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Saw back Knives (opinions)
- Thread starter killstew
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2007
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- 6,254
NOT NECESSARILY, Case in point:
I have a SWISS PIONEER Short Sword made in 1878 and here is the pics. Now I agree the stuff made today IS PURE JUNK, but I'm not going to be the one to spit in the face of our European ancestors MINE and tell them they were stupid. The Pioneers and Artillery units were issued Short Swords of this type for the purpose of building and or chopping out fire lanes or building firing positions, foot bridges etc. Pioneers in the old days did a lot without bellyaching. Like I said the stuff today is gimmick crap but the old school stuff was real. By the way the blade thickness is .220" at the edge of the saw.
I took a pic earlier of my survival knives for a thread earlier. It will work perfect for this thread. I love sawback knives, not really good for much but notching wood for making traps and whatnot. I can't really explain why I have a thing for em I just do. 
ETA: The exception being the saw in the SAK and on the Aitor, they work great.
ETA: The exception being the saw in the SAK and on the Aitor, they work great.
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2011
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- 341
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I'm gonna agree with KGD here. Just because those knives you posted HAD saw backs to them, doesn't mean they were worth a damn. Just means they were put there by the maker.
I've use a lot of saws, and all that were good at their intended jobs were thin. YMMV.....
Wow 2 pages about this! didn't think that it would generate so much discussion. Maybe I should ask about blood grooves and clip points next
Hey Im down with blood grooves and clip points too. AF pilots knife in the photo above and buck 119 have em, two of my favorites.
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2011
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- 341
There are a couple situations where it might come in handy, but for the most part I would consider it a hindrance. Much preferred would be
Lots more tools and an extra blade to go with your fixed blade.
Amen to that. I have a SAW for a reasone. TO SAW..... Well said/put:thumbup:
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2011
- Messages
- 3
I own an imacasa rambo machete with a sawback, and because of its thin blade the saw is excellent. The teeth are much larger than most sawback machete ones I've seen and it does a quick job with any wood. This makes it a beast because I can chop small limbs and saw large ones... the only disadvantage is there isn't much of a possibility to actually grab the blade to carve. My point: some sawbacks can be excellent if you know how to use them, and with a few customizations they will do whatever you want them to do.
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- Jul 21, 2001
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- 2,869
I was maybe 12 when I got to use my first custom knife.
Antelope hunting in Wyoming there were up to 14 hunters in our party some years.
One man worked in the Sinclair Refinery, he had made two knives from heavy duty steel cutting blades, leaving the saw part on the back. Handles were old broom handles and cleaned up real nice. One painted red, the other no paint.
One was set up for push cuts, the other ha the saw teeth turned the other way for pull cuts using the saw backs. I thought they were beautiful. Somehow I got the job of field dressing the harvest. The edge part of the blades were were well thought out, the saw teeth ran from tip to the handle on the spine.
Opening an antelope up was a chore as the saw teeth kept hanging up and you could not place your index finger along the spine as the saw teeth were very sharp.
Pull cuts on the rib cage worked best, push cuts and the ribs would bind the blade. About every one had to give the blades a try, they soon handed the knives to me and went back hunting. I still have one of the blades somewhere, but gave up on multi-purpose blades.
A saw is a good thing to have on a hunt, but not on the spine of a blade based on my experience.
Antelope hunting in Wyoming there were up to 14 hunters in our party some years.
One man worked in the Sinclair Refinery, he had made two knives from heavy duty steel cutting blades, leaving the saw part on the back. Handles were old broom handles and cleaned up real nice. One painted red, the other no paint.
One was set up for push cuts, the other ha the saw teeth turned the other way for pull cuts using the saw backs. I thought they were beautiful. Somehow I got the job of field dressing the harvest. The edge part of the blades were were well thought out, the saw teeth ran from tip to the handle on the spine.
Opening an antelope up was a chore as the saw teeth kept hanging up and you could not place your index finger along the spine as the saw teeth were very sharp.
Pull cuts on the rib cage worked best, push cuts and the ribs would bind the blade. About every one had to give the blades a try, they soon handed the knives to me and went back hunting. I still have one of the blades somewhere, but gave up on multi-purpose blades.
A saw is a good thing to have on a hunt, but not on the spine of a blade based on my experience.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
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- 3,376
Saw Back on a knife? I see that as just an affectation.
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2006
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- 5,288
I love the sawbacks, useful or not. Blood grooves too, not into the plain jane knives. 
Not sure who made this thing, interesting though. Made out of a saw blade.
Not sure who made this thing, interesting though. Made out of a saw blade.
Here's a link to Mistwalker's review of the SOG Team Leader Survivor:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=681406
I'd just as soon pack a folding saw, or for smaller jobs use the saw on a SAK or multitool. Having a saw on the back of a blade means you don't have a back of the blade, which is actually a handy part of the blade IMO.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=681406
I'd just as soon pack a folding saw, or for smaller jobs use the saw on a SAK or multitool. Having a saw on the back of a blade means you don't have a back of the blade, which is actually a handy part of the blade IMO.
Hi just thought I'd add my ten cents worth to this. The name says it all. A "saw back knife" is not a "saw" BUT if you have a good, well designed knife with a saw back then it can be useful for some outdoor purposes if you know it's limitations just like you should know the limitations of any tool you take into the wild. I'm currently testing and so far so good, a FOX leonida Spartan. One model has the saw back and the teeth are all offset like a proper "saw" and whilst not sharp like a proper saw are very very aggressive. So far I've only cut green cotton wood ( not very hard wood) branches about 2 inches in diameter and dead and pretty hard maple 1.5 inch branches. Done some tests on pine boards, ok this doesn't count as pine is very soft but it cut up a 4 inch X 0.5 inch board no problems. Ok so you are not going to encounter sawn planks in the real wilderness but I've been camping in remote coastal areas and you do get rubbish washing up on the beaches-sometime wooden boards that are great to build stuff around the camp, so a good saw back can be ok if you don't try to do too much with it. Also I use it to notch branches (dead but hard and springy) I'm going to break by hand to help break the branch for prepping a fire.
FrankCC
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2007
- Messages
- 12,294
I think they are handy thing to have providing they work. For me the main use would be trap notching etc.
What I often see that appears wrong to me are knives with the saw edge down toward the front of the blade, to me they should be up near the handle for control and also to enable the blade to keep a flat spot up near the front for battoning.
The Spivey Sabretooth would be a good example of one that's right if only it didn't have the swedge at the front !
What I often see that appears wrong to me are knives with the saw edge down toward the front of the blade, to me they should be up near the handle for control and also to enable the blade to keep a flat spot up near the front for battoning.
The Spivey Sabretooth would be a good example of one that's right if only it didn't have the swedge at the front !