Pocket-saw showdown!

Joined
Jun 18, 2000
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Okay, here it is...
The contestants:

Victorinox Camper:
Total blade length is 2-7/8".
Length from first tooth to last tooth is 2-1/2" (no, I did'nt measure the cutting edge of each tooth--just peak to peak).
29 teeth.

Wenger Handyman:
Total blade length is 2-5/8".
From tooth-to-tooth is 2-3/8".
27 teeth.

Schrade Old Timer Buzzsaw Trapper:
Total blade length is 3-9/16".
From tooth-to-tooth is 2-7/8".
37 teeth.

Gerber Pro-Scout:
Originally I tested the Remgrit blade that came with the Gerber but it was virtually useless on the wood. So I substituted a Craftsman jigsaw-blade.
Total blade length is 2-1/2".
From tooth-to-tooth is 2-1/4".
43 teeth.

The test:
The cutting material consisted of a pine wooden stake 1-1/2 X 3/4".
I cut against the grain and along the narrow portion to get a longer stroke. I timed how long it took to cut through the stake and each knife was tested three times.
After that test I measured how deep of a groove could be cut with only 10 strokes from each knife (The strokes were one direction only).

The results:
Camper: best time was 30 seconds and it achieved a groove of 5/8" in ten strokes.
I really like this knife alot but the corkscrew made for an uncomfortable grip and it would be better if the key-ring was on the opposite end of the knife too.

Handyman: best time was also 30 seconds, like the Camper, but the groove it produced was 9/16" in ten strokes.
Because it has a phillips screwdriver instead of the corkscrew, the grip was more comfortable. The key-ring placement would be better at the opposite end where it would be out of the way. Overall, the Camper and the Handyman performed very much alike except concerning the tooth-pick.
The head of the tooth-pick in the Wenger smashed against the wood while I was sawing and it broke. The tweezers survived however.

Schrade: best time was 32 seconds and the groove cut was 9/16" in ten strokes.
The Buzzsaw trapper was the overall loser and was rather disappointing considering its size and strength. But its size WAS its problem. It's too thick and inflexable. It bound in the wood much more often than any of the others.

Gerber with Craftsman blade: best time was 23 seconds and groove depth was 23/32" in ten strokes.
The Gerber's savior in this test was that the Remgrit blade could be replaced with one that cuts.
The jigsaw blade does'nt look like much competition when it's side-by-side to the Camper and the Handyman. The teeth are rather tiny and the blade is very thin too. But don't be fooled! I was amazed at how easy the Gerber (with Craftsman blade) cut through the wood. Not only did it take less time but it took less effort too.
The Gerber itself makes for a very comfotable and stable grip, and because the multi-tool is squared-off it does'nt twist in your grip like the SAKs do.
On the downside, while sawing like crazy to beat the clock, I bent the jig-saw blade to about a 45 degrees angle. I straighten it and continued to saw but it was not the quickest run.

Well, there you have it. Not the most scientific of test but it was fun.
Good luck,
Allen.
 
Yep, When the sawdust settles the SAK saw is always the winner.
For all the faults of the SAK the saw has never been one of them.
 
Thanks for the great comparo, Allen!

Got a new SAK on the way - will put it head to head with the REMgrit on my Multi-Lite and see what I find...

Would love to get a Leatherman in there as well...
 
allen :

On the downside, while sawing like crazy to beat the clock, I bent the jig-saw blade to about a 45 degrees angle. I straighten it and continued to saw but it was not the quickest run.

When bent the performance of a saw suffers significantly. I used to use time as a performance indicator, but found it problematic as you can break many high performance saws but running them incorrectly and they are not meant to be run very fast anyway.

I record both the number of strokes required time now but don't run at break neck speed for fear of breaking the saws. In general I don't find a lot of differenc in time per stroke anyway. However there is as you mention a lot of difference in the force required. This is a bit harder to put a number on though.

Nice work.

-Cliff
 
Thanks for the replies.
I think the Gerber adaptor that allows the saw-blade to be changed is one of the greatest technological advances in multi-tools.
Even though I bent the Craftsman blade (or if it gets dull), it's no problem because I can switch it out for a new blade.
If I had bent the Victorinox, Wenger, or Schrade blades then I would have to send it back to the manufacturer.

Just think how cool it would be if Victorinox had that adaptor so you could change saw-blades. Maybe even having one saw-blade on the adaptor (for wood) and one tucked away (for metal) in the scales like the tweezers and toothpick!

Good luck,
Allen.
 
This is a fascinating look at something just a little diffent. Thanks. I get the impression that the blade/saw combo folders were more common years ago, and may have been more of an European style. GERMAN EYE BRAND KNIVES still sells a very traditional German style knife/saw folder. I also see in my latest catalog from Shephard Hills that Case is now importing knives made in Solingen Germany. One of these is a big folder-hunter (5") that has a saw and a blade. These are stated to be 440-C. I'd love to hear if anyone has seen mnay of this new line from Case.
 
Case's german knives look to be made by Boker. The model with the saw is Boker's 4021, except with bone scales. Maybe, a saw test on bone is in order?
 
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