I like folding saws best.

M

Mr Jody Hudson

Joined
Oct 1, 2001
Messages
106
I have now decided to drop my ideas for saw back blades. It took me a long time. I have a couple of great wire saws too but I no longer use them either.

I had one of the rare Victorinox hollow handle huge survival bowie knives with the superb victorinox saw back but even that was dozens of steps below the usefulness of my folding tree saw.

I have a folding tree saw with about an 11 inch blade that is just perfect and almost weightless and cost about $14 at Wallmart! Those little saws are one of the best, cheapest, lightest and most workable tools I've found in a long time.

I had a couple of saw tooth shovels and just didn't like the way they handled compared to the folding saw.
 
Yes, there are really good folding saws out there. I own a Gerber
folding saw and find it to be amazing in it's ablitiy to out cut ANY
saw I've ever seen. It is sold with two blades and a codura pouch
making very easy to carry to the job or in the woods. I find mine
so useful that it is used many,many times to limb out and trim
the trees and bushes around my home. A very worthwile addititon
to my tool kit in my truck. If you find one snap it up. It's worth
every penny it cost.
 
I have the folding Sierra saw. It's about the size of the Gerber. You could build a log cabin with this thing. It is my saw of choice when trimming my mesquite trees up high. When I can only spare one hand or have a difficult angle to deal with, this saw is perfect. It's super light weight make it very versitale.
 
I like my knives plain. I've never got on with wire saws however well put together they are. There is definitely a place for small folding pruning saws in my cutting armory.

Folding saws do a neat job. Bow wood saws are also underestimated. The only real problem is that the saw blades do wear quite quickly. They are disposables. Replacement blades are not expensive but its the bore factor of having to go out and get a new one that bugs me. The spare is never with you when you need it. This is not the fault of the tool, just that we don't use the tools that often any more. Certainly we don't cut the winter fuel each year with them. If we do cut wood in any quantity then out comes the power tool.

I've been using a Gerber, have used several others, and they are all not bad but not great. Well not for prolonged use.
 
I have found that they work better and are safer,
once they learn to let the saw do the work and that these saws cut on the pull stroke

one from sandvik has a double row of teath and is very agressinve.

definatly one always goes out with us on any outing

conrad
 
My brother gave me one of the cheap lightweight Gerber folding saws for Christmas last year. Comes in a cordura pouch with extra blade. I tried it this deer hunting season and it works like a charm. It neatly sawed through the breat bone and pelvic bone on deer. It also cleared small branches and thorn bushes away from my stand, or anywhere I chose to sit. I coupled it with a small Dozier Slim Outdoorsman knife to do the rest of the field dressing. I did not want to pound the little dozier through the bones. Its like a fine scalpel, though I am sure it could do it. The saw is kind of big but very light.
 
The Zeta brand folding saw weighs only a few ounces and the blades are easy to replace. Its foldability makes it handy to pack around in your pocket or pack. The ability to lock the blade at various angles makes it very versatile for cutting jobs that are awkward with fixed-handle saws.
http://www.tashirohardware.com/special.html

Like all Japanese saws it cuts on the pull stroke and the blade is a cutting demon!! I use mine regularly around the yard trimming branches and in the woodshop. Even though the blade has only 11 tpi (teeth per inch), it does not give ragged cuts. Each tooth has three very acutely ground cutting edges and there are deep gullets between the teeth. The acute grinds on each tooth give very smooth cuts and the deep gullets mean that you can cut through fairly fluffy material like green wood & bark without the teeth clogging up as badly as finer toothed saws or saws with shallower gullets. The teeth are electro-induction hardened, making them harder than a file. When the teeth do finally get dull (which takes a long time) you replace the blade instead of sharpening it. The rubber handle material is quite solid in hand without feeling tacky. At only 10" closed length, it's a super handy saw to stash in a pack. The extremely efficient cutting it provides will outstrip it's insignificant weight in your pack many times over.

It's a tool that has proven to be so handy and versatile that it I'd replace it immediately if I ever lost it.
 
Tashiro's folding saw costs $28.75 ($17.75 for saw, $11 for blade) plus S&H. You can call Mr Tashiro at (206) 328-7641 in Seattle.
 
I have the Gerber "Exchange a Blade" Sport Saw. Comes with two blades (one coarse, one fine) and a nice nylon sheath for around $20.

I don't agree that these blade are disposable. With a vice, a file held at the right angle, and some patience, these blades will sharpen right up.
 
I have a sandvik lapplander folding saw and it is a wood cutting demon. Small trees and mid size (ie less than 8") can be cut with the saw than I could ever cut through with a knife or even a decent axe. A good felling axe fight keep up in the small stuff, but as the size of wood goes up, it requires far less effort to saw through it. OF course YMMV.
Take care,
Chad
 
What's this Victorinox survival hollow handled bowie knife? I've never heard of one.
 
THANKS Chad.

rep, It was only sold for a few weeks. It was authorized by Victorinox for a few days as it was made by one of the senior execs. Then he was fired and they Un-authorized it. The handle came a bit loose in gentle use, so I traded it away to a wanna-be-Rambo friend of mine.
 
Guyon,
Yes, I agree you can get more life out of saw blades by sharpenng, and its not that difficult. I still maintain they are ane occasional tool; not day in day out workers. Then again that is all they probably need to be.
 
Originally posted by Mr Jody Hudson
Sandvick Hard Point ordered. I look forward to an even better saw. Thanks Chad and others.
Click to expand...
Jody,
Please let us know how well it performs, I think that you are in a great situation to evaluate it as you have had experience with other folding saws to compare it to.
The real thanks should go to Hoodoo, who turned me on to the saw.
Take care,
Chad
 
Hoodoo is a terrific asset for us all… I need to spend even MORE time on his site. I do look forward to the little saw. Plus, I got it from Libby Montana – one of my favorite places on earth. I used to write for the paper there some, a few years ago. Never been there though – except a lot of virtual travels in all sorts of ways.

I look forward to testing the little saw. I need to cut some hickory for walking sticks and canes, soon. It has been so warm here that the sap is still up in the trees too much. And, hickory, or at least what I think is hickory, is almost as heavy as steel when it’s got the sap in it. Even when I’ve cut it in the winter, it takes nearly a year, inside the house for it to dry out to a proper weight. So I’ll be cutting several pieces of an inch and a half to two and a half inches in diameter plus several smaller pieces. I want to cut several pieces to make some hammer head style walking sticks and canes. I look forward to it.
 
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