Anyone use a Dustrude Quick Saw?

desmobob

desmobob

Joined
May 5, 2003
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I do some winter camping here in the Adirondacks and I rely on a bucksaw for cutting firewood. I also carry a Snow & Neally Hudson Bay axe. The saw I've been using for the last several years is a Trailblazer; the 24" model.

I love the saw but it has two drawbacks: it uses modern Swedish-type blades which have induction-hardened teeth that are not easily sharpened, so they must be replaced fairly regularly. The Trailblazer uses a standard 24" Swede bucksaw blade that has special plastic ends molded on to make it fit the saw. They cost $12-$15 each, when you can find them, vs. the $7 for the same blades without the plastic ends.

Also, I always seem to cut the index finger on my sawing hand when my hand slides up the grip and touches the blade teeth. I got a small but very deep cut this weekend and I bled all over a lot of my stuff in the dark before I realized I was leaking.

I did some poking around the web and read of a cool folding bucksaw made by an older gentlemen in MN named Dustrude. The saw folds up as small as my Trailblazer and is much simpler to deploy or fold. The handle design forces you to hold the saw above the blade, so that would hopefully eliminate my bleeding. And, it uses the standard Swede blades without any proprietary ends so the blades would be cheaper and easier to find.

Anyone use this saw? I'd like to hear some first-hand reviews before I shell out the fifty bucks....

Here are a couple of photos from this weekend's winter camp-out in the Black Mountain area of Dresden, NY:


My sweetie and I by the fire. I almost caught my boot on fire when I rushed back from the camera after triggering the self-timer and plopped down too close to the fire. :o
Jan192013b_zps6c5e1618.jpg


Snow & Neally Hudson Bay axe in the foreground:

Jan192013_zps3db82852.jpg


One of the hammocks:

Jan192013d_zps8837a951.jpg


Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I have one I got a while ago. Very simple and solid. Really easy to put together. Admittedly I've never used a trailblazer, but the Dustrude strikes me as being quite a bit simpler to assemble. Once together it's solid. Taking regular blades from any hardware store is a big bonus IMO. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
 
Love my Dustrude saw! If you put your off hand THROUGH the bow, you can't cut it no matter how hard you try. I like the canvas carrier from Duluth. It lets you carry a spare blade or two. I HIGHLY recommend Surefire Woodsman as a source. When the USPS lost my saw and spare blade, SW sent another one, no charge. When the original order turned up several weeks later, SW gave me the option of returning it at their expense or keeping it for cost of the saw only, no charge for shipping. Now I have two of them! To see a nice demo of the saw CLICK HERE. It's quick and easy to put together, even with gloves on. There are no small parts to lose. You can buy replacement blades at most hardware stores (at least around here).
 
Another :thumbup: :thumbup: vote!!!!

Too funny - I used mine today. My son and i were out in the mountains for a little hike and we practiced fire-making. I used my Bucksaw to get some short, thicker pieces for our small-ish fire.

I gotta say, in nearly 30 years of outdoor "play" it's the best compact, easy-to-carry bow saw i've ever seen or used. It is soooo easy to put together (once you understand how it's assembled) and the blade that comes with it cuts very fast with little effort. It buzzes through pine like it's not even there, but also goes though dried white oak quite well.

The Quick Bucksaw allows for cutting large diameter 'rounds' (much larger than other similar pack-able saws) and, so far, hasn't proven to generate hot spots when i've used it. Also, it's a very rigid design so it appears to be little opportunity for failure (though Murphy's Law can work against anything!).

I need to get a pouch for it though as it is a little noisy when we're trying to put the 'sneak' on wildlife as well as a place to store 1) another saw blade and 2) a bone-saw blade (the Bucksaw uses standard 24" saw blades.....). I'm also at the stage where i'm going to put some more tung oil or similar sealer on the wooden handle just so it's thoroughly protected.

I don't know where my wife bought mine (it was a gift), but i think she bought it at fourdog.com. However, another place has an *excellent* video on how to use one. Here's the link:
http://www.surefirewoodsman.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=133&Itemid=157

This fella isn't joking - the saw is amazing.
 
Last edited:
Lou Castle said:
If you put your off hand THROUGH the bow, you can't cut it no matter how hard you try.
Click to expand...

I'm familiar with that method. I'm not cutting my off hand, but rather the index finger on my sawing hand when it slides up the handle into the blade teeth.

Thanks for the vote of confidence for the Quick Saw and the video link!

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
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