The Felco 3.90 50 type is a general gardener's knife, suitable for pruning, grafting, seeding and taking cuttings, but it is best to always have it in our pocket and to be able to take it out for any gardening task if needed. The 57 mm narrow straight blade fits even in narrow forks, you can cut with confidence.
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 56HRC, i.e. Rockwell hardness, which is hard enough for durability, but also tough and flexible enough for the tensioning and twisting movements of the graft. Steel harder than this could only be sharpened with a diamond, and the narrow edge would often be damaged or snap off from stretching. The 100mm long handle of the knives is made of matte red plastic with brass rivets that can be gripped safely even when wet. The blade is held securely open by a strong steel spring in the alloy frame insert. Accordingly, it is not easy to open with a fingernail and close with the palm of the hand, but the high resistance of the spring is important for serious work. 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 cross-sections.
The Felco 3.90 50 general gardening knife is also a useful accessory for nature walkers, florists and woodcarvers. However, if you want to use it again after sharpening pencils, cutting bacon, and cutting cardboard, you have to sharpen it first.
