Quality Take Down Saw?

Infi-del

Infi-del

Joined
Apr 6, 2009
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Been thinking about getting a take down saw. I mostly carry a backpack in the woods so it doesn't need to be pocket sized. I have a Gerber folding saw and it works pretty well for small stuff but I was wanting to step up to something larger that I could strap to my pack that was made for more serious and prolonged cutting tasks. The two I've come across so far are the Sven 21" and the Trail blazer 24". The Trail Blaser seems to have a lifetime warranty. Not sure about the Sven. Any thoughts on these. Suggestions? Other brands of note. A long blade is the key here. I looked at the Silky Bigboy which has about a 15" blade, but these take downs look like they break down to a smaller package overall and would be less work to use on a serious cutting task. Those straight little hand saws always seem to wear out my hand and wrist. Looking for the toughest, best built, best cutting take down saw there is. Price is not really all that important as long as we stay under $200.00. I appreciate your knowledge and experience here.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by a take down saw, but it sounds to me that you're looking for a light ax.
 
One thing you should pay attention to with any type of 'breakdown' anything is the attachment points that secure it together. Drop some of those parts in forest litter and they are going to have you on your hands and knees for hours trying to locate them. Ever removed and replaced 'shear pins' in the woods and not the shop? I would say get the saws in question and do a review on them, including take down and parts hassles.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by a take down saw, but it sounds to me that you're looking for a light ax.
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I think he was pretty clear he was looking for a saw.

One thing you should pay attention to with any type of 'breakdown' anything is the attachment points that secure it together. Drop some of those parts in forest litter and they are going to have you on your hands and knees for hours trying to locate them.
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Good point. If you look at the saws being discussed, we are just talking about one wing nut that could possibly be lost. If that was a major concern I would just throw a couple of spares in your pack.

Both saws in question have been around for quite some time and are proven designs. IIRC the Trailblazer has had better reviews. I think it can handle bucking larger logs.

Paul
 
valcas1 said:
Good point. If you look at the saws being discussed, we are just talking about one wing nut that could possibly be lost. If that was a major concern I would just throw a couple of spares in your pack.

Both saws in question have been around for quite some time and are proven designs. IIRC the Trailblazer has had better reviews. I think it can handle bucking larger logs.

Paul
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Yeah, I probably would buy a few extra wing nuts just to be on the safe side. I'll do a search here on the trail blazer and see if I can find some ofthese reviews. It looks a little more substantial and they cost close to the same. I was mainly wondering if ther was a better design or better unit I wasn't aware of. Since the trail blazer break down into a simple tube it would be cool if someone made something similar that could also be used as a walking stick.
 
raybadge said:
I'm not sure what you mean by a take down saw, but it sounds to me that you're looking for a light ax.
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I was talking about a bow type saw that can easily be broken down into a tube or something similar. here is a pick of the trail blazer
cspoutdoors_2052_36269441


I already have a GB axe which serves me well.
 
The Silky Bigboy is crazy cutter! I was playing with one yesterday. It's just a simple folder and can be used with one or two hands.

IMG_3814.jpg


IMG_3812.jpg
 
I've had the Sven 21" for 20 years and put it thru plenty of hard use...no problems with it at all. The advice about the wing-nut is good, also have some spares of the roll-pin just in case. One other piece of advice is spare blades...the Sven blades are almost twice the thickness of the cheapy replacements I've seen in the Depot type stores and Sears. I made that mistake recently because I was in one of the big stores, but once I used the blade and realized how poorly it cut, I made it a point to send for Sven replacements.
 
MRpink said:
The Silky Bigboy is crazy cutter! I was playing with one yesterday. It's just a simple folder and can be used with one or two hands.

IMG_3814.jpg


IMG_3812.jpg
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Thanks for the comparison shot. I got an AK47 too and that Bigboy is exactly that. A Big boy.
 
Dannyboy Leather said:
I have a huge variety of takedown saws (own some Siky saws too). But, for serious cutting in the bush, I use one of the 24" takedown Pack Saws from Pole & Paddle http://www.poleandpaddle.com/saw.html . I carry the light weight saw in a slim canvas bag strapped to my pack (the saw blade stores in the frame of the saw). As you know, the 24" blades can be found anywhere and are easy to replace. I carry a couple of extras in the canvas bag. The saw weighs very little, cuts like one of my timber saws. :)

crookednorlandbucksaw1no9.jpg
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That's a nice looking saw. I was kinda wanting to stay with something metal though. I'm afraid the wood would require a little more care and might not be as sturdy as metal.
 
Thanks for this thread, I have been looking into these recently, as I am starting a trend of these saw things. I have begun to look at them more and more each day.
 
Dannyboy Leather said:
I also have one of the 21" takedown Fast Bucksaws from Fast Bucksaw http://www.fastbucksaw.com/. The 21" is a little more portable but I still find myself using the 24" takedown Pack Saw from Pole & Paddle the most.
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I was going to recommend the fast buck saw as well.

For dry wood (like firewood), the raker is not necessary as in the larger 24" saw. It appears that every 5th tooth is a raker, making it 20% less efficient, or behaving like a 19" saw with no rakers.

Not to knock the larger saw. Especially if you can get a non-raker blade for it.

My only point is most people buy raker blades for dry firewood, and that is the case when it is not necessary. They don't realize that it a loss of efficiency either. They just look cool, and that usually sells saws :D

B
 
Have you considered a classic bow saw.
Plenty available.
Can transport the blade separately too.
More effecient at work.
Less small parts.
No complication.
Not THAT cumbersome.
 
I like my trailblazer. the wing nut is captive (the threads at the end of the rod are crushed) and even if you lost that, its just the tentioner, so a field expedient replacement would be easy to do. in fact, if one needed too, I suspect as long as the blade was mostly intact, the rest of the parts could be made.

the only problem with the trailblazer is the clip that holds everything in the main tube during storage. it looks like a hanging loop, but isn't really good for that.
 
My concerns with the metal saws are attachement hardware, pins, screw, etc. In the cold your hands are not as nimble as when warm; hence one has a tendency to drop or fumble small items. Imagine loosing the 'shear pin' in 3 ft deep snow!

The wood saws seem to make more sense to me in that you could fabricate any of the wood parts should they fail. The rest packs down small enough to even leave the wood parts behind and fabricate the wood portions in the woods IMO. DL, is this something you think doable?
 
My concerns with the metal saws are attachement hardware, pins, screw, etc. In the cold your hands are not as nimble as when warm; hence one has a tendency to drop or fumble small items. Imagine loosing the 'shear pin' in 3 ft deep snow!

The wood saws seem to make more sense to me in that you could fabricate any of the wood parts should they fail. The rest packs down small enough to even leave the wood parts behind and fabricate the wood portions in the woods IMO. DL, is this something you think doable?
 
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