Dislike for Sawback knives?

The reason most folks hate sawbacks is because they're almost ALWAYS done wrong. Many are done like blunt serrations or without any set to the teeth so they bind. The best one I've seen was the SOG Team Leader with the sawback option, which is now disco'd. Properly machined non-set teeth on a full flat ground blade. The full flat grind means that when used as a saw you don't bet binding issues since the blade tapers away from the sides of the kerf, and the teeth are nice and sharp with a good crosscut tooth pattern.
 
not2sharp said:
On a knife, the constant binding of the sawback makes the main blade nearly unusuable. It also limits your ability to batton the knife or to use it as a draw knife; and, it adds potential stress risers and makes sheathing that much more complicated. Carrying a simple folding saw is so much easier. There is no need to add one to a knife.

n2s
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Nope u can batton as much as u want with this one :-)
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The fiskars slide saw weighs in at 3 oz. With such a lightweight effective saw it really isn't worth the time and money trying to find a knife with a useable sawback. The "survival knife" idea has led many people to believe that one tool is the best approach when it is absolutely the worst IMO.
 
Show me a traditional woods knife...like something someone like Nessmuk would have used...with a sawback.

Then we might be talking.
 
Shotgun said:
The fiskars slide saw weighs in at 3 oz. With such a lightweight effective saw it really isn't worth the time and money trying to find a knife with a useable sawback. The "survival knife" idea has led many people to believe that one tool is the best approach when it is absolutely the worst IMO.
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That's the way it is for me. I'd rather have a dedicated saw and a dedicated knife. :)
 
marcinek said:
Show me a traditional woods knife...like something someone like Nessmuk would have used...with a sawback.

Then we might be talking.
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Ahh...but my guess is he never used his fixed blade for anything other then game and food. Or if you like, food and food. :D
 
Shotgun said:
Ahh...but my guess is he never used his fixed blade for anything other then game and food. Or if you like, food and food. :D
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Yes, I believe that was true. And he never saw the need to slap a saw on the spine of his fixed blade.

Maybe there's something to be learned there!
 
Pretty much everything that has been said applies to me as well. There are a few blades that i have with sawbacks. One worked ok when i used it, but was nothing to write home about. I made faster progress chopping with the blade. That is my Ontario 18" machete. The other one is my Ontario SP8. It absolutely sucked stock. I used my Dremel & sharpened each individual sawtooth, then I used the cutoff wheel to make angled grooves through the teeth. It now works remarkably well, but is still not used very often. I just hate stuff that don't work.
 
Now, if someone took Cold Steel's cue and made a two handed machete and added a sawback, it might actually be useful. You'd have enough leverage to get the job done. Also, when you're cutting with the saw, the blade edge is facing up at you.....not exactly the safest position. Besides, when it comes to space, camp saws like the Sawvivor only weigh 9.5oz. IMO it's worth the slight bit of extra weight; it's twice as efficient.
 
The only sawtooth blade I've seen that I thought was any good, was on the top of a German bayonet. The teeth were offset from each other, and needle sharp just like on a wood saw, and it cut through wood like a dream. Most of the other ones I've seen appear to be made for rasping through wood rather than cutting.
 
The teeth on the back of pilot survival knives where there to rip through an aluminum fuselage.



Everything since is just marketing.





Big Mike
 
I think I will be a fly in the ointment,

I actually like my sawback machetes for two reasons. I have been clearing my woods of lots of deadfall and severely overgrown weeds/vines (Japanese Honeysuckle)


1) there are times when I need to saw, just a little bit to get through a stubborn branch.

2) After I have cleared a sizable mass of honeysuckle vines, the sawback is a great tool to grab the wad of vines and help moving it of the way.

I will agree completely with others here that have stated that the sawbacks are generally of a poor construction and I do secretly wish that a good double beveled hardened steel saw could be affixed to the back of the machete--But for now I will only dream about it.

SI2305
 
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