Survival Knife: Saw or no Saw?

Once had an old boy in a saw grinding shop sawback my Barteaux 18” machete. He did a good job, and I loved it for woodlot use, but it got stolen out of my truck about 2 years later. Shop is closed, old boy long gone, dangit.

I’ve tried a couple times since, can’t do it like he did it. Did use a friend’s Frankenblade machete he made from a curved pruning saw blade, Corona I think. Saw worked good, machete side was kinda light duty.

So my opinion is that real sawteeth, property shaped and set, can be useful if done well on 1/8” or so steel. Thicker than that, you’re working too hard, taking too much kerf. I see a lot more that I don’t care for.

Parker
 
shane45-1911 said:
Indeed, lots of sawbacks ARE crap.
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I'd say that MOST sawbacks are all but useless. If you really need a "saw" while out hiking/camping, the best and lightest thing to carry is simply a wire saw.

cGc


They come in all lengths/sizes and if you need to cut LOGS they even make a chain saw version but it's not something that I'd carry into the woods. LOL! ;)
 
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sgt1372 said:
they even make a chain saw version but it's not something that I'd carry into the woods. LOL! :;
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I have the wire saw as well as the chainsaw version. It works surprisingly well, and really IS just a chainsaw blade with the same type of "handles" on each end like in your pic.
 
sgt1372 said:
I'd say that MOST sawbacks are all but useless. If you really need a "saw" while out hiking/camping, the best and lightest thing to carry is simply a wire saw.

cGc


They come in all lengths/sizes and if you need to cut LOGS they even make a chain saw version but it's not something that I'd carry into the woods. LOL! :;
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Light and compact? Absolutely! But I've compared one to a Silky folding saw and the wire saw is a LOT more effort for the same cut. Plus, perhaps critically, those cannot be used one-handed. Since we're in a survival fantasy here, say you've injured one hand or arm. Wire saw: Instantly useless.
 
TC said:
Light and compact? Absolutely! But I've compared one to a Silky folding saw and the wire saw is a LOT more effort for the same cut. Plus, perhaps critically, those cannot be used one-handed. Since we're in a survival fantasy here, say you've injured one hand or arm. Wire saw: Instantly useless.
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Not necessarily true...
I've strung wire saws on a branch, and used them as bow saws...
But it does take the right branch...
 
TC said:
Plus, perhaps critically, those cannot be used one-handed. Since we're in a survival fantasy here, say you've injured one hand or arm. Wire saw: Instantly useless.
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Au contraire. With a flexible stick, a wire saw becomes a bow saw. It's really the only way to use one, since wire saws are pretty much junk to begin with. When you make it into a bow saw it becomes a lot easier to use... until it inevitably breaks.

I hate wire saws. They are packable. I'll give them that much. If you are putting together an extremely small kit, they're pretty much your only option. You can't get those little SERE saws anymore. Even if you could, you still wouldn't have the ability to saw larger stuff. A wire saw is both light, compact, and lets you saw decent size stuff. It's just really crappy and breaks too easily.
 
Guy McVer said:
Au contraire. With a flexible stick, a wire saw becomes a bow saw. It's really the only way to use one, since wire saws are pretty much junk to begin with. When you make it into a bow saw it becomes a lot easier to use... until it inevitably breaks.

I hate wire saws. They are packable. I'll give them that much. If you are putting together an extremely small kit, they're pretty much your only option. You can't get those little SERE saws anymore. Even if you could, you still wouldn't have the ability to saw larger stuff. A wire saw is both light, compact, and lets you saw decent size stuff. It's just really crappy and breaks too easily.
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Ok, making a bow saw is a valid point, but as you also point out, it's an iffy proposition at best (you need to make the suitable "bow" first - how much time and effort goes into that? You could be dead before you have your bow). I'll take the Silky any day, every day over the wire.
 
Once you've turned one wire saw into a bow saw: you know exactly what to look for, and it all becomes easier...
 
TC said:
you need to make the suitable "bow" first - how much time and effort goes into that? You could be dead before you have your bow
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It's not that complicated. It's literally a flexible stick with two notches in it. ;) It's not difficult or time consuming to make. The hardest part is finding a stick that's flexible enough to bend into a bow shape without breaking. You don't want to use old dry dead wood.

If you get lucky you might not even have to carve both of the notches because the shape of the stick will hold one or both of the ends of the wire saw without requiring a notch.

TC said:
I'll take the Silky any day, every day over the wire.
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No doubt. So would I.

You don't always have the luxury of being able to carry everything you would want to have at exactly the time when you'd want to have it. Wire saws are a compromise. Lots of things are compromises. You make do with what you can, when you can. There are ups and downs to everything. Wire saws do suck but I'd rather have one than have nothing at all.
 
Guy McVer said:
It's not that complicated. It's literally a flexible stick with two notches in it. ;) It's not difficult or time consuming to make. The hardest part is finding a stick that's flexible enough to bend into a bow shape without breaking. You don't want to use old dry dead wood.

If you get lucky you might not even have to carve both of the notches because the shape of the stick will hold one or both of the ends of the wire saw without requiring a notch.


No doubt. So would I.

You don't always have the luxury of being able to carry everything you would want to have at exactly the time when you'd want to have it. Wire saws are a compromise. Lots of things are compromises. You make do with what you can, when you can. There are ups and downs to everything. Wire saws do suck but I'd rather have one than have nothing at all.
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If that piece of wood is flexible enough to be easily bent into a bow shape without breaking, it will not put enough tension on the wire to do any amount of useful sawing for more than a few moments. Greenwood is not used for bow saws in general for good reasons. The only feasible adaption of a wire saw is a frame saw, and that takes quite some effort to make as well.

Save the "angel wire" for prison break-out movies - in the outdoors they just pretty much suck unless there is absolutely no other option (a.k.a bad planning ahead).
 
Bob Denman said:
Have you ever tried to use one?
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Yeah I was just thinking that.

Anyway...

I also wanted to mention kevlar cord. It's pretty handy. A small roll of it weighs almost nothing, can cut through thick branches, and doubles as cordage. It's good stuff to have. It's just not as commonly available as a wire saw. I could go into a sporting good store or a walmart and find a cheap wire saw no problem. I've even seen them at drugstores like rite aid.
 
Bob Denman said:
Have you ever tried to use one?
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Sure, tried all sorts of stuff since way back in the '70s when I was in the Boy Scouts. A wire saw will always be a bad alternative to a proper saw like even a Silky folder. Not sure why you would keep disputing this.
 
So a saw from 45 or so years ago; has cemented your opinion into a very fixed space...
Amazing.
 
You guys who criticize a wire saw as a "survival" tool are just too funny. LOL! ;🤣

Of course, a "real" saw (or something close to it) would be "better" if you needed to cut A LOT of wood but would you actually carry one in your pack while hiking and back packing? And, how much wood are you trying to saw that would cause it to break?

I'm sure that you all know that a wire saw is only intended to use to cut THIN "green" branches -- certainly no more than 2-3" thick -- and that you should only use enough force to make the cut (not bend the branch or break the wire) and then only if you can't find enough brush/twigs to make a fire w/in the 1st place and/or if your camp stove punks out. So, forgive me if I still include a 2 oz wire saw in my pack for "emergency" use. 🙃

Frankly, I could make do w/just a SAK and a wire saw and, in fact, that's often all that I carried (in the way of cutting tools) when I use to backpack in the Sierras.
 
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