Silky Pocketboy 170 arrived. Blade a bit too flexible. Is the Gomboy 210 better?

S

Sir Joe

Joined
May 30, 2015
Messages
114
Hello people, I am new.

I just subscribed because I have bought a Pocketboy 170 to work in Gardens, pruning etc.
I am disappointed, the blade flexes so much on the tip that when I fold it it does not always close well, sometimes it touches the rubber of the grip and I see already that the teeth left marks on the rubber.
And I was pretty careful. So, in the real job outside, this would be worse.

I see that the Gomboy 210 has got a bit ticker blade.
Can anybody tell me if the Gomboy 210 also has this problem?

Thanks!
 
Do you realize that Silky's are pull-saws? If you push against the blade you will certainly bend/break it....
 
WJC01 said:
My Pocket boys perfect-did you bend it?
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No. I have even controlled the blade to see if it came bended. It is perfectly straight. And it is well fixed.
I have seen that if I push the blade with my fingers (or with the lower part of my handpalm) from anywhere further than 1/4 of the blade from the Grip, the tip of the blade will move/flex a bit (2-3mm) and will touch the rubber of the Grip. Sometimes less, just a scratch before going into the slot of the grip. But sometimes more, so to stay stuck with the teeth into the rubber on the border of the slot.
I have noticed that when I fold it, with the grip on my right hand and the blade on the left, I press a bit the grip toward the ground and pull the blade toward my head, if you know what I mean. I mean, not willingly. And just a bit. But a bit is enough.
If I am extremely careful this does not happen, but I can not be all the time very careful in the reality of my job when you have to maintain a big garden and you are paid pro hour and you must be fast.
If I take it / push it from the first 1/4, it almost always close perfectly. But it is not a natural thing for me, and it is also more difficult.
Spontaneously I take the blade from the half or 2/3 of the blade...
How do you close them?

Brommeland said:
Do you realize that Silky's are pull-saws? If you push against the blade you will certainly bend/break it....
Click to expand...
Yes, I am aware of that. I am talking of folding/closing the saw, not of using it.
So, when I talk of pushing I refer to what I do after that I have unlocked the security mechanism, and I push on the back of the blade to make the blade go into the Grip.
Sorry but I cannot explain it much much better in English.
What I do it, I have the grip in my right hand, and I either take the blade with my fingers and push it into the grip, or I push with the lover part of my hand, to guide it into the slot inside the grip.

I suppose that a thicker and/or shorter blade will not flex so much, and will make my life easier.
So I am thinking about buying the Pocket 130 or the Gom 210.
I kind of feel that the gom is too big and heavy for me, I keep the saw in a sort of "pocket" in my work trousers. You know, I have an opening on one side for the folding rule, and another on the other side for the folding saw.
So the Superaccell is way to wide for this opening, and the gom is ok but I am afraid could be too big and heavy.
On the other hand it is nice to have a 210 for when I will go somewhere and have no chainsaw and I have to cut a thicker wood.
But in the 80% or more of my job I think the 130 should be ok...

Mumble mumble.
What do you guys suggest?
 
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My Gomboy 240mm's tip will hit the rubber on the side if there is any bias in the way I'm closing it. If I push it closed from straight on then it goes in centered but if I have my thumb or finger off to one side, like closing a knife, it pushes the blade into the rubber on the opposite side. Just a flexible blade and a narrow slot to park it in.

I carry the Silky if I know I'll have to cut something but I carry a Bahco Laplander for 'just in case' because it's lighter.
 
As already noted by Brother B, the saw is designed to cut on the pull stroke. The directions that come with them saw so.
SILKY saws cut as you pull the blade towards you. They do not cut on the forward or push stroke. Cutting on the pull stroke requires less energy and gives you more control over the action of the saw.
These saws are precision instruments, they should be used as such. No saw will stand up to misuse and abuse. Here are instructions for the proper use of these saws, no product replacement will even be considered if it has obviously been misused and broken!
Click to expand...
 
Thomas Linton said:
As already noted by Brother B, the saw is designed to cut on the pull stroke. The directions that come with them saw so.
Click to expand...

I know how to use a saw.
You may have missed my reply to B.
"Yes, I am aware of that. I am talking of folding/closing the saw, not of using it.
So, when I talk of pushing I refer to what I do after that I have unlocked the security mechanism, and I push on the back of the blade to make the blade go into the Grip."
I thought that was a pretty clear explanation.
Push = making pressure on the back of the blade (the side where there are no teeth) to make it go inside the slot in the grip.
I hope it is clear now :)

EDIT: I originally wrote "pulling" instead of "pushing" in my reply to Brommeland. This may have confused you. Now I have corrected.
Damn it, I need to improve my English.
 
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The English nobility of the Georgian Age deliberately mangled the language to show they were different, Sir Joe. Here, we just worry about mangled saws. :p
 
Sir Joe said:
I did not understand that.
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Another, poor, way to say, not closing the blade with any sideways force. I hold the saw in my right hand and release the lock with that hand and use my left to close it, the teeth will catch on the rubber. If I open the blade a bit, to get it out of the rubber, the blade centers itself but you have to push it straight in; any sideways force and the teeth will catch again. The slot on the Gomboy I have is less than an eighth of an inch wide and it takes very little to push the thin (less than a sixteenth inch), nine inch blade off to the side.

(We speak Mercan here, none of that highfalutin English stuff. :))
 
I took a decision. I have ordered them two, pocket 130 and gom 210.
I will keep the one of these three which I can use without worrying.
Because I know already that in any case all of them are enough for the reality of my job. I do not really have to cut huge things.
 
I have the small 130
it does not bend
I use my little finger and hook it at the back of the handle
And pull to cut

I find no flexibility in the blade when I pull cut
 
Sir Joe said:
I took a decision. I have ordered them two, pocket 130 and gom 210.
I will keep the one of these three which I can use without worrying.
Because I know already that in any case all of them are enough for the reality of my job. I do not really have to cut huge things.
Click to expand...

I have a Pocketboy. No problems as of yet. You did about what I would do being that once I get something in my mind, I have to act and act soon even if I spend extra money. You'll use all of them since you need such for work. Some people like the tiny saw blades on SAKs; me I was never enamored with them. SOG makes a knife (Revolver) that the blade flips from plain to an aggressive serrated one. Not really a bad knife, but not high quality since they are made in China now versus Taiwan.
 
I currently use a Pocketboy 170 for pocket carry and a Gomboy 240 for my backpack. The Opinel saws are pretty good and lightweight for the size but I prefer the Silky saws over all others I've tried. I've had one Silky that needed a little guidance when closing to prevent the teeth from hanging up on the liner.
 
I have received the other two.
No, I will not keep them all.
The only one which can be closed without much care, relatively quickly, is the pocketboy 130.
The gomboy 210 bends even more than the pocket 170. I thought that by having a thicker blade would have been better, but apparently the blade is not thick enough to compensate the increased bend effect due to the longer blade.
I understand that this is not a "defect" but the side effect or "collateral damage" of having a razor blade saw which (by being so thin) cuts faster.
And for those having no "time problem" in their working day, and a patient nature, I would suggest any of these. They all feel super in the hands.
For me, I keep the 130. I am confident that in the reality of my job I will not need anything longer. If I do, I can use chainsaw.
This is perfect, small, light, thin blade but does not get stuck in the rubber.

Problem, solution.

Now, is there also a section for secateurs/pruning shears in this forum? :)
I have here the supposedly best 3 in the world and I kind of wanted to talk about it.
 
Sir Joe said:
Now, is there also a section for secateurs/pruning shears in this forum? :)
I have here the supposedly best 3 in the world and I kind of wanted to talk about it.
Click to expand...

Sir Joe, I moved this to a slightly more appropriate forum, discussing outdoor gear rather than skills. Your secateurs should fit in here as well.

Edit to add: I just saw your post in Gadgets & Gear, which is also good. If you prefer, just ask and I can move that here.
 
I am confused.
You have just said that you moved something here. What?
And why there are now two similar posts of mine here?
EDIT: ok, I think I understood, when I wanted to post, the first time, I received a message like "will be posted after moderation". It had never happened before, so I though it was a system error, an expired session problem, and I have posted again. In that case it worked immediately, so I thought I was right, but apparently you really received my other post and freed it now.
Hmmm. :)

The pruning shears are not a survival tool, although without them I cannot work, and without work I cannot get money, and without money I cannot survive :D
Place the thread where you think it is more appropriate. For me it is ok, as far as it is the better for you and the thread.
Even if I kind of understand that probably I am in the wrong site for those kind of objects, right?
No gardeners here probably. It seems mostly a survival place.
 
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