Should have brought a saw...

stabman

stabman

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
21,327
On Saturday, headed to the woods with a couple of friends.
I was going to bring a small knife, because one friend was bringing a box of cheap knives for us to use (he got a bunch as part of a deal for another knife, and was giving us these bonus cheap knives to have fun with :) ).

Get to the parking lot at the trailhead. I am clipping a bag of food onto the pack when I notice something...

"I forgot the saw at home!!!"

Crap. Today is going to involve WAY more energy expenditure than I had planned.

Even getting the fire started took more energy; notching sticks to break them when they were to tough to snap, etc.

O73L81p.jpg


My second friend arrived with the box of cheap knives:

VbIHeG8.jpg


jiNaEeH.jpg


I took the Mora Companion, the trowel knife, and the Outbound (Canadian Tire's finest rip-off of an ESEE), while my other friend took the Frost Mora and the Gerber.

More fire:

EMuG5uq.jpg


They relax while I continue to get wood for the fire:

0zdPxN6.jpg


By now my hand is tired and has a blister at the base of the thumb that has ripped off; I have tried chopping with the left hand but it wasn't so great.
So now I chop inefficiently with my right hand, making a notch big enough to snap this surprisingly tough wood:

RVnTsNr.jpg


9wbht9E.jpg


l42c5sm.jpg
 
Last edited:
I use the Mora Companion to work on the mighty sausage stick:

Fycl0bA.jpg


The Mora Frost...

UMTHve8.jpg


...with meat stick:

LuHKAmk.jpg


Gave my friend who gifted us the cheap knives with this hideous ZOMB-WAR folding knife. Assisted open, wrench holes in blade, karambit handle Wharncliffe blade with pot leaf camo handle. I bought it in the past because it was SO ugly I had to get it. :D
It cuts buns though:

8zeQ7vw.jpg


Relaxing now, full of food with plenty of firewood.

o3PQWVG.jpg


Still, should have brought a saw!
 
Last edited:
catspa said:
…or a hatchet.

Parker
Click to expand...

Nah, saw is the right choice.
Knife with weight and length such as I was using is pretty much in hatchet territory anyway for chopping.

For when you need to cut wood to length, a saw is the best. :cool:

But I forgot mine, and neither of my friends brought one because I always bring a saw! :D
 
beeinak said:
But you still got it done!
Click to expand...

That is true.
But this experience has made me decide that I will buy a medium sized folding saw to leave in the pack at all times, so that my stupid brain doesn't force my stupid body to work so hard in the future. :)
 
dogstar said:
I second this opinion. Everything was arm sized or less. That tracker knife is not the equivalent of a hatchet.
But, if saw is what you prefer, that is fine.
Click to expand...

SXB, not tracker.
9" blade, rather heavy at 1/4" stock with the grind it has.

Also sucked having to chop everything at ground level because the chopping stump has rotted to a spongy mess that absorbs all chopping energy.

Medium to full sized axe good for chopping.
Hatchet, not much better than big knife, from any of the ones I've used thus far. Might be different with some high end hatchet though...I haven't tried them all.
Saw is king for cutting efficiency getting things to length, and with my body accumulating pains more and more each year, efficiency makes for a better time. :thumbsup: Arm sized or less wood with a pull saw takes so little energy, and is so quick.
 
Last edited:
stabman said:
SXB, not tracker.
9" blade, rather heavy at 1/4" stock with the grind it has.

Also sucked having to chop everything at ground level because the chopping stump has rotted to a spongy mess that absorbs all chopping energy.

Medium to full sized axe good for chopping.
Hatchet, not much better than big knife, from any of the ones I've used thus far. Might be different with some high end hatchet though...I haven't tried them all.
Saw is king for cutting efficiency getting things to length, and with my body accumulating pains more and more each year, efficiency makes for a better time. :thumbsup: Arm sized or less wood with a pull saw takes so little energy, and is so quick.
Click to expand...
Not trying to start a pissing match here. Saw would have definitely served your needs. Also, my experience is limited to breaking down Christmas trees in the carport. In CA, I don't have many chances to make fires in the backcountry.

I have done the Christmas tree breakdown with my Frontier Hawk and Fiskars Hatchet. Both weigh 19-20 ounces. The Fiskars has a 14" handle, and the FH has an 18" handle. You see where I am going here. Longer handle, plus all the steel is at the end of the handle, which means more chopping power than that 9" knife. On the wrist sized stuff, 2 or 3 good whacks while you stand the branches up would have been all that is required to snap them in two. That larger piece you had on the ground would have taken more hits, but I think still faster than the saw.
 
dogstar said:
Not trying to start a pissing match here. Saw would have definitely served your needs. Also, my experience is limited to breaking down Christmas trees in the carport. In CA, I don't have many chanced make fires in the backcountry.

I have done the Christmas tree breakdown with my Frontier Hawk and Fiskars Hatchet. Both weigh 19-20 ounces. The Fiskars has a 14" handle, and the FH has an 18" handle. You see where I am going here. Longer handle, plus all the steel is at the end of the handle, which means more chopping power than that 9" knife. On the wrist sized stuff, 2 or 3 good whacks while you stand the branches up would have been all that is required to snap them in two. That larger piece you had on the ground would have taken more hits, but I think still faster than the saw.
Click to expand...

18" handle helps. Most hatchets don't have handles that long; one that did would certainly work better.

My saw has 12" blade, and for the size of wood I had on the ground in that pic, of that particular wood, saw is quicker. Have had chance to try out medium size axe on that same variety of wood out there before. It is a damn good saw too, so that plays into it. I have used many crappy saws before my brother gifted me a good one.

But yes, if you have a hatchet or hawk with a handle getting closer to length of a small forest axe, it is going to chop better than a 9" knife.
 
Nothing saws better than a saw, use a saw for gardening
Cuts through taproots and ancient growth like its Nothing
 
dogstar said:
If you want to see what I mean:

This X7 is 23 ounces; I have an earlier iteration.
Click to expand...

My saw would have through that much quicker. :)
Once I got the saw, chopping became much less of something I do.

I do still like a big knife or short machete for clearing a path through undergrowth though. Of course, the path into the campsite now has most of the undergrowth that blocked the way with thorns long gone. When I went to a new site with my brother, the Expat Knives Darien Machete was handy for clearing stuff out of the way.

Al the tools have their niche, and if I was car camping I would load a variety of them when heading out.
 
A Silky Big Boy is with me on all excursions. In the carry case (sheath)- it really takes little space. I do want a Gomboy for smaller cutting and bushcraft fun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top