saw teeth

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BowlesKnives

Joined
Jun 10, 2002
Messages
38
Hey Guys,

How does everyone feel about sawteeth on the back of a knife. This was real big a while back, but it seems like this is getting less popular. What do you fellas think about the usefulness of them.

Keep It Sharp,

Chris Bowles
www.bowlesknives.com
 
I have a couple production knives with sawbacks (like the Glock). Most of them don't seem to work as well as a SAK saw and I understand that they add quite a bit to the cost of most custom knives. I have a $25 saw-equipped SAK Rucksack in the pouch on my Busse sheath and figure it would have cost a lot more than $25 to add a saw to the Busse spine. Of course, if I used a sawback knife that was really effective it might change my mind. However, I have a hard time visualizing how one could develop an effective saw with the relatively thick stock found in many outdoor/survival knives.
 
I like the concept of doing something with the back of the blade. Sawbacks are fine provided they can be made to add rather than detract from the knife's function. The issues that developed during the eighties were:

1) Sawbacks plain don't work (nor did we usually know how or what they were supposed to work on). If anything, they were harder on the sheath than on the materials they were cutting.

2) Sawbacks create stress risers and weaken the blade.

3) Sawbacks were hard or near impossible to maintain. How is the average user supposed to resharpen or hone those sawteeth.

Webster Wood, and sevaral others, came out with a good potential solution at one point; but they were never able to fully evolve the concept. He came up with a removable sawback blade that simply mounted on the back of the knife. When you do that you retain the integrity of the blade (no added stress points), and potentially can use a disposable blade that can be stored safely within the sheath.

A little innovation can go a long way. This probably would be the best way to approach the issue. It gives us the ability to carry several very light weight and specialized edges that simply mount on the frame and handle of our main blade.

N2S
 
That's a very interesting approach. My concern is: How do you get the sawteeth to be slightly wider than the thickness of the blade stock so that the saw cuts through wood without a lot of binding between the sides of the blade and the slot being cut through the wood? I guess you could make the teeth very wide and flare them out a tiny bit, but then the saw is removing a lot of material to make the cut. That would seem less efficient than using a separate thinner sawblade.

I like the idea but am having a hard time imagining how to make it work well.
 
it is better to have a less expensive multi tool or sak which works infinitely better.

save the knife for its main purpose
 
How do you get the sawteeth to be slightly wider than the thickness of the blade stock so that the saw cuts through wood without a lot of binding between the sides of the blade and the slot being cut through the wood?
Click to expand...

You have to start with the premise that, whatever this thing will do, it will still have to conform to our laws of physics (even if you take the extra step of dressing in camo and wearing a bandana). :)

You cannot get a 1/4" thick knife, with only 8-9 inches of blade length and turn it into an effective heavy wood saw. If you want to do that you may have to figure out a way to mount a gas fired chain saw on your knife. But perhaps one of the attachments could be a tough hatchet like blade that adds sufficient weight and strength to your knife so that it can be used as a light weight hatchet (a 5 inch blade, 1 inch wide by 5/16" thick, which slides into a track on the back of the knife and locks in place). Something that will permit you to chop while retaining a finely sharpened edge on your main blade.

Another attachment might be a arc shaped (as in round circular section) hacksaw blade, about 5 inches long by 1 inch at widest and 1/8 thick which also similarly mounts on the back of the knife to cut through metal sheeting and tubing. Something to safely cut through the skin and framing of a vehicle or take out a fence post. You wouldn't actually cut through the medium you would just cut around it.

I am sure we can come up with alot of fun accesories. How about a slide on mount for a 2xAA battery flashlight so you can actually see what you are cutting at night; or a slide on reverse handle so you can use the main blade safely as a draw knife? The best part is that we don't have to come up with the whole thing at once. We can simply develop new add-on products as we go along. :D

n2s
 
Sawback blades suck, plain and simple. Mount a pouch to the fixed blade sheath and add your favorite SAK with a saw. You then create a most versatile combo.

Mike
 
Im not very fond of saw teeth on a knife. For my uses they just arnt worth a darn. Dont remember the first time, and dont think it will ever happer, that I had to cut through the skin of a downed helochoper.

Plus saw teeth realy mess up the sheath. I believe with other folks that if you want to carry a small saw use a SAK or some thing else like it. Or even use one of those fold down saws.
 
I have never yet seen sawteeth on the back of a knife that didn't make the knife worse. Perhaps it is possible to design a worthwhile sawtoothed spine, but I doubt it. I think they are functionally worthless, and that they are added for aesthetic considerations. Even then, I find the aesthetics of sawtooth backs goofy and puerile.

Just to be clear about this, I am referring only to sawtoothed spines. I consider serrated backs an entirely different matter. Serrated backs may have merit, depending on the particulars.
 
Most of everyone I talk to says the same thing about sawteeth, they suck. The only thing I like about them they are great for making small notches in wood for animal traps and tent stakes ect. But a few minutes spent with the knife edge you can get the same results. I really think the idea of adding implements to the back of the blade may have merrit over time. Thanks again everybody for the great advice

Keep It Sharp,

Chris Bowles
www.bowlesknives.com
 
I would never consider anything other than a plain single edge for a survival knife, saw backs don't work, but a plain back can be used with a baton. The plain single edge means you can also use the knife as a firesteel striker. These two points are very important to me.

Why would you even want to carry a second rate saw with you? take something you know will do the job efficiently.

I don't fancy the idea of having tools that fix onto your knife, too much to go wrong/break, plus all your tools would be dependant on you knife. I say knife for cutting, saw for sawing and axe or machete for chopping.

Will
 
The Strider guys experimented with a tomahawk that had interchangeable accessories. It looked incredibly cool and a lot of folks liked the ability to vary the features on it. However, Mick and Duane told me that the cost/complications of manufacturing such a setup would make it prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, it might not be significantly lighter than bringing separate tools. Separate lighter tools might also be just as strong because they don't require the joints/connections of the multi-feature tool.

Convertible multi-use tools have a certain appeal but can sometimes be hard to efficiently execute.
 
Original function of the sawback was for pilotes to cut through sheet metal "skin" of a downed aircraft in emergency, yes? For metal or plastic a sawback spine may work but for wood it would be inefficient for problems noted above.
 
DancesWithKnives :

How do you get the sawteeth to be slightly wider than the thickness of the blade stock so that the saw cuts through wood without a lot of binding between the sides of the blade and the slot being cut through the wood?
Click to expand...

You don't need a tooth set if the blade tapers from the spine. A full flat primary grind will do.

-Cliff
 
Cliff,

Good point---I hadn't thought of that. Every sawback knife I have personally handled was full thickness stock near the spine. The grind didn't begin until about halfway from the spine to the edge. However, that doesn't mean you couldn't put sawteeth on a knife with a full flat grind like the CS Trailmaster (well, maybe something made out of a bit thinner stock).
 
They look totally cool and awesome. I don't care what anyone says, I LIKE 'EM!!! :D

The best ones I've encountered are on the back of my Buckmaster 184. They are sharper than $hit, the blade is a little OVER 1/4" thick, and it was designed for cutting through aircraft skin, ice, rope, buicks, whatever gets in your way...

Personally, just the fact that I love the looks so much, and the fact that I'd rather have 'em and not need 'em is enough for me.

Tried the Buckmaster once on a huge icicle (Probably weighed a several tons) and it cut well. Better than just a blade would.

Is it as good as a dedicated saw? Of course not. But I don't carry a saw with me.

drjones
 
Hey Guys..

Personally on a field knife,, I wouldn't buy a knife with saw teeth on them...

For one,, they are never done right,,and nearly ever do they work..
Secondly,,they chew the hell oout of a sheath..

thirdly,, they get in the way when you need to either hit or hold onto the spine of the knife...

The only knife i would buy with a saw back or serrations on the spine would be a dive knife...

In a diving its a completely different situation,,where cutting rope, netting or even possibly wire...

Like everyone said.. Buy a SAK/Multitool,,or even a stand along folding saw like the Gerber sport saw...

The one i have cuts wood like no tomorrow....
Handy Dandy little tool out in the bush...

ttyle

Eric....
 
Personally, I like the sawback on my little pilots knife. It notches very well, but I wouldn't consider trying to saw limbs with it. I carry a small saw for those jobs. They don't weigh much or take up much room and add to your cutting abilities no matter what knife you carry in the field.
 
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