Just had a delivery of these two great tools. They will be live on the site this week.
G.
Condor Fidelis Neck Knife – High Carbon Steel
As it’s name implies a neck knife is a small knife that you can hang around your neck on a chain (supplied). It hangs down vertically and is easily deployed from a safe click lock sheath. When you are busy this is ideal because you always have a knife right there.
Condor make solid no nonsense tools that do what they need to. This is a great little high spec’ knife that you can keep at hand at all times and is invaluable. Great in the workshop whether you are carving wood or taking cuttings and just as usefull around the home and garden or out on a hike. This little knife is a serious tool and not a cheap piece of Chinese rubbish like so many similar tools we have seen. Here at Kaizen we extensively test and use all of our tools so you can be sure you are getting the best value for money when you buy from us. A legal U.K carry knife you won’t want to be without.
BLADE MATERIAL: 2 mm thick 1075 HIGH CARBON STEEL
German 1075 High Carbon Steel heat treated and annealed to about 56-58 Rockwell. Every edge is hand finished and polished to razor sharpness.
BLADE LENGTH : 2 3/16″ – 50mm
BLADE FINISH: Epoxy Black Powder Coating
A heavy black paint finish done by powder coating.
HANDLE: PARACORD WRAP
Paracord Wrapped Handles are made with real 500 lb test parachute cord that has seven inner strands for further use in a situation, where 1 piece of rope might not be enough. One of the strands inside can also be teased apart further, providing fishing line, sewing thread, or help in any situation where a fine, sturdy line is needed.
SHEATH:Kydex and Ball Chain.
Price £21.95
“The Condor Claw” Folding Shovel / Pick
You can trust Kaizen Bonsai to come up with the latest and most innovative products. Condor are a manufacturer that makes superb no-nonsense tools that do what they should. The Claw is an innovative new tool that is taking the survival and bushcraft worlds by storm. There never has been such a usefull folding digging implement. The Claw works on so many levels and will move soft rock, loose scree, stony clay soil on sand. In fact there isn’t much this hefty tool can’t deal with. Perfect for field trips digging bonsai fron craggy spots and just as useful in the garden too. A great gift item for any gardener and a powerful tool for the yamadori collector.
Leaves all others in it’s wake, we predict a VERY bright future for this incredible tool. Built like the proverbial brick out house the Claw features a forged high carbon steel blade of exceptional thickness and an innovative shape so it won’t bend. The screw collar locking mechanism looks like it could survive being run over by a truck. The 40mm thick hardwood handle is a little overkill too. If you manage to break one of these we think you need to get some help!
Overall Blade dimensions 310mm x 180mm
Overall length when assembled as a pick 600mm
Total weight 1.7Kg
Price £28.95
Trees may be going dormant but here at Kaizen Bonsai we never sleep. It’s before first light Sunday morning and having done me emails this morning (about an hour) here I am messing with a blog post. They say ‘the early bird gets the worm’ but I hate worms, leave that to silly arse, Bear Grills. However you do have to be up pretty early to get better trees than we have had in this week. Firstly we closed a deal with a good friend and long time customer of mine to help reduce his collection. The result was a whole bunch of very unusual bonsai trees. Secondly we took delivery of some very excellent yamadori we bought a few weeks ago. This shipment includes some nice compact scots pines that have spent FIVE years in their pots since collecting, that’s pretty much unheard of in yamadori circles. Super compact trees ready for styling right out of the box. All of these will be listed on the web site in the next couple of weeks.
Also this week we listed for sale a whole bunch of small sized imports including junipers and Japanese pines along with a very special specimen quality Japanese black pine. Check out our New Products page for details.
We have a LOT of deals in the pipeline and some spectacular trees coming our way in the months ahead, stay tuned.
Here’s a taster of what we will be offering for sale very soon……
Here in the U.K autumn is rapidly giving way to winter and it’s now time to complete some very important work to ensure your bonsai have a good dormant season. Neglect this work at your peril.
When keeping bonsai it is important to follow good nursery practice. It’s good for your bonsai and it’s good discipline for you too. It’s important to have respect for our bonsai and a little winter care can make a BIG difference to how well our plants perform next spring and summer.
Now that leaves have fallen it’s time to have a good clean up. Keeping your bonsai garden clean is vital if you are to keep healthy trees. In general we do not recommend pruning at this time, pruning scruffy trees now can result in die back and some other problems. If your trees need a prune leave the work until next year just before you see signs of life.
Following these simple steps will make your bonsai look good and will improve your overwintering success.
1. Remove the remains of shed leaves of deciduous trees. Sweep the soil surface clean and remove coverings of moss, weeds and any liverwort. This improves air circulation through the soil and will help prevent root rot. Make sure drainage holes are clear and clean, slugs in particular love those little nooks and crannies. Also remove any fruit still remaining. This will prevent it rotting and harbouring pests. It will also stop pigeons breaking ramification from the upper part of trees as they perch on top and try to pull the fruit off.
2. Trees that have become green with algae should be sprayed with our Algae Cleaner. Remove sphagnum moss that may have formed around the base of the tree with a brass brush. Deadwood areas should be scrubbed clean inside and out and preserved with appropriate products – Bonsai Deadwood Preservers. For more information on preserving deadwood see our article Preserving Bonsai Deadwood.This work will prevent fungal infection and will rid the tree of many overwintering pests. It will also ensure craggy bark survives the winter.
3. Benches should be scrubbed or pressure washed and then disinfected with a product like Jeyes Fluid. Spray down the underside too. A lot of pests can spend winter hidden in your benches, particularly if they are wooden, just waiting to crawl all over your lovely bonsai in early spring.
4. Clean up and dispose of leaves and other detritus. This material is a MAJOR carrier of pests and fungal disease. If you have ground cover such as concrete, Mypex or even gravel give that a good soak with Jeyes Fluid too.
These few simple steps are just good nursery practice and if followed will prevent a whole host of summer problems that are common to all bonsai. A little work now will prevent a lot of problems next year and your bonsai will look a lot better too.
Here at KB we like to think we have the best selection of bonsai and raw material available for sale in the UK. It appears a whole bunch of you agree. We have just had what must be the best few days selling bonsai ever.
Sincere thanks for all of our customers for your faith in us and you continued support.
Here are a few of the better trees we have re-homed in the last 5 days.
Don’t worry we won’t be running out of stock any time soon, lots more cool trees are on the way.
Sunday 3 November found me stumbling around in the dark at 4am in my keks trying to get dressed without causing too much of a ruckus. The reason for being afoot at such an unearthly hour? I had agreed to attend the Heathrow Bonsai show and because I live in the nether regions it was a fair hike. We set out at 5am in the dark and it was cold, I HATE winter time. One of the great benefits of living in ‘clod hopper’ country if that we can travel 60 miles on a Sunday morning without even seeing another car on the road the upshot of which found us at the venue before 8am.
All was pretty quiet upon our arrival but a warm cuppa’ was quickly provided. As we stood around people started coming from all corners, cars arrived and spilled bonsai and related paraphernalia all over the yard. By 9am the place was packed, it reminded me of one of those colonies of soldier ants moving home. I have to say how impressed I was with everyone beavering away and working together. The result was an impressive display of bonsai in every size, shape and colour.
My job for the day was to provide a little entertainment and education with a demonstration. Mark had asked me to bring along a privet. The tree I chose belonged to my good friend Stuart who was only allowed to purchase the tree on the understanding I had it for this event. About 5 hours saw it tidied away thanks to a little help from Bob, Bill and Rammon, thanks guys.
I have to say I absolutely loved this event. I do not remember the last time I had the priveledge to be involved with anything in bonsai that had such a great atmosphere. It was a joy to attend and I will remember this one for a very long time. Thanks to everyone that worked SO hard to put it all together.
Hopefully it will all happen again next year. If it does BE THERE!
Condor Fidelis Neck Knife – High Carbon Steel
“The Condor Claw” Folding Shovel / Pick