Recommendation? Silky saw?

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I’ve come across multiple downed trees ranging from say 4” diameter to 10” or so. What silky saw would be recommended for these both green and dry? I’d like to keep it in my backpack when biking.

 

[DocJD]

This is a relatively cheaper one that folds . ~$80 .

Works great if you can keep from binding in the cut .

 

[AntDog]

I cut all of this tree that fell in my yard with a Silky Gomboy except the trunk part that was 2 feet in diameter. I think it would easily handle what you’re talking about.







Got halfway through that trunk part and ran outta gas - went and bought a chainsaw.

 

[MolokaiRider]

They are all great. Pick one that has the longest blade you are comfortable with.

Remember they are hard and thin, and only work with deliberate pull cuts.

 

[bikerector]

This is a relatively cheaper one that folds . ~$80 .

Works great if you can keep from binding in the cut .

This is the one I would get if you're looking at 10" diameter. This is the one I carry in my backpack when mountain biking if I think I'll come across some downed trees. I Keep it in a bag my Thomson seatpost came in, in my pack. The saw can get sappy and I don't want that in my pack. The bag is just a long slender bag that has worked well for this.

I often carry it with a smaller big blade (7-8" blade length, ratweiler most of the time) in case I need to cut it out or when it's faster to use a knife. In my area of Michigan, there is a lot of vines that tend to hangup fallen limbs so you often have to cut the vines away to get to the wood.

The binding thing isn't that bad since the blade is slender so you just need to know how the tree is loaded to know where it's going to pinch. Many fallen limbs across the trail are leaning on something so you need to cut from the bottom up. Occasionally, it's more of a twisting if it's fallen down along a tree, I usually avoid using the saw on those and will pack in a small axe since axes don't get stuck like a saw. Some people have broken blades with the silky saws if they bind up, I've never had that happen yet and I'm not delicate with it. If you look up the replacement blade cost, it only has to happen once to feel a decent sting from that mistake though.

 

[DocJD]

you just need to know how the tree is loaded to know where it's going to pinch. Many fallen limbs across the trail are leaning on something so you need to cut from the bottom up. Occasionally, it's more of a twisting if it's fallen down along a tree

The Silky type saws are excellent so long as used correctly , with an understanding of their limitations .

 

[bikerector]

The Silky type saws are excellent so long as used correctly , with an understanding of their limitations .

The bigboy in particular, with the long blade and long the handle, is amazing. It cuts really fast and, for a folding saw, the ergos are acceptable. I much prefer it over a large folding bow saw or similar. In the smaller sizes, I think there's more competition from corona and bahco, but I still like silky saws more myself. I think they're worth the extra cost.

S SuzukiGS750EZ if you have the stamina, you can get a ton of work done with a silky and small axe pretty quickly. I've helped clear quite a few trees, less than 100 but well over 20, with the saw, axe, and machetes when large storms have knocked down a lot of trees in the forests I used to ride and help maintain. I haven't been mountain biking as much so I have not been volunteering as much so I haven't been to the trails as much the past 2 years.

I didn't address this in my 1st post, but I think the aggressive blade does well for both dry and green. It doesn't clog up as bad with the big teeth and it still bites into the dry stuff really well. I also prefer the curved blade as it helps from over pulling and taking the blade out of the curf, especially if cutting things that are harder to reach like when pruning some limbs back to open an area up.

The big boy was my 1st silky saw so it probably influenced my opinion a lot, but it's not my only one. I've tried many of the other silky blades on my pocket boy and based on that, I don't see a need for the finer teeth 95% of the time when in the woods. I do like the fine blades for work in the house where a smoother finish is preferred and the only wood I'm working with is dry. Everything else, just get the aggressive blade unless the medium is on sale.

 

[DocJD]

I cut all of this tree that fell in my yard with a Silky Gomboy except the trunk part that was 2 feet in diameter. I think it would easily handle what you’re talking about.

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Got halfway through that trunk part and ran outta gas - went and bought a chainsaw.

Sad to lose a big mature tree ,but very fortunate to not have it drop on your house or car .

Yeah , for the big stuff , nothing like a good chainsaw .

 

[gadgetgeek]

yeah, one of the big-middle sized ones and a finer tooth pitch. Not the finest, but finer is better for the drier woods, and will work fine for everything else. If you have a wood that is gummy enough that you really want a course pitch, it will be worth buying the second saw.