Find the BM-E (pics)

[RokJok]

Yardwork again today since it isn't raining means a Mistress is gonna get a beating. :thumbup:

I kneel on the split at the right side of the picture below to keep my BDU knees from getting soaked. Brace the branch I'm working on over the sawdust-covered log in the middle. Saw it off with the orange-handled Tashiro Hardware folding pruning saw with his Timber blade mounted in it. Then toss the cutoff on the pile at left. Afterward split the rounds with the BM-E at left and a baton. Toss the splits onto the pile at the rear.

Here are a couple of close-up shots of the saw & knife.

And here is a picture of the BM-E and baton splitting pair that do the ol' whack & bang work.

 

[xaman]

Awesome pics! Looks like fun work...

 

[JurT]

Indeed awesome pics!! It sure looks like you had alot of fun:thumbup:

 

[wetdog1911]

Awesome pics! Looks like fun work...

Ask Rok, I bet it was fun for perhaps the first 5 min or so, then it just gets sweaty.

Rok

How did you like the saw, and it's performance?

Splitting rounds with a BM-E and a baton is one thing, making a pile of rounds is something else again.

Rob

 

[RokJok]

Ask Rok, I bet it was fun for perhaps the first 5 min or so, then it just gets sweaty.

This once I'll have to disagree with you, amigo. Because this yardwork is a casual pursuit for me, I get to take it a little easy. Also, today was about an ideal day for the chore -- low 50's Farenheit temp, no wind, solid overcast so no glare in the eyes. To regulate body temp I shed or add layers, depending on how vigorous is the work at hand. Overall, I find the job fun..... especially the limbing and splitting with the BM-E.

How did you like the saw, and it's performance? Splitting rounds with a BM-E and a baton is one thing, making a pile of rounds is something else again.

After many years, the Tashiro folding saw is still my favorite one to use. I've tried several other Japanese cut-on-the-pull-stroke style pruning saws, including some I reviewed here on BFC, Corona from Home Depot, the Nakaya model EX-240 pruning saw from nokogiri.com (I found them to be great guys to deal with), and others. Silky saws are the notable exception that I haven't tried yet. Of them all, the Tashiro saw and its adjustable blade angle continues to shine in all my testing.

Some comments and testing from Cliff Stamp regarding the Tashiro saw can be found here.

You're right about creating rounds by chopping with a knife being REALLY tedious work. In my "Battle of the Mistresses" review thread I alluded to this.

The Tashiro folding saw is very handy to stick in a BDU thigh pocket and head out. It's light, compact, aggressive, has rubber-covered handles for traction, big teeth, an all-business no-nonsense "take no prisoners" attitude, it'll cut you in a second if your attention wanders.... Hmmmmmmmm............. reminds me of a girl I used to date.

I timed one of the cuts I made with the saw today: 10 seconds to slice one-handed through a green round that was 2.25" thick. It would have been a lot faster if I could have used both hands, which is the usual technique with Japanese saws. The extra hand not only increases the power you can apply considerably, the extra stability (consistency of tracking) it brings also speeds up the cut an amazing amount. But I needed to use one hand to steady the piece as I sawed it. So the time wasn't bad for an out-of-shape old guy.