Mahogany Row Studio

Italian Design – Japanese Quality

Posted by Rob Kempinski on Jul 14 2009

If you could have the Lamborghini Murciélago or a Chevy Chevette, which would you rather have? The affordable Chevy Chevette will get you where you want to go, but traveling in Murciélago, you will get there faster and in immeasurably more style. Of course the Murciélago will set you back about $300,000, but what’s money.

Ok, $300,000 for a sports cars is out of reach of most of us, so how about trying something more affordable but with performance comparable to the best of Italian design. Better yet you can use it for bonsai. Try the new Ichiban bonsai tool.

This tool combines the genius of Italian design with the quality of Japanese craftsmanship. Marco Invernizzi, renowned Italian bonsai artist, joined forces with the Japanese Masakuni Tools Corporation to create the most innovative bonsai tool in decades. The clippers reflect years of Marco’s thinking about how to make a better bonsai scissors and the metal working know how of Masakuni.

The design of the tool reflects an innovative and provocative shape worthy of display in the NY Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).

The curved handle seems strange at first but is designed to cradle the fingers in an action ready pose.

The real elegance of the design however comes in the angle of the blade in relation to the handles. This places the wrist inline with the action of opening and closing the blade and has a very ergonometric and comfortable feel. I suffer a bit of tendonitis in my forearms from pounding many golf balls which lots of trim work with traditional bonsai scissors seems to exacerbate. But using the Ichiban tool for several hours I did not notice any increase in discomfort due to my tendonitis. That was very much appreciated.

The tool can be used in either hand and features rubber cushioned loops.
Much of the tool’s design is subtle. For instance the unequal cutters feature a sharpened outer edge that can be used as a chisel. Marco says he designed it as a multi-purpose tool so that it would be the ideal tool to carry around your garden. His advertising shows it replacing several tools including scissors, a wire cutter, a chisel, a concave cutter and a knife.

(Taken from an Ichiban Advertisement)

The tool is indeed a multi-purpose tool. For instance it has a notch near the fulcrum that will cut even #6 copper wire. The knife edge will work as a knife and as a skew chisel. The one tool I can’t see the Ichiban replacing is the concave cutter. Being in marketing myself I can appreciate advertising exuberance, but a concave cutter would be my choice when I need to make a scooped cut for scar healing.

Yet I found the tool to really excel as a general trimming tool that worked great on clipping my ficus, elm, and buttonwood. It readily cut thin fresh shoots up to lignified branches. If needed I could quickly snip a stray wire without having to change tools. This does speed up bonsai chores and frees time to go back to the driving range for golf practice. The one disadvantage of the long cutter blade is that cutting thicker branches requires pushing the cut in towards the fulcrum. Sometimes another branch may get in the way of the long cutting edges extending beyond the one you want to cut.

The cutting edge features very hard (Japanese cutting tools typically temper their cutting tools to Rockwell hardness RC60 and above). The hardness comes at price, the edges are a bit brittle and less ductile. (My tool already has a slight nick). To counteract that, Masakuni has used three different steels in the tool. The hardened edge, a softer lamination and an even softer but stronger tool steel for the handles. This combination gives the tool surprising capability in a sleek design.

As a mechanical engineer I was very impressed at Marco’s design. In fact, he actually developed 4 different prototypes before releasing this tool for the market. For instance, the pin size (emblazoned with an enameled red bead) ended up being rather beefy (much thicker than other bonsai tools in my tool bag) but necessary to support heavy cutting chores. The blackened surface will resist rust but is not rust proof. I wouldn’t leave the tool outside overnight (at least not on purpose.)

The tool comes in a tightly made Paulownia wooden box.

Signed on the back by Kawasumi Masakuni.

Inside a fitted red cloth liner secures the tool along with a rubberized cleaner for the blade edges. The fancy box befits the elegant tool.

The tool retails for $350, so one has to ask is it worth it? I like it and will enjoy using it and it’s a lot less than that Murciélago.