"Choppers" vs. a saw

Might have to get a folding saw.Chopping can be hard on your wrists,when you have carpal tunnel in both hands.I still love to chop,just not for extended periods.Yeah,I'm approaching the mid century mark.
 
I love large knives. There simply isn't anything quite as cool. That said, when SWMBO needs me to trim the trees around the house, I grab the Silky saw.
 
I love my silky saw. That and a 4" blade and you can get through a lot of firewood. I've been enjoying splitting wood with the saw a la Mears method.

But obviously I enjoy hacking at things just like everyone else too!
 
Two different tools for different jobs. IMO, there is no comparing them.
edit to add: I carry both.
Scott
 
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To me, a saw serves more as a replacement for an axe than as a replacement for a knife. A big knife serves many more purposes than chopping down trees or splitting logs, including stuff like clearing brush for a campsite - a situation where a saw is almost useless.

I do very little chopping with my "choppers", and use them much more for splitting, brush clearing, removing limbs, and similar tasks. I chop with them when I'm fooling around or playing, but when I'm actually hiking they see much less chopping action.


Nessmuk had his axe, fixed blade, and folder - I prefer a folding saw, large fixed blade, and small fixed blade. The folding saw is a natural complement to a large fixed blade, not a replacement, IMHO.
 
A lightweight folding saw like the OP's is great for its purposes.

It won't cut wood longer than its cutting edge, or carve meat, skin an animal, puncture, pry, dig, wedge or cleave the sassenach, and it's a stone cold booger to resharpen in the field.

Each tool has its uses. Knives are more versatile, but give up a bit of performance in some specific applications in exchange for that versatility.
 
Sven saw, light portable, cuts fast as hell and is super efficient.

my thoughts on a saw over a chopper is that while its more fun to using a chopper, in a survival situation, preserving as may calories as possible is very important. chopping to me is a higher energy expenditure.
 
Each tool has it's uses, and like other posters, I carry both. Try chopping through ice to get drinking water with a saw. Try beating a saw with a chopper. See, both can win...
 
I find the small fixed blade + saw to be a more efficient tool set than just a large chopper however I find the large chopper is always more fun.

Also if i'm only packing one tool it's the big knife every time. It's just a more flexible tool in terms of task in can tackle.

I will say I am learning how to use the saw and small knives to do more and more but I don't see my chopper collection being in danger any time soon.
 
Chopper + pocket chainsaw for me. I need to make a video using the pocket chainsaw to go through a standing tree. No one-man manual knife\saw\axe can beat it on say a 6" standing tree. I only say this on a standing tree though because of the way you can use your body weight against the tree with the pocket chainsaw.

Another huge advantage for a long blade is batoning large pieces of wood right down the middle to make large half logs that burn longer on an established fire vs. using a 4" blade to turn that same log into a pile of sticks that go up in minutes.
 
Well as one of the guys at the Bush bash. It was cold everything was WET and i mean realy wet to the core. We had to cut lots of wood and some of it was so wet that we left it laying there. Just walked around to look for more wood. That little saw that mike had cut easily wood up to 7in+. But if you wanted to collect fat wood from dead trees. I would take a nice big axe. Actualy i wont even bother getting fat wood unless i had a nice axe. Those dead tree trunks dont want to give anything up without some sweat. A hatched is not here or there. It took 4 guys over 4 hours to collect wood for a camp fire. A good fire starter is a huge help. From the couple of days we spend there the saw got the most work out by everyone. That has to say something about having a saw for getting fire wood.

Sasha
 
beef said:
I've been enjoying splitting wood with the saw a la Mears method.
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Well I'll be damned! I wasn't aware of this method, but a quick youtube search turned it up. Not only is it a means of producing firewood, you get to whack stuff, too! I can't wait to try it.

[youtube]LcRYSFqjLgY[/youtube]
 
I don't get the interest in oversized knives. The biggest blades I carry are under 4" and in my two main packs I carry a little Gerber pruning saw that makes quick work of whatever task its given.

Last time I posted something about how silly I thought "choppers" were I got jumped on but I still feel they're pretty much pointless for practical use. At least for me. But if you like them more than a camp axe or think they're cool, knock yourself out.
 
Well, choppers may not be as effective as saws in some tasks, but they're certainly more versatile. Anyway, chopping builds muscle. :)

IMG00039-20100501-1702.jpg
 
The saw does work better until it breaks and then you have a worthless tool in your pack. I broke one at work last Wednesday. A thinner chopper like the Busse BWM is more versatile than a saw or a hatchet IMO and it ain't gonna break. It's lighter than the hatchet and will slash vines and thinner branches better than a thick chopper. Right now it's my tool of choice for camping trips and back yard work.

Also, last time we went camping the forecast was for a low of 43F but it got down to 28F where we were. I had to chop a 10" caliper log into 5 sections just to move it to the fire. That wouldn't happen with a folding saw.
 
JCavSD said:
Well, choppers may not be as effective as saws in some tasks, but they're certainly more versatile. Anyway, chopping builds muscle. :)
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In one side only. Then you'll have one under-developed side of your body. And if you find yourself lost in the desert with no prominent features, you'll end up walking round in circles. ;)

So you see, a saw is really much safer in the grand scheme of things :p
 
PayetteRucker said:
definately something cavemanish and primordial about using a chopper. I love folding saws, they're super effective like you said, however for a long term survival situation they won't nearly as long as a quality axe. That thing would be toothless or uselessly dull long before a good hatchet or machete will catastrophically fail on you. My dad has a 66 year old axe in his basement that his family has used in the northwoods of Minnesota since his family moved to the US from Norway. And I'd like to see someone cut down a big tree with a folding saw, you can get all Sawvivor on me if you want but a vast majority of them aren't longer than 10 inches. That limits you to small branches and bolts. There are some types of forrests, like sequoia and ponderosa for example, where you would have to climb 20 feet up a tree trunk before reaching a small enough branch to cut with a folding saw.
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I agree that for a long term situation an axe is an excellent tool (I carry a small axe when winter backpacking at 11,000ft here in the Rockies). However, for a shorter term situation where one is waiting for help I would much rather have a folding saw on me. Most folks don't carry an axe handy when enjoying the outdoors, but a 6-7 ounce folding saw with a 7" blade fits easily in a day pack and cuts more efficiently than hatchets.
 
Aye I spend a good chunk of time above 10,000 feet in Idaho-I usually pack everything, a tomahawk, a machete, a folding axe, a SERE knife and a puuko. Sure it's heavy but I never feel unprepared for any cutting tasks should anything quickly head south.
 
while its a touchy subject, as each of our needs are different...........i will say this........try and sharpen your saw in the middle of the woods. I can put a edge on my choppers or axes in minutes. My folding sandvick saw cannot be sharpened.

something to think about////
 
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