Sawbacks on knives

Sawback knifes are just a gimmick to sell more knives.

Granted the concept comes from aircraft survival knifes, where cutting through thin aluminum or Plexiglas was part to the equation.

The bottom line is that a good survival knife will chop wood and have a spine to support baton work.

A sawblade on the spine of a knife is a disaster waiting to happen.

Just my humble opinion.
 
Seems to me that they are pretty well disliked. I have never owned one, but you see some really high dollar blades with them. I just never knew if anyone liked them, and was wondering why.
 
At least to me, a saw needs length to be useful. I've got a (~3") saw on a Leatherman that has really good geometry - if it was about 18" longer it would be perfect, lol. A sawback on a machete sounds like a pretty good idea, especially in mixed bush. It's good to hear the Gerber works well.

Folding pruning saws are lightweight and chew pretty well. I don't recall ever using a knife and thought "you know, a sawback would be handy for this". That's probably why I don't have any. That, and the fact that a sawback would make it tougher to use the spine as a grip for fine work with the tip (esp digging out slivers) and as a grip for scraping (tinder, hide, stripping bark).

IMO, the presence of a sawback on a pricey knife is a perfect example that $$ doesn't always mean 'good' or 'best'

Jim, that idea sounds cool. The only power hacksaws I've used were pneumatic and took regular hacksaw blades. I assume it's a sawzall blade by another name ? Been thinking about making some folding saws that way with 12" blades - the blades are interchangeable, easily replaceable, and can be swapped out for wood or metal. How were they to heat treat ?
 
well tell you the truth In 2001 I picked up a Schrade BT01 Extreme Survival knife (USA version) not the cheap import copies....My son loves it and the saw back works pretty good but anytime you have the edge facing you to use the saw back on a limb ,there is a chance of an accident.
 
I've always thoroughly hated the sawbacks. They don't work well at all, and are a good way to slice yourself. They also eat up your baton and limit grip options.

My brother in law is in the air force and we chat about his SERE training sometimes. They used the basic USAF survival knife from Ontario, and he loves that knife (which of course has a sawback). He says he actually got some use out of that feature. I've tried to show him the light with knives that have proper grinds, etc. to no avail!
 
Fiddleback said:
Sawbacks on knives suck.
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Andy, as usual, you are 100% correct! Now, knifebacks on saws is a whole different issue. :D

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Doc
 
chewbacca said:
The saw backs on a lot of the old survival knives were not made to cut wood, they were made to cut through the exterior of a plane to egress. That is why they "suck".

I have to say the saw back on the gerber machete, which is actually made to cut wood, works pretty well. I have not tried to baton with it, wouldn't be good for either the saw or the baton I would guess.
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Good point. I've never tried a saw backed knife, but if I did I'd go for one with a "real" saw that was designed to cut wood. That having been said, I really have no desire to try one.

-Chris
 
Another thing to consider:

Of course a saw can be a useful tool. But be honest, do you really carry only one knife so you need to have everything on it?
 
The Sog TeamLeader with the sawback looks decent as well so does the gerber machete with the sawback but that is long enough to make a decent saw.

I am also a big fan of the little air force survival knife ever since i got one from HornDog.
That is not really a saw but a rasp and it works well as a rasp. It has excellent 1095 steel a very very sharp edge(at least mine does),a pommel that can be used as a hammer ,and a jump safe sheath with a little pocket stone more than capable of keeping a good working(if not shaving) edge on the 1095 blade. It is a great little bushcraft blade
 
Fiddleback said:
Sawbacks on knives suck. Carry a sak.
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While there are extremely specialized cases- like what Jim is working on, in general I agree with Andy 150% - and not simply because the saw blades usually suck (they do.) Worse, they are almost always SHORTER than the saw blade in my Outrider!

Even worse, they are almost always "ergonomic" handles. (the operating definition of ergonomic in this case meaning restricting you from holding the durned knife any way but one) and ridiculously uncomfortable and unsafe to try and work with upside down.

The revolver is one decent solution. My favorite was the old gerber blade changing knife I got in 1985. That one worked pretty well. and the lock was strong.

I just carry a sven or a corona pocket saw most of the time now if I'm Going Somehwere. And my outrider EDC in any event.
 
Big Mike said:
Sawback knifes are just a gimmick to sell more knives.

Granted the concept comes from aircraft survival knifes, where cutting through thin aluminum or Plexiglas was part to the equation.

The bottom line is that a good survival knife will chop wood and have a spine to support baton work.

A sawblade on the spine of a knife is a disaster waiting to happen.

Just my humble opinion.
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As usual when I end up jumping in late I have more to say-

Redefining "saw" to "rescue" and accepting that the intent isn't to have a wood saw- I'd prefer a serrated edge on the spine and I'd STILL have major issues with the commonly available lengths and handle designs. The air force knife is a good exception, the kind that proves the rule. Nice, simply round, handle.
 
The only ones I've tried were junk knives when I was a kid and the Glock. The Glock was better than the junk knives, but still not good.

IMO it would be interesting to try a quality knife with a sawback, but I'm not going to buy one just to try it out.

The main reason for a sawback IMO is the "only one knife" concept, which means you need one knife to do everything. I don't consider that a realistic issue, so solutions to that problem, while interesting, are not really needed. There is no reason not to have a SAK with a saw no matter what other knives you carry.

As to the origin of sawbacks, I read an article in the 1980s about sawback bayonets in WWI which were supposed to be used to cut the stakes holding up barbed wire fences. I'm not sure if they worked well or not.
 
koyote said:
Even worse, they are almost always "ergonomic" handles. (the operating definition of ergonomic in this case meaning restricting you from holding the durned knife any way but one) and ridiculously uncomfortable and unsafe to try and work with upside down.
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Good point bro. I didnt think of that. You are absoulutely right:thumbup:
 
koyote said:
My favorite was the old gerber blade changing knife I got in 1985. That one worked pretty well. and the lock was strong.
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I have one of those and its still kicking around here. It had a hunting type blade, a fillet blade and a saw.:thumbup:
 
I personally don't like them,but I remember seeing a review on the SOG Team Leader(The AUS-8 version) & it did very well cutting through branches.
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The guy said the big teeth worked well at sawing & didn't get clotted up with wood,but the lack of a guard while sawing would be dangerous IMO.
 
Sawbacks on a knife just limits the way you can use your knife...it makes it difficult to choke up, use as a draw knife and chews the hell out of your baton. I know there a are a couple of niche exceptions (Air Force, Randall 18), but I would find it much easier just modifying or adding a pouch to the sheath to carry a SAK Rucksack or Farmer with a small, dedicated saw that actually works. Truly, a saw that small is only used to score bone/wood, making triggers for traps, etc. If you really need a saw blade, look at a dedicated folding saw such as Bahco/Kershaw, Silky or Sawvivor.

ROCK6
 
the only good explanation that i have seen for a sawback is to make some sawdust as tinder for a spark based fire system, i guess it might do this for you, but what you give up for what you gain is another question.

alex
 
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