pruneing or grafting tool

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mrwatch
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Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2007 4:58 pm
Location: michigan

pruneing or grafting tool

Post by mrwatch »

Hello, I bought this around 20 years ago for $5.00 and lost during the move. It is marked France. Pruner or grafting tool and came from Green Thumb company as per the case. I have not found anything like it on the net and appears to be high quality. It has swivel to hold it closed and I would like to know how the spear is used and if possible who made it? Thanks, Bob
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knife7knut
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Re: pruneing or grafting tool

Post by knife7knut »

Looks like a variation on the plier/knife combos that were popular in the 1950's. I have several of those;some of which are marked with a maker's name and others not.I have one that has a glazier's tool in it for breaking off small pieces of cut glass.Here is shot of some of them.
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mrwatch
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Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2007 4:58 pm
Location: michigan

Re: pruneing or grafting tool

Post by mrwatch »

Green Thumb is an American company that sells lawn tools in hardware stores and also a commercial lawn care company. The tool is marked depose which is French for registered design or similar. A friend has an orchard so I will ask him about it.
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montemojo
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Re: pruneing or grafting tool

Post by montemojo »

I have seen similar tools. I would think it to be used in the horticulture of roses. I am no expert just my two cents

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mrwatch
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Re: pruneing or grafting tool

Post by mrwatch »

I must correct my post. The case is marked WEST GERMANY. I showed it to my friend and he said small like for blue berries or roses as was said. We are heavy with blue berries and grapes for the West Michigan winery's. He did not know why the spear point.
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muskrat man
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Re: pruneing or grafting tool

Post by muskrat man »

I assume you are calling the spike the "spear". It's a marline spike (commonly misspelled as marlin spike) for picking out knots and splicing rope and twine most commonly seen on riggers knives. Much use for rope or twine in the grape or blueberry growing world? Stretching support lines for grapes to trellis on or something like that? ::shrug::

If not then i'm not sure other than the general versatile utility of a sharp pointy rod that comes in handy fur a multitude of tasks (think awl or icepick, the uses are near endless).
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rarefish383
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Re: pruneing or grafting tool

Post by rarefish383 »

Coming from 4 generations of arborists, we did use the spike for braiding, splicing and attaching snaps and such to 3 strand rope. The shears would be handy for light pruning. The hook bill blade would be good for bark tracing, or digging out borers, such as the Bronze Borer in White Birch trees. The borer would leave a hole in the bark and a dark soft spot where the damage under the bark was done. We would trim out the dead area back to healthy tissue, usually in a four stroke diamond pattern. A half inch to an inch wide diamond would remove the borer and be healed by the following year. On larger wounds where a limb was removed or a machine bumped a tree and left a big scar, the wound would start to heal. The scar tissue would leave a rounded scar. We would use a hook bill, linoleum knife, to cut a very thin strip of bark off the scar where it joins the wood. This would agitate the tissue and cause it to grow faster. I could see the hook being used to open up grafting splices. I've never seen a tool like that, but it would have been handy back in the day. I don't know anyone who still use those practices. Philosophies, studies, and techniques change, advance. I do remember my Dad cutting several limbs off a yard tree so the tractor could mow under it. He bark traced the wounds on a couple limbs and not the others, to show me how it worked. The traced wounds completely healed over years faster. Not a quick process. Exactly what your tool was made for, I dunno, but it would be one I kept on the dash of my work truck, if I had one, Joe.
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