger cleft grafts?

Like many accidents, mine occurred when I was doing several things 
outside my usual practice.  For one thing, these were the quince I was 
grafting/budding right at ground level.  The actual soil line was about 
2" below ground level because that is how much sod had been lifted from 
the hole.  So picture Joe on his belly with arms extended like GI Joe 
shooting a pistol....  I got lazy and did not sit up to cut the 
buds/scion off the stick.  I cut them while on my belly and could not, 
did not, place my hands in a way that protected them.

The other issue was that quince is fussy about scion varieties and I was 
trying to make my bud sticks of Duchess Bronzee go as far as possible. 
I was making chip buds and was trying to get that last bud off the top 
of that stick.    I had not been thinking and first pulled buds off the 
middle of the stick.  The last bud was at the top of the stick.

One of the technique modifications (that I read about on the list) that 
I used after cutting my thumb was to graft the entire bud stick, all 8" 
to 12" of it, to the root stock and THEN cut it back to the number of 
buds desired.  It is much easier to hang onto an 8" stick than to get a 
good grip on a 1", one bud scion.  Especially if you are operating with 
less than the standard number of thumbs.

I suppose as a final note for Del:  Stongly suggest short knives.  Short 
tools are stiffer and less whippy than long ones.  Sure, you can cut 
with the portion of the edge closest to the hand.  But there is usually 
some portion of the edge that is just a wee bit sharper, just a few 
inches out.  Next thing you know, you are making all your cuts with the 
sweetest portion of the edge.


> Vic's description of locking certain muscles sounded so much like my months 
> of learning hand knife carving from an old carver in the north of Sweden. 
> Once the safety stops and hand positions are learned it's wonderful the 
> accuracy and power a hand and knife can dance together with.  Del
> 
> Del Stubbs  http://www.pinewoodforge.com  ag zone2/3
> 
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-- 
-Joe Hecksel
My personal website: http://my.voyager.net/~jhecksel
March's featured website: http://www.ranchovilasa-spurs.com/oak2.html



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