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- Jul 7, 2006
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Nice sunny day out today, 13F above zero (woo-hoo!). So I decided to go out in the yard and abuse a fallen branch. I figure it's a fair representation of what you might use out in the woods.
I tested four items: Coghlan's 180 Sierra Saw, Gordon's survival knife from Harbor Freight ($10, lol), Leatherman Blast and a Gerber multi that came in a cheap set of Winchester stuff. I know I have a wire commando saw around here somewhere, but I couldn't find it. The results are about what I expected.
I set out to use each saw blade to cut for one minute. Not racing, just a normal working pace. I kept the blades on an even plane, not working around the wood, but rather straight through.
The Gerber cut in fairly well, but the thickness of the blade caused it to bind up/clog up before even the whole blade was into the wood. Not very impressive although it does work. This one stays in the kitchen junk drawer.
The Leatherman was MUCH better. It cut like a real handsaw compared to the Gerber. Though the design of the teeth is similar, they are smaller and the blade is thinner. Not so thin as to be flimsy, it stayed on track just fine. However it did begin to bind just before its minute was up. You can see in the pic, it cut about 3 times as far as the Gerber did in the same time, with the same effort, actually probably less effort. I'm holding it up in the pic because it wouldn't stick in its slot. This one has been in my coat pocket since I got it, I want another one to keep in my backpack. Worth every penny more than the Gerber.
The Gordon's survival knife... well... it's very aggressive, that's for sure. Quickly dug a pretty clean, 3/16" wide groove in the wood. In about 10 seconds. But once it got down to the depth of the teeth, the blade just glided in the slot. So if you make alot of figure-four traps or something else that likes a nice square notch, this design is for you. This one was an impulse purchase, what the hell, I never had one as a kid so I thought I'd try it out. (Surprisingly, it did OK in chopping tests, I was surprised the cheap stainless held up pretty well. Despite the heavy handle/near nuetral balance, it chopped good. Keep an allen wrench handy to tighten the ONE set screw
that holds the blade to the handle! Better yet take it apart and goop up the joint with JB Weld and put it back together with the screw.)
The Coghlan's Sierra Saw was the hands-down winner, if the Leatherman is a hand saw, this thing is a bandsaw. Sailed right through about 2" before it bound up (40 seconds to get the cut you see in the pic). There are other folding saws which I haven't tried, I have a strong feeling this is the way to go.
Take note, the branch was laying on the ground, if I had it supported and the "waste" end was allowed to hang free as it was being cut, I don't believe binding would have been an issue with the Leatherman or Coghlan's. I went back and hit the L and C cuts from a slightly different position around the branch, and they both cut through the rest in only a few strokes.The Gordon's and Gerber both bound up before the branch "pinching" the blade even became an issue.
Hope this didn't bore the pants off you! If anyone has one of those pocket chainsaws (or a regular wire saw, or whatever else you've found useful) handy, please post your test here!
I tested four items: Coghlan's 180 Sierra Saw, Gordon's survival knife from Harbor Freight ($10, lol), Leatherman Blast and a Gerber multi that came in a cheap set of Winchester stuff. I know I have a wire commando saw around here somewhere, but I couldn't find it. The results are about what I expected.
I set out to use each saw blade to cut for one minute. Not racing, just a normal working pace. I kept the blades on an even plane, not working around the wood, but rather straight through.
The Gerber cut in fairly well, but the thickness of the blade caused it to bind up/clog up before even the whole blade was into the wood. Not very impressive although it does work. This one stays in the kitchen junk drawer.
The Leatherman was MUCH better. It cut like a real handsaw compared to the Gerber. Though the design of the teeth is similar, they are smaller and the blade is thinner. Not so thin as to be flimsy, it stayed on track just fine. However it did begin to bind just before its minute was up. You can see in the pic, it cut about 3 times as far as the Gerber did in the same time, with the same effort, actually probably less effort. I'm holding it up in the pic because it wouldn't stick in its slot. This one has been in my coat pocket since I got it, I want another one to keep in my backpack. Worth every penny more than the Gerber.
The Gordon's survival knife... well... it's very aggressive, that's for sure. Quickly dug a pretty clean, 3/16" wide groove in the wood. In about 10 seconds. But once it got down to the depth of the teeth, the blade just glided in the slot. So if you make alot of figure-four traps or something else that likes a nice square notch, this design is for you. This one was an impulse purchase, what the hell, I never had one as a kid so I thought I'd try it out. (Surprisingly, it did OK in chopping tests, I was surprised the cheap stainless held up pretty well. Despite the heavy handle/near nuetral balance, it chopped good. Keep an allen wrench handy to tighten the ONE set screw
that holds the blade to the handle! Better yet take it apart and goop up the joint with JB Weld and put it back together with the screw.)The Coghlan's Sierra Saw was the hands-down winner, if the Leatherman is a hand saw, this thing is a bandsaw. Sailed right through about 2" before it bound up (40 seconds to get the cut you see in the pic). There are other folding saws which I haven't tried, I have a strong feeling this is the way to go.
Take note, the branch was laying on the ground, if I had it supported and the "waste" end was allowed to hang free as it was being cut, I don't believe binding would have been an issue with the Leatherman or Coghlan's. I went back and hit the L and C cuts from a slightly different position around the branch, and they both cut through the rest in only a few strokes.The Gordon's and Gerber both bound up before the branch "pinching" the blade even became an issue.
Hope this didn't bore the pants off you! If anyone has one of those pocket chainsaws (or a regular wire saw, or whatever else you've found useful) handy, please post your test here!
But I think it's a great tool, I like it better than a folding saw. Binding occurs if I let the sapling rest back on the chain, but that's easy to correct.
*psst* SkunkWerx that means you! 
