Razor Blades Vs Scissors...

[PoopyTeaBags]

Ok guys im talking about cloning here... i was taught to use a clean razor blade and use alcohol to clean in between cuts... it was kind a pain and after a 50-100 cuts i took a couple myself...

So i just went to scissors... clean them before i use them.... and usually split the stem...

what do you use and why... just wondering if there was a benefit from using one or the other....

 

[maryjohn]

box cutter blade.

i know I should clean it, but I don't.

maybe sharp scissors would be better.

the whole cloning thing is a mystery. sometimes cuts you'd never expect to take are the good ones, and sometimes the perfect ones fizzle. Also since going with tapwater and no hormones I am having a better rate and faster roots.

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

i use RO water for all my plants needs....

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

I keep hearing these rules but every time I think of all the people I've known that always dip all the cuts into the same thing of rooting solution, use scissors, no sterilization/ no dome etc great success...

Me? Personally I don't normally take half measures so I use a clean blade and clean that when i switch to another plant. Always put cloning solution in a clean shot glass, cut square (in my experience angled leads to rot) split the bottom or skin it a little then into the cloner.

 

[redandblack303]

I use scissors to cut off the plant than use a blade to make my fical cut, seems to work for me. I don't clean either, before but never during.

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

i usually only clean once or between plants... depends on how my last round of clones came out lol....

 

[dkmonk]

I just use my teeth ><

 

[Phillthy]

I just use my teeth ><

hahah i want to see a vid of that...lol

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

I just use my teeth ><

exactly! i know an old guy who only ever pinched the cutting off, split the bottom again with fingernail and plop it in some perlite etc.

 

[darksith]

I use a new razor, don't clean in between cuts or plants, and always cut on an angle, but not too extreme, dipped in the gel rooting compound found at walmart, then into the hoodtray using rockwool. I condition my rockwool to adjust its pH to 6.5, I mist my clones with a foliar spray from time to time and I have a very high success rate (~95%), but Im sure strain has something to do with it as I only grow what the market calls for (not including my personal messing around)

 

[Carl Carlson]

I keep hearing these rules but every time I think of all the people I've known that always dip all the cuts into the same thing of rooting solution, use scissors, no sterilization/ no dome etc great success...

The need for a dome or possibly a heating pad in particular among all of the rules is particular to the individual's growing environment.

My house is super dry right now and I'd rather use a dome for cuttings, than pay for electricity to run a humidifier. Heating this damn place is expensive enough as it is.

 

[Carl Carlson]

I use a sharp pair of Fiskar's to take the cuttings and a sharp razor blade to scrape the stem.

 

[Dope Boy Magik]

I really dont see the need to do all that..they dont need completely sterile..trust me..just make sure you clean the RAZOR BLADE with alcohol before you take the cuttings..and from there..your ok..you dont need to keep cleaning the blade after every alcohol..also Ive dipped cuttigns into my jar of powder..with no problems..the thing about scissors is that if theyr not sharp..they "crush" the stems..and add more stress than necarsary..and can "close" the cut..but with a razor blade..the cut is quick,clean and sterss free...what would you do surgery with,a scalpel or a kitchen knife??!!

 

[MoeBudz^420]

I use the same pair of fiskars that i use for trimming and cutting up bud to smoke. all I do is clip em off, split the end and stick em in the bubble cloner, then trim excess leaf.

I have never had any less than approx. 90% of my clones root, usually more (like 100%)...







Peace

 

[alegoblin]

Moe.

Thats a great inexpensive setup.I have been using it with great success.The babies like the tupperware aquarium.I think the key is oxygenated water.Ale.

 

[DankSide]

as others have put it, use the scissors to make the cut and either cut them again at an angle with scissors or put it flat and nip that angle with a razor.

Make sure either instrument you use is clean.

Really I've had just as much success with scissors as I'd get with a razor blade, kind of like whatever is at your disposal at the time.
Jam On.

 

[Classyathome]

Both...

I do clean w/ alcohol if I do multiple plants. Scissors are great for initial pruning and leaf trimming, but razor gives a cleaner cut for stems...

 

[Stoner Gardener]

I haven't voted (yet) because I'm far from an expert cloner at this time. I've found that the more I give a f*** about the cuts rooting, the less success I seem to get. That probably comes down to my killing them with kindness, much like I used to when I first started trying to germ seeds. The Keep-It-Simple-Silly rule seems to apply in most things, but keeping things as germ-neutral (to the plant) as possible for each cutting appeals to my rationale. I'm still a newb at cloning, but I've yet to break the cherry on my homemade aero cloner. Hopefully, that will bring my success rate up. Thanks for making this thread PTB.

 

[Hilbilly on nos]

just stumbled on this thread so i figured id toss my 2 cents in. not worried i got my flame retardent undies on but here goes.................cloned thousands of plants last year, i have a 120 site ez cloner and a few cases of rock wool laying around i use both with great results. as far as scisors or razor blades go,............................... "dramitic pause"........................ ill use what ever is close including my dull old case pocket knife that rusty razor blade from out of the bottom of the tool box, the leatherman tool, rusted wire cutters ect. never have steralized or cleaned any of the tools before or after taking clones. as far as angle cutting or straight cuts or shreading the end it all works just fine in my experiance. u keep the moisture right and get the $5 bottle of powdered hormone from the garden center for rock wool or use what u like in the ez cloner.
thats a spare table with about half taken with a dull pair of scisors and i did the other half with my case sod buster jr pocket knife. we took 98 lost 3 to the dome pulling them out the rock wool and gave some away 5-7 were gifted. dont know how many are there but i figured id mention the numbers cause some ones gonna count lol

 

[Pompey_Monkey]

just stumbled on this thread so i figured id toss my 2 cents in. not worried i got my flame retardent undies on but here goes.................cloned thousands of plants last year, i have a 120 site ez cloner and a few cases of rock wool laying around i use both with great results. as far as scisors or razor blades go,............................... "dramitic pause"........................ ill use what ever is close including my dull old case pocket knife that rusty razor blade from out of the bottom of the tool box, the leatherman tool, rusted wire cutters ect. never have steralized or cleaned any of the tools before or after taking clones. as far as angle cutting or straight cuts or shreading the end it all works just fine in my experiance. u keep the moisture right and get the $5 bottle of powdered hormone from the garden center for rock wool or use what u like in the ez cloner.
thats a spare table with about half taken with a dull pair of scisors and i did the other half with my case sod buster jr pocket knife. we took 98 lost 3 to the dome pulling them out the rock wool and gave some away 5-7 were gifted. dont know how many are there but i figured id mention the numbers cause some ones gonna count lol

Haha! sounds like my method - it's usually a kitchen knife or a rusty old box-cutter in my case

Much more important to get the temps and moisture right IMO.