The Felco 3.90 10 garden knife is also suitable for pruning, grafting and seeding, although for the latter it lacks the tool needed to loosen the shell. The edge of the blade is 51 mm long, straight at the base, and then curved towards the tip. Cut the noble eye (bud) from the bud with the straight edge, and use the curved tip to make a shallow incision in the bark of the subject to insert the eye. The advantage of the lack of a tolerance is that the 60 mm full-length blade can fit into narrow places and will not cut into our pockets without a case.
All members of the Felco 3.9 garden knife series are products of the famous Swiss Victorinox, the blade is made of stainless steel with 56 HRC, i.e. Rockwell hardness, which is hard enough for edge durability, but also tough and flexible enough for the tightening and twisting movements of the graft. Steel harder than this could only be sharpened with a diamond, and the narrow edge would often be chipped and snap off from stretching. The 100 mm long handle of the knives is made of matte red plastic and brass rivets that can be gripped securely even when wet. The blade is held securely open by a strong steel spring in the light metal frame insert. Accordingly, it is not easy to open with a fingernail and close the handle with the palm of the hand, but the high resistance of the spring is important for serious work. The knives are right-handed, the nail opening side of the blade is slanted, this can and should be sharpened. The other side is completely flat, it should not be sharpened, only the burr is removed with a pine belt. Always place the flat side on the plant and pull the knife towards you, slowly but with great force. So at first it doesn't seem very safe, but it's the only way we can create flat cutting sheets.
The Felco 3.90 10 garden knife is a useful accessory for nature walkers, florists and woodcarvers. However, if after sharpening a pencil and cutting cardboard, we want to re-sharpen and sharpen with it, we have to sharpen it first.
