SAK Saws

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plowboy

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I did a search on SAK Saws, but came up with no threads devoted to these blades. I hope I didn't goof up the search and am now asking a redundant question.

I have been thinking of getting a small saw to carry in a backpack when I head to the woods. The Spydersaw seems to be my preference. However, I know that many SAKs have saw blades (in fact I own the Huntsman) and maybe I don't need to get the Spydersaw.

My question is how durable are the saw blades in SAKs? Are the more or less durable than something like the Spydersaw? How about performance between the two?

I'm sure many of you have used the SAK saws more than I and you will have some good input.

Thanks.

:) :)
 
I carry a Sak with a saw and find it cuts remarkably well for its size and it's always there when you need it. The Spydersaw isn't much larger so I don't imagine it would perform much better. If you need more cutting power, I would suggest a folding pruning saw over the Spydersaw for the larger jobs. The larger size is not a big deal if you're going to carry it in a pack and they are all fairly light in weight.
 
It's good enough for a bone saw, according to the anecdote from Victorinox's "A Friend In Need".

Although I have never used it on bone myself, the saw on my SAKs have cut finger-sized sticks, reasonably-sized lumber and PVC pipes from Home Depot, branches that needed attention, etc.

I would say that the saws on SAK's are a standard in the pocket tool industry.
 
I think you'd be fine with a SAK to meet your saw needs. I carry one into woods with me often, it's useful and efficient.
 
SAK saw blades are a bit on the small side, but if you can live with that, they work great.

I haven't used a Spydersaw, but it seems a bit expensive for a single function tool. If you need a larger saw, it'll do in a pinch, or you can find a Opinel saw, shich can be found for less than $15. Even cheaper (though larger) would be something like a Fiskars/Gerber retractable saw, about $10, which works great.
 
I would steer you toward one of the 111mm SAKs with a saw. The One Hand Trekker, for example. The extra lenth helps a lot.
 
I was easily cutting ~1inch diameter branches with my Camper. For me its a very useful saw for it's size
 
If it means anything - Les Stroud - Survivorman on TV - frequently uses a Victorinox SAK woodsaw - and I have seen him often using the woodsaw on the Victorinox SwissTool.

The SAK woodsaw has had a long held reputation for being very efficient.

I've easily sawn through wood dowels and broom handles with it. This is fantastic it one thinks that the woodsaw is easily carried in the pocket.

Since you already have the Victorinox Huntsman - you might just want to carry that around for a while and try the woodsaw out.

If the Huntsman is a bit too thick for comfortable pocket carry - consider the Victorinox Camper or the alox Farmer

For more info search on "woodsaw" here on BladeForums.

--
Vincent
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2006
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2005
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2004
http://clik.to/UnknownVincent
 
Thanks, everyone. It seems that other than the length issue that the SAK saws work well and are reliable.

I'll do the search that UnknownVT suggested.

Thanks again.

:)

Edit: By the way UnknownVT, great thread on the alox Farmer -- thanks.
 
I toot a pretty loud horn for the one-handed trekker, and I don't think I'm out of line for doing so. :rolleyes: The OHT has a great saw, one-handed action, and liner lock on the knife and bottle opener to boot.

Wicked great saw on the OHT. I have used the saw on my OHT for tree limbs (~1.5" diam.) and for cutting half-inch drywall for a bathroom remodeling project! Not too shabby (plus you have other tools as well!).

Andy
 
I have used the saw on my Victorinox Swisschamp and at another time the Hiker to saw off excess branches that had become overgrown from my apricot tree back when I had one. I could've used a larger saw, but wanted to see if it could be done with an SAK. Some of the branches were up to 2" in diameter or more, so you could imagine it took quite a bit of sweat and elbow grease (and time) to do it, but it worked. The saws held up, too. Though if I had large cutting chores I would now use a larger folding saw, perhaps something decent that doesn't cost much, like a Gerber Exchange-a-Blade or something.
Jim
 
For a bit more size on the saw, consider a SOG Hunter Revolver or Seal Revolver. The saw is very aggressive and is 4.75" long. Certainly better than a SAK for woods use. I am not that fond of gut hook blades, but it would come in handy during deer season. Saw would be useful for cutting pelvis or any other bone, or simply for cutting a few small branches or trees off that might be in the way. Take a look at it. It looks unusal, but it is a well made knife.
 
Chuck289 said:
I was easily cutting ~1inch diameter branches with my Camper. For me its a very useful saw for it's size
Click to expand...

Don't forget, as long as you don't need a CLEAN cut, you can use your SAK saw to cut stuff a lot bigger than this too. Take a branch or log about the diameter of a tennis ball or even bigger - saw through about half of it, then give it a good kick! Will do the job just fine.
 
Thanks links to your posts Allen!


Thought I would throw in some of my own impressions on SAK and multitool wood saws.


Victorinox – Excellent. 111 mm versions cut a little faster than the smaller ones as would be expected. The larger handles also make the saws more comfortable to use.


Wenger – Excellent. Seem to be just as good as the Vics of the same length.


Leatherman – Very good. Cuts smooth and fast, just not as fast as the Vics (probably because Leatherman uses angled teeth which are not as aggressive as the straight teeth used by Victorinox and Wenger).


Gerber Diesel – Good. A big improvement over the Rem Grit saws that Gerber has been using, but still not as good as the Leatherman or SAK saws. I think that the Diesel’s saw is handicapped by being thicker and shorter than most of the others. I also noticed that the Gerber handles felt a little awkward when sawing compared to Leatherman’s.


Surplus German Army Knife (GAK) – Good. I was a little disappointed with the GAK saw. Since many GAKs (including the one I tried) were made by Victorinox; I had hoped that the saw would work as well as the Vics. As it turned out the GAK saw was a very slightly behind the Diesel; I believe the reasons are the GAK’s angled teeth, thick blade and abbreviated effective length resulting from the combo tool they put out on the end of the saw.


SOG Power Lock – Fair (from memory). I don’t have one of these, but the one that I tried on a passaround was usable but well behind the Leatherman and Victorinox saws, I think that this is due the Power Lock’s finer teeth pattern and fairly short effective saw length. The Power Lock’s compound leverage gear teeth also tend to dig into your hand when using the saw.


Gerber Rem Grit – Poor (from memory). I don’t have one of these any more, but I remember that I didn’t like the Rem Grit saws at all and that I wanted to replace it with a conventional jig saw blade but couldn’t find one that fit Gerber’s saw blade coupler.





- Frank
 
Nice summary, Frank, thanks!! :thumbup:

As far as Leatherman goes, which models do you base your observations on? I've only really uused two for sawing, the original Wave and the Charge, and IMO they cut just about as fast and clean as the Vic saws.

Those angled LM teeth have some advantages, too: you can use push strokes only for a less aggressive cut, but more control; or an aggressive pull cut to rip through small branches in a single stroke. The more symmetrical tooth config on the Vic saws don't give you that.
 
I was using a Super Tool 200 (2 5/8” effective saw length) and a Blast (2 ½” effective length which I think is the same as the Wave/Charge). The Leatherman saws were a little smoother than the Vic but less aggressive, it seemed that I could saw a bit faster/easier with the Leatherman but it took more stokes, giving the Vics the overall advantage.



- Frank
 
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