• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

Bow saw vs Hatchet.

For bushcraft it would be great to have a saw and an axe. IMHO, an axe that is light enough for hiking isn't worth much for wood cutting-- fine for limbing and kindling, but it stops there. When I think of an axe, I think of one with a long handle and a heavier head-- a two handed rig that can bring down a large tree.

It is a matter of weight for me-- I can take a saw that weighs 3.5 to 6 ounces that will cut well. It is an emergency tool for me. I only have a fire when there is an established fire ring and deadfall available. I normally cook on a small stove and leave no trace so the next guy can enjoy the wilderness too.
 
This is a good thread, especially for all those scouts and scout leaders out there. As someone said, saws are safer and easier to use then an ax, and I found my scouts and venture crews can do a lot of work with their folding saws. An ax, on the other hand, should be razor sharp and can be dangerous so I usually don't make them available to the scouts.

On the other hand, I like them, so I practice with a GB forest ax and hatchet. I'm no expert, but I can limb a lot more deadfall with that ax than I can ever do with a saw. Easier on the back, too. After I drag this stuff to camp, I lop off the kindling with the hatchet. I've never bothered to chop up the resulting staves - I just let the fire do that. Usually, I can come up with a winter weekend's supply of firewood in a relaxing first morning. There's a nack to this, but, once you learn it, I can't imagine matching it with a saw.
 
Axes and hatchets are far better than any saw imo. It can be used as a knife and chop and spit fire wood with a little bit of practice a good sharp hatchet can replace all of you cutting tools tho only thing i saw can do is cut wood into pices its hard to split wood with a saw but it can be done. Also a saw are more likely to fail. And i know people will say axes/hatchets are dangerous but so are saws i learned the hard way that axes can be dangerous i cut right through a artirie in my foot. But i now chop on my knees and it almost imposible get hut and i have also been cut and poked more time with a saw.
 
British bushcraft doesn't really involve taking down huge trees. For most cutting chores a folding saw does the job perfectly. I think there's also an awareness in the UK that if you're cutting branches the cut is clean and the tree is less likely to become infected and die.

Due to the popularity of Ray Mears I think many British bushcrafters own a Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe.

Just to clear things up, if you are practicing bushcraft in the UK there's no legal problem about using pocket knives, saws, fixed blades, hatchets, machetes, kukris or full blown felling axes. If you decide to take them down to the night club with you then there is a legal problem.

Over time my opinions have changed (I'm sure they will again!), I love my Small Forest and Mini Belt axe, I would never sell or trade them. But for what I do I think my folding saw and Ka-Bar Cutlass (and a small fixed blade) are more versatile and safe. Batoning with a knife is far safer than trying to split with an axe.
 
I think a small saw vs an axe is an unfair comparison. A hatchet about the same length as the saw is more fair since they are equally portable and more likely to be taken hiking or whatever.

An axe would be better compared to a chainsaw imo.
 
flip888 said:
I think a small saw vs an axe is an unfair comparison. A hatchet about the same length as the saw is more fair since they are equally portable and more likely to be taken hiking or whatever.

An axe would be better compared to a chainsaw imo.
Click to expand...

To get the same use of a small hatchet from a saw, you would need to pair it with a knife as well.

So, either a small hatchet,
Or a saw and a knife.
 
Good point. If I could only have 1 thing other than a knife, a hatchet would win over a saw. Though most people here always edc at least 1 knife.
 
flip888 said:
Good point. If I could only have 1 thing other than a knife, a hatchet would win over a saw. Though most people here always edc at least 1 knife.
Click to expand...

Thats true too, of course theres the other side, what happens if a saw breaks?
Are you ready to fix it?
Are you able to fix a saw better than the handle on a hatchet?

Then again, how many of your saws have broken in the field, same goes for a knife or hatchet.

I personally have had a hatchet break, as well as a knife, but not a folding saw, I have however had a blade bend and the saw was more less usless, but I would have a better time bending back a saw blade then I would making a handle for a hatchet with a folder.
 
Ive never broken a hatchet, I think if it has a good handle on it you would have a hard time swinging it with enough force to break it. Though its not impossible and like you said, its happened before. I think it would be easiest to break a saw because of binding and bending.

In either case, it would only take time to fix the hatchet, the saw might be a total loss.

I wonder if you could get spare folding saw blades. Or how hard it would be to replace them.
 
flip888 said:
Ive never broken a hatchet, I think if it has a good handle on it you would have a hard time swinging it with enough force to break it. Though its not impossible and like you said, its happened before. I think it would be easiest to break a saw because of binding and bending.

In either case, it would only take time to fix the hatchet, the saw might be a total loss.

I wonder if you could get spare folding saw blades. Or how hard it would be to replace them.
Click to expand...

Theirs a good Idea, I know gerber make exchange a blade saws, thats the one I use.

And also, while using an axe under normal parameters, it wont break, if it does its due to manufacturing defects.

Where as a saw, its easy to get ahead of your self and bend a blade, or drop it and the plastic handles break.
 
Here's a trio I used last time I went out camping that worked quite well.

Silky folding saw for cutting up the big hunks of wood into manageable sizes.
A Becker C/U 7 for limbing and splitting.
F1 for making fuzz sticks, kindling etc.

This seemed to be a rather efficient tool set.

The Becker C/U 7 could be replaced by a hatchet but I find the it is much
more controllable then a hatchet, and seemingly just as good for the task.

The time before that I did everything with the Becker. It worked
but with much more effort then using a saw.
 
msiley said:
Here's a trio I used last time I went out camping that worked quite well.

Silky folding saw for cutting up the big hunks of wood into manageable sizes.
A Becker C/U 7 for limbing and splitting.
F1 for making fuzz sticks, kindling etc.

This seemed to be a rather efficient tool set.

The Becker C/U 7 could be replaced by a hatchet but I find the it is much
more controllable then a hatchet, and seemingly just as good for the task.

The time before that I did everything with the Becker. It worked
but with much more effort then using a saw.
Click to expand...


Thats essentially what I used to carry, but instead of the F1 I had a folder.

I cant really say there is a large difference between the two variations of tool selection, but personal preference will play a large part as well as experience.

Not to say that I know more because I carry an axe, but You know more about a certain tool than I, and I may know more about a certian tool the you. Thus making you more effecient when using your selected tool.

But thats the great thing about today, there is something to suite everyones fancy, unfortunatly, when its asked what is better, there is allways a terrible debate against the Large knife and Axe guys, In the end it will be what YOU choose, not what others think.
 
It's only natural for each of us to choose the tools we are most comfortable with, as these tend to be the ones we have the most experience using.

IMO, what matters is how we make use of the tools we've choosen :thumbup:


Kind regards
Mick
 
Type of wood definitely has a bearing on choice of tool. I don't practice bushcraft and the only reason I would carry an axe or saw is for cutting up firewood. I used to carry an axe when camping but switched to a saw because Aussie hardwood has a very twisted grain that resists splitting so the preference is to fine smaller branches that can be cut up easily.

I once tried to chop into an old Ironwood stump (the 5lb axe was very sharp) - all it did was bounce off leaving a ¼" deep gash and a ringing in my arms. I burnt 3 chains on my Stihl chainsaw trying to level it and ended up hiring a stumpgrinder to get rid of it. :grumpy: Damn Funnelwebs nesting around it didn't make the job any easier either

If it wasn't for the houses nearby I would have used ANFO and blown it across the valley.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top