Grafting knife buying guide
Updated: 22 October 2026
You have a couple of apple trees to graft, or a rose to bud, and the amazon.co.uk search is not one kind of tool. A grafting knife buying guide starts with the cut: a right-hand V knife, a pruning folder, and a 3 cm barking cutter sold under similar words. Know which check fails before the price looks tempting. The rows are on our [grafting knife comparison](/hub/garden-tree-and-hedge-shears/grafting-knife). Peter F. read those UK listings, captured on 19 October 2026, plus Royal Horticultural Society notes on a sharp, clean knife. There is no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have a couple of apple trees to graft, or a rose to bud, and the amazon.co.uk search is not one kind of tool.
You have a couple of apple trees to graft, or a rose to bud, and the amazon.co.uk search is not one kind of tool. A grafting knife buying guide starts with the cut: a right-hand V knife, a pruning folder, and a 3 cm barking cutter sold under similar words. Know which check fails before the price looks tempting. The rows are on our grafting knife comparison. Peter F. read those UK listings, captured on 19 October 2026, plus Royal Horticultural Society notes on a sharp, clean knife. There is no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Stated cut | Hand | Steel | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Due Buoi Due Buoi DB 207L | Right-hand V | Right | Carbon, HRC 58/59 | 6.6 | about £41.72 | View offer |
| Best value |  TopHomer TopHomer folder | Bevel not stated | Ambidextrous | Stainless in the title | 1.6 | about £10.49 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Brrnoo Brrnoo barking cutter | 3 cm bark ring | Not stated | Manganese steel | 1.4 | about £7.35 | View offer |
On this page
Start with the cut you will make
Whip-and-tongue and chip budding need a long, flat face so the scion cambium meets the stock. The Royal Horticultural Society order is healthy wood, a knife that is very sharp and wiped clean, and cuts that meet flush. A title that only borrows grafting knife has not passed. Price comes last. The Brrnoo is the miss: a barking and girdling cutter at £7.35, manganese steel, 56 g, 13 cm, a cutting width of 3 cm, and no star line. A 3 cm ring of bark is a girdle, not the sloping face on a pencil-thick scion. The mechanism line says fully automatic with no manual buckle. The cheap band is a rule of thumb of about £7 to £15, and it helps only once the cut matches the job.
Bevel and which hand
A grafting knife is ground on one side so the flat stays on the wood. Right-hand and left-hand are different grinds. Hone the bevel, and lay the flat on the stone only to take off the burr. That is the Royal Horticultural Society sharpening note. A second bevel on the flat means the knife no longer makes the face the method assumes. Ambidextrous on a pruning folder is a handle claim, not that geometry. The Due Buoi DB 207L is the only listing here that states a graft blade: a right-hand V in carbon steel, a wood handle, and no left-hand grind. On a 5 cm sloping face the flat should stay on the wood for the whole stroke. A right-hand grind in a left hand tends to roll. The TopHomer, at £10.49 and 230 g, says stainless grafting and pruning, with locking handles, an ambidextrous field, no star line and no readable bevel. A lock does not prove a single bevel. Who each listing is for is on the best grafting knife page.
Steel, a bark lifter, and thin evidence
The Due Buoi bullets state carbon steel at HRC 58/59. That is a UK listing line, not a certificate we tested. The maker's page also prints HRC 58/59. A US shop page states HRC 55/56. Keep the UK bullets. Carbon steel takes a fine edge and rusts if you store it wet. Stainless, claimed on the TopHomer, copes with a damp shed and can be slower to restore. Neither point matters until the bevel is described. The UK line says 175 g and 7.88 inches, about 200 mm. The maker's page lists 105 g. That conflict does not correct the amazon.co.uk weight. At £41.72, with 4.0 from 2 reviews, the sample is too thin to name a winner. The mid band, as a rule of thumb, is about £15 to £45. None of the three listings states a bark lifter. Chip budding does not need one. T-budding does, because the sharp tip bruises the cambium. A Darlac DP342 at Peter Beales is £11.99 with a lifter, and a Tina 605 at Great Dixter is £109.99. Those are other shops, not these ASINs.
Read the description before the price
The Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9, says satisfactory quality depends on the description, the price and what is said publicly about the goods. A barking cutter titled as a grafting knife is a description point for the seller, not a finding that one order already failed. If the cut is wrong, skip the Brrnoo. If you need a stated bevel and the folder does not give one, skip the TopHomer. If you are left-handed, or you need a stated lifter, the Due Buoi does not meet that either.
Common questions
What should I check before I trust grafting knife in a title?
Check the cut first. A whip-and-tongue or a chip bud needs a flat face. The Brrnoo states a 3 cm barking width at £7.35, a girdle, not that face. The TopHomer puts grafting in the title and does not state a bevel. Only the Due Buoi DB 207L states a V grafting blade, and only for the right hand.
Do I need a right-hand or a left-hand grind?
You need the grind that matches the hand that makes the cut. A grafting knife is ground on one side so the flat rides the wood. The Due Buoi listing says right hand and does not state a left-hand grind. If you cut left-handed, that knife will present the bevel on the wrong side. Ambidextrous on the TopHomer is a folder claim, not a pair of graft grinds.
Is carbon steel better than stainless for grafting?
Carbon steel, which the Due Buoi bullets state at HRC 58/59, can take a fine edge and rusts if you store it wet. Stainless, claimed in the TopHomer title, copes better with a damp shed and can take longer to restore. Neither point matters until the listing actually describes a graft bevel. We did not measure edge life, and two reviews cannot settle it.
When do I need a bark lifter?
You need one for T-budding, because the bark flaps have to open without the knife tip bruising the cambium. Chip budding does not use those flaps, so it does not need a lifter. None of the three listings states a lifter. That means the field is empty, not that you should invent one. Summer budding sits on the budding page, not in this buying order.
Is the £7 barking cutter a cheap grafting knife?
No. At £7.35 the Brrnoo is the cheapest listing here, and the stated job is a 3 cm barking and girdling cut in manganese steel. There is no star line, no stated bevel and no stated hand. A low price in the rough £7 to £15 band is not a graft knife if the width is a ring of bark. Leave it if you are joining a scion to a stock.
Can two Amazon ratings tell me which knife to buy?
They cannot. The Due Buoi shows 4.0 from 2 reviews at £41.72. The TopHomer and the Brrnoo have no star line at all. A star average on two ratings does not measure how the edge behaves after a morning of cuts. Use the stated cut, the hand and the missing fields first. Stars are the last check, and here they are too thin to pick a winner.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are from amazon.co.uk on 19 October 2026.
- RHS — grafting ornamental fruit trees (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- RHS — chip budding (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- RHS — T-budding (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- RHS — sharpening tools (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- GOV.UK — buying and carrying knives (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 139 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
- Orchard Link — grafting new trees (retrieved 19.10.2026)