Pruning Knives

The serpette, the hooked-blade pruning knife of vineyards and orchards, in more than forty versions: teak, dark, acacia and olive wood, black horn and white bone handles, mostly 8.5 to 10 cm, with standard or wide blades and brass or inox bolsters. The curved edge pulls through the wood for clean cuts that heal quickly. Garden centres and vineyard suppliers stock it by the dozen.

Acacia Wood Handle Pruning Knife with Brass Floral Inlay – 9.4 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and acacia wood handle with a brass floral inlay, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$5.00

Acacia Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and acacia wood handle, brass pin, made in Pakistan.

$3.80

Acacia Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 8 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This compact pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and acacia wood handle, brass bolster, 8 cm, made in Pakistan.

$4.30

All-Steel Gardening Pruning Knife – 9.1 cm Handle

This all-steel gardening pruning knife has a hawksbill blade, 9.1 cm handle, made in Pakistan.

$2.70

All-Steel Pruning Knife – 7.2 cm Handle

This compact all-steel pruning knife has a hawksbill blade, 7.2 cm handle, made in Pakistan.

$3.00

Black Horn Handle Hooked Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle

This 10 cm hooked pruning knife has a curved blade and glossy black horn handle, made in Pakistan.

$5.60

Black Horn Handle Hooked Pruning Knife – 8 cm Handle

This hooked pruning knife has a curved blade and glossy black horn handle, made in Pakistan.

$5.25

Black Horn Handle Pruning Knife with Curved Grip – 8 cm Blade, 10 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and glossy black horn handle, brass bolster, 10 cm, made in Pakistan.

$5.85

Black Horn Handle Pruning Knife with Round Brass Bolster – 8.5 cm Blade, 10 cm Handle

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and glossy black horn handle, brass bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.60

Black Horn Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle

This larger pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and curved black horn handle, 10 cm, made in Pakistan.

$4.60

Black Horn Handle Pruning Knife – 8 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This compact pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and glossy black horn handle, brass bolster, 8 cm, made in Pakistan.

$5.60

Black Horn Handle Pruning Knife – 8.5 cm Handle

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and curved black horn handle, no bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.35

Black Horn Handle Shepherd's Pruning Knife – 9.4 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This shepherd's-style pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and curved black horn handle, brass bolster, made in Pakistan.

$5.00

Brown Wood Handle Hooked Pruning Knife – 9.6 cm Handle

This larger hooked pruning knife has a curved blade and brown acacia wood handle, made in Pakistan.

$4.00

Brown Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 9.4 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and brown wood handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.50

Brown Wood Handle Serpette Pruning Knife – 8 cm Handle

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and brown acacia wood handle, no bolster, made in Pakistan.

$3.80

Brown Wood Handle Serpette Pruning Knife – 8.5 cm Handle

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and brown wood handle, no bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.00

Damascus Blade Pruning Knife with Black Horn Handle – 10 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This Damascus pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and black horn handle, brass bolster, made in Pakistan.

$13.50

Damascus Blade Pruning Knife with Rich Wood Handle – 10 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This Damascus pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and rich acacia wood handle, brass bolster, made in Pakistan.

$12.35

Damascus Blade Pruning Knife with Teak Wood Handle – 10 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This Damascus pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and teak wood handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$12.35

Damascus Blade Pruning Knife with White Bone Handle – 10 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This Damascus pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and white bone handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$13.50

Dark Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade, dark wood handle and brass bolster, made in Pakistan.

$3.25

Dark Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 10.5 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade, dark wood handle and brass bolster, 10.5 cm, made in Pakistan.

$5.00

Dark Wood Handle Serpette Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and dark wood handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.10

Dual-Blade Pruning Knife with Brown Wood Handle – 9.6 cm Handle

This dual-blade pruning knife has a hawksbill blade plus a second grafting blade, brown wood handle, made in Pakistan.

$5.00

Dual-Blade Pruning Knife with Reddish Wood Handle – 8.8 cm Handle

This dual-blade pruning knife has a hawksbill blade plus a second grafting blade, reddish wood handle, made in Pakistan.

$4.00

Dual-Blade Pruning Knife with Teak Wood Handle – 9.6 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This dual-blade pruning knife has two hawksbill-style blades and a teak wood handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.20

Glossy Black Handle Pruning Knife – 9.6 cm Handle

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and glossy black handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$3.70

Olive Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and olive wood handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$3.25

Reddish Wood Handle Locking Pruning Knife – 11.3 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This locking pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and reddish wood handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$5.00

Reddish Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and reddish acacia wood handle, brass bolster, 10 cm, made in Pakistan.

$4.50

Teak Wood Handle Hooked Pruning Knife – 8 cm Handle

This hooked pruning knife has a curved blade and teak wood handle, no bolster, made in Pakistan.

$3.80

Teak Wood Handle Hooked Pruning Knife – 9.6 cm Handle

This larger hooked pruning knife has a curved blade and teak wood handle, made in Pakistan.

$4.00

Teak Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and teak wood handle, inox bolster, 10 cm, made in Pakistan.

$4.50

Teak Wood Handle Pruning Knife – 8 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This compact pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and teak wood handle, inox bolster, 8 cm, made in Pakistan.

$4.30

Teak Wood Handle Serpette Pruning Knife – 8.5 cm Handle

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and teak wood handle, inox bolster, made in Pakistan.

$2.75

Teak Wood Handle Serpette Pruning Knife – 8.8 cm Handle

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and teak wood handle, no bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.00

Teak Wood Handle Wide-Blade Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle

This pruning knife has a wide hawksbill blade and teak wood handle, made in Pakistan.

$3.80

Two-Tone Horn & Bone Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This serpette pruning knife has a two-tone black horn and white bone handle, brass bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.60

Warm Bone Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and warm-toned bone handle, inox bolster, 10 cm, made in Pakistan.

$5.85

Warm Bone Handle Pruning Knife – 8 cm Handle, Inox Bolster

This compact pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and warm-toned bone handle, inox bolster, 8 cm, made in Pakistan.

$5.60

White Bone Handle Hooked Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle

This 10 cm hooked pruning knife has a curved blade and white bone handle, made in Pakistan.

$5.60

White Bone Handle Hooked Pruning Knife – 8 cm Handle

This hooked pruning knife has a curved blade and white bone handle, made in Pakistan.

$5.25

White Bone Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle

This larger pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and curved white bone handle, 10 cm, made in Pakistan.

$4.60

White Bone Handle Pruning Knife – 10 cm Handle, Brass Bolster

This serpette pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and white bone handle, brass bolster, made in Pakistan.

$4.60

White Bone Handle Pruning Knife – 8.5 cm Handle

This pruning knife has a hawksbill blade and curved white bone handle, made in Pakistan.

$4.35

Buying guide

Choosing Pruning Knives

Buying guide

Which serpette for vineyard, orchard or garden

With 46 pruning knives, this is one of our deepest ranges, and the differences between models are practical ones.

Blade width and curve: the classic hook pulls through stems and canes; wide-blade versions such as the Teak Wood Handle Wide-Blade Pruning Knife put more steel behind the edge for thicker wood.
Handle size: the most common length is 10 cm, which fills an adult hand; 8 to 8.5 cm models suit smaller hands and lighter work, and the full span runs from 7.2 to 11.3 cm.
Handle material: teak, acacia and dark wood for working tools; black horn, white bone and two-tone horn and bone, like the White Bone Handle Pruning Knife, for gifts and collectors.
Steel: stainless on most, with four Damascus blades for the top of a range.
Bolster: inox or brass, depending on the model.

Professional growers usually want a plain wooden serpette knife with a 10 cm handle, bought by the dozen. Garden centres do well with a mix of one wide blade, one compact model and one horn or bone gift version. When samples arrive, check that the hook is evenly ground right to the tip and that the blade closes centred in the handle.

The story

How the hooked knife outlived the secateurs

Hooked pruning knives worked in vineyards for many centuries before secateurs arrived in the early nineteenth century. The newcomers were quicker on thin shoots, and over the following decades they took over much routine pruning in gardens and orchards. Yet the serpette never disappeared.

The reason is the cut itself. A hooked blade knife draws through the wood instead of squeezing it between two jaws, so it leaves a smooth surface without crushed fibres. That matters on large wounds and on old vines, where a clean cut dries and heals better. Growers also keep one for paring torn bark after a saw has done the heavy work. The serpettes in this range are knives made in Pakistan to the traditional proportions, a pocket tool that still earns its place beside the modern kit.

Questions & answers

Pruning knife questions from growers and garden centres

How good is the quality of a Pakistan knife?

On a pruning knife, quality shows in the hook. The edge should follow the curve evenly to the point, the blade should close centred without touching the handle, and the bolster should sit flush. All but four of these serpettes have stainless blades, which matters on a tool that meets sap and wet leaves every day, and the remaining four are Damascus.

What is the difference between a serpette and a grafting knife?

A serpette has a hooked blade for cutting stems and canes with a pulling stroke. A grafting knife has a straight or gently curved blade with a very keen edge for clean, flat cuts on scions and rootstock, and some models add a bark lifter for budding.

How do I sharpen the inside of the hook?

A flat stone cannot reach a tight curve. Use a tapered ceramic or diamond rod along the inside of the edge, keeping the original angle, then remove the burr from the outer side with a light pass on a fine stone. A few minutes before each pruning season is usually enough.

Can nurseries order mixed handle materials?

Yes. A single order can combine teak, horn and bone models in different sizes. The minimum depends on the product, so send your target quantities and we will confirm what works.