Hand saw/ pruning saw

[squeezebox]

So I'm thinking about getting a small pruning saw for around the house. To trim trees, thin the bamboo patch, etc. So I might as well get a nice folding saw that I could take on short hiking trips, or car camping. Do you have any opinions about a nice small, light folding saw appropriate for such use?
Thanks!

[Old Hillwalker]

Check out the Felco brand. I have a Felco pruning saw that I have carried and used on the trails for at least ten years, Very sharp, fast, and dangerous to ones hands and clothing if used carelessly.

[Rain Man]

I have 4 folding saws, not counting collapsible bow saws for yard work and backpacking.

I recommend Bahco folding saw. Very light. Makes short work of small (4" or so) limbs and blowdowns. It's what I take these days, unless I'm taking my Sven collapsible bow saw for bigger blowdowns.

I don't know the Felco brand, but would certainly trust Old Hillwalker's recommendation too. After all, he met me in the Mahoosuc Notch and shepherded me through and up and over Mahoosuc Arm like a mountain goat (him, not me)! He knows his stuff.

[HooKooDooKu]

I would suggest looking into two different saws, one for each purpose.

For a camping saw, you want something that is light weight, and that might mean a blade that isn't as sturdy as something you would want to utilize for yard work where weight isn't so much of a problem.

For example, I like using this Gerber saw when camping. It's light weight and extremely sharp. I can cut thru a log the size of your wrist in almost no time with this saw.
However, I have to be very careful using this saw to make sure I don't bend the blade.

For around the house, I prefer something with a little more heft to it... such as Corona brand saws available at places like Lowes. About twice the weight, and it's a bit more difficult to bend the blade.

[tarditi]

x2 on the Bahco - tough, stays sharp, makes short work of it

[JohnHuth]

Sven folding saw

[peakbagger]

I carry a Sawvivor when I head out to work my AT boundary line in Maine and usually in the spring/early summer to do some quick blowdown removal. https://www.rei.com/product/689759/t...r-sawvivor-saw. Sadly they are out of business. Luckily I have plenty of spare blades. I find I can cut a bigger blow downs with a frame saw than a folding blade type saw. Of course no saw will last long without paying attention to physics, if you cut on the wrong side of the branch when its under compression, the blade is going to get pinched (same with a chainsaw) With a folding blade type saw like the Fedco, you may bend the blade whne it pinches while with a frame type saw its far less likely to bend the blade but is more likely to just plain get stuck. Sven Saws https://www.rei.com/b/sven/c/camp-sa...wd-25553611252 would be my second choice and are a long term favorite of many canoe campers. It has a bit less capacity than the Sawvivor due to it throat depth but still has the same benefits. One thing to keep in mind it that most of these blades are intended to be replaced when dull. If you stick to clean wood they last a long time but cutting dirty wood with soil in the bark is going to wear out a blade. I have run into far too many sven saws over the years with dull blades and they sure can make things miserable. I strongly suggest buying spare blades when you buy the saw.

Of course if you want one hand tool to inflict the maximum amount of damage and don't care on cut quality its hard to beat a surveyors brush ax. https://www.amazon.com/Bahco-3022-Cl.../dp/B000288XQ8. I used to hack many a line in the woods with one and a quick touch up with a file on occasion keeps it fairly sharp. The downside is that it tends to leave sharp "punji sticks" in its wake. When I want to move blowdowns quick that's my tool of choice. Far better than a machete and a lot faster than a saw.

[BlackCloud]

I carry a Sawvivor when I head out to work my AT boundary line in Maine and usually in the spring/early summer to do some quick blowdown removal. https://www.rei.com/product/689759/t...r-sawvivor-saw. Sadly they are out of business. Luckily I have plenty of spare blades. I find I can cut a bigger blow downs with a frame saw than a folding blade type saw. Of course no saw will last long without paying attention to physics, if you cut on the wrong side of the branch when its under compression, the blade is going to get pinched (same with a chainsaw) With a folding blade type saw like the Fedco, you may bend the blade whne it pinches while with a frame type saw its far less likely to bend the blade but is more likely to just plain get stuck. Sven Saws https://www.rei.com/b/sven/c/camp-sa...wd-25553611252 would be my second choice and are a long term favorite of many canoe campers. It has a bit less capacity than the Sawvivor due to it throat depth but still has the same benefits. One thing to keep in mind it that most of these blades are intended to be replaced when dull. If you stick to clean wood they last a long time but cutting dirty wood with soil in the bark is going to wear out a blade. I have run into far too many sven saws over the years with dull blades and they sure can make things miserable. I strongly suggest buying spare blades when you buy the saw.

Out of business! This is the best saw ever! It weighs nothing and cuts through wood like a champ. Glad I have a spare blade like yourself.

[cmoulder]

Out of business! This is the best saw ever! It weighs nothing and cuts through wood like a champ. Glad I have a spare blade like yourself.

14oz is nothing?

Okey dokey.

[BlackCloud]

14oz is nothing?

Okey dokey.

It's that heavy? It feels weightless as it cuts through wood. I never take a saw backpacking, but for a camp saw it's unparalleled.

[cmoulder]

It's that heavy? It feels weightless as it cuts through wood. I never take a saw backpacking, but for a camp saw it's unparalleled.

According to spec in the link...

Technical Specs


[COLOR=rgba(12, 11, 8, 0.75)]

Best Use	Camping
Max Blade Length (in.)	21 inches
Closed Length	23 inches
Blade Construction	Swedish steel
Handle Material	Aluminum
Weight	13.7 ounces

[/COLOR]

As saws go that's pretty light, but *for me* a single item weighing 14oz certainly triggers the "need vs want" debate inside my gram-weenie-wacko noggin. Usually the answer is no, I don't need it.

However, on a recent trip to the Adirondacks my hiking partner carried an 11oz MSR stake hammer. Conditions were such that there wasn't enough snow for my usual deadman sticks for pitching the tent, and the ground beneath was frozen so that stakes were nigh impossible to place by hand, and small rocks, which I'd normally use, were very hard to find under the snow. That stake hammer was just the ticket, and I offered to carry it for the rest of the trip. Worth it in this instance, so I now have one for such occasions. I guess we'll take turns carrying the hammer!

[Dogwood]

I'd have different saws. Several viable options offered. I would not be using a folding saw for anything larger than 3-4" max in either camping or home situations. If you do use one saw as a do it all saw be mindful to disinfect it regular or you can transfer disease

[Slo-go'en]

I picked up a saw in Hot Springs at Bluff Mt outfitters one year when there were a lot of recent blow downs across the trail and I got tired of trying to break off branches by hand. It was a Gerber which the blade slid into an aluminum handle, vertically. It was very light and compact. I used it to clear a lot of trees off the trail in the following couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I don't think it's available anymore and I eventually snapped the blade in half trying to cut down a tree much bigger then I should have (at home).

[devoncloud]

Silky saws are my favorite. They are beasts. I backpack a lot in the Ouichitaw forest in Arkansas which has a lot of wood cutting involved (firewood, trail maintenance etc...) so I use their Big boy folding saw. It will cut through adult trees in no time flat, but they also have smaller models.


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[Gambit McCrae]

Tipi Walter is known to have nice things and carries this folding saw. I personally carry a sven saw on shorter "camping trip" hikes.

I finish the North Fork trail and connect to the brushy poorly maintained Rocky Flats trail and go in several miles and stop for a break with my trail tools.

[TNhiker]

thats the model i use as well (in gambit's post with tipi's picture)------its like 20 bucks at home depot..........

and easy to store in backpack...

[HooKooDooKu]

thats the model i use as well (in gambit's post with tipi's picture)------its like 20 bucks at home depot..........
and easy to store in backpack...

What's the weight ?

[mPalozzola01]

Bahco 396-LAP Laplander Folding Saw, 7-1/2 -Inch Blade great light weight versatile and sharp

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[orthofingers]

+1 Anything made by Silky. One thing you didn't mention is the size ( diameter) of the material you intend to cut. Silky makes small, light folding saws like the PocketBoy that would probably max out at a 3" branch, all the way up to the Katana Boy 500 and 650. Those will cut large trees almost as fast as a chainsaw.

The Bahco Laplander mentioned above has become almost the gold standard in the bushcraft community. They are lightweight, inexpensive and the blade is almost indestructible.

[lumberjaime]

+1 for Silky (I particularly like the "Big Boy") and +1 for Sven Saws. I have used both for cutting wood between 1"-8" in diameter, they make quick work and are easy to handle.