The wood saw obsession

[Santos]

I thought maybe we need a thread explaining the wood saw obsession. I am not really fussed aout them but people feel they are nigh manditory on a 84/91mm sak.

I would personally opt for losing the woodsaw to male a sak thinner (and that saying something cause saws are like the thinnest layer in a SAK)

or go for a metal saw/file.

I would rarely use a metal saw file but my reasoning is i could probably snap anything i could use the wood saw on (or find a slightly smaller piece)

On the other hand if i needed to do some improvised fabrication or field repair i would not have that option of utilising my kung fu. i never have used the metal saw myself but if the need was enough i would be patient ( like being miles from no where in a desert)

feel free to rant while hide behind a flame retardent suit and maybe post pictured examples why i too should see the light. (bonus points for showing the uses other than cutting sticks)

[ari6126]

The wood saw goes right through PVC. I used it to make this: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,15450.0.html . There was no way I could have snapped the Chapstick tube.

[John]

Use it on firesteels 

[Mr. Whippy]

+1 on woodsaws with PVC.  Works great.  Personally, I use the woodsaw at home  more than the scissors.

[Gareth]

You can also gather wood cleanly.  For example; I like to cut a walking/pointing stick when I'm out and about and don't want broken ends or to have it snap in the wrong place.  Also my kung-fu skills are OK but I don't think I could easily snap a 2 1/2" oak wood branch but I could cut it with the saw.

[Benner]

I don't see why they are so obsessed over either.  The reasoning for some seems to be for making shelter if stranded but in an urban environment or indeed pretty much anywhere in England which is where I am, a simple call to a cab company and you'd be home in no time.

The saw is pretty much the only thing tool wise I no longer EDC, however I do have one in the handle of my Glock Entrenchment tool.  Can't say I ever feel the need for the saw in there, but it takes up no space so it seems to be silly not to carry it.

[american lockpicker]

I would rather have a file.

[Mr. Whippy]

I don't see why they are so obsessed over either.  The reasoning for some seems to be for making shelter if stranded but in an urban environment or indeed pretty much anywhere in England which is where I am, a simple call to a cab company and you'd be home in no time.

The saw is pretty much the only thing tool wise I no longer EDC, however I do have one in the handle of my Glock Entrenchment tool.  Can't say I ever feel the need for the saw in there, but it takes up no space so it seems to be silly not to carry it.

Come for a visit Ben!  We'll go for a little hike from the house and have many opportunities to use the woodsaw. 


Might even get a chance to use the Boomsticks too! 

[andrea.from.roma]

The woodsaw on my SAK's (and on my Spirit) is actually one of the best I've tried in my life. Almost as effective as much larger pocket saws, it's thin and light.

It's an essential tool in a urban environment? No, I agree, but sometimes I've been needing it and it performed very well. Especially the ones on 111mm Vic's, they go through wood like it's butter.

On 84mm SAK's it is surely less useful than the one on larger models, but even if what you need to cut is way too thick for that tiny saw (or for your hands to simply snap it), the saw helps anyway: you make two cuts, two centimeters apart, two centimeters deep, bend the branch with little effort and it snaps instantly.

A.

[Gareth]

I don't see why they are so obsessed over either.  The reasoning for some seems to be for making shelter if stranded but in an urban environment or indeed pretty much anywhere in England which is where I am, a simple call to a cab company and you'd be home in no time.

The saw is pretty much the only thing tool wise I no longer EDC, however I do have one in the handle of my Glock Entrenchment tool.  Can't say I ever feel the need for the saw in there, but it takes up no space so it seems to be silly not to carry it.

I know what you mean, the saw is only something I purposely carry if I think I might need/want it, not "just in case".

[bren10man]

It cuts rope and 550 paracord with ease....

[nuphoria]

I've used it for cutting various plastics including pipework. Apart from just cutting sticks it's good for making grooves if you're whittling or carving something too.

I'm told you can cut bone with them too but I haven't found an excuse to amputate anything yet

[american lockpicker]

I've used it for cutting various plastics including pipework. Apart from just cutting sticks it's good for making grooves if you're whittling or carving something too.

I'm told you can cut bone with them too but I haven't found an excuse to amputate anything yet

I may be able to test that.

[Pacu]

Handy uses for that SAK saw.

1.) getting those pesky body parts into a flushable size.
2.) Testing to see it the circuit breaker is really turned off--just insert the saw into the socket
3.) Carving up that Thanksgiving Warthog
4.) Looks cool to the guys when you cut open that kilo of coke with it.
5.) You may be asked to do your part to aid in the deforestation of a 3rd world country
6.) Makes a unique way to remove bras from that certain someone.
7.) Real men use it to shave with
8.) Real women use it to remove nose hair with
9.) DIY home vasectomy
10.) Emergency Toothbrush

[nuphoria]

Pacu - do you KNOW how much bras cost these days? 

[Pacu]

Pacu - do you KNOW how much bras cost these days? 

Yea but love is priceless

[nuphoria]

 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Heretic's

Everyone need's a saw

[Anthony]

I love the saw.  I try to have one on my anytime I leave the house.  Then again, I'm not into "lightweight" EDC stuff and if I was I guess I'd make due without having a saw.

Even a small SAK saw can cut much larger branches (or plastic, or anything else a saw can cut).  The trick is to take so much material away, you can break whatever it is by hand the rest of the way. 

Although I haven't tried it, many people into bushcraft skills use the saw to make traps faster and cleaner.  I however have used the back of a Vic saw to scrape a magnesium bar and strike a steel...works great for that since the spine is very angular and "sharp".

[Poncho65]

I try and always have a saw on me they are and have been so handy 4 me that I can't bring myself not to carry 1 I prob use the saw on my multi more than the blade

[thebullfrog]

For a long time I agreed. I never ever used a saw on a multi for the longest time. But then during a couple projects at work remodeling the store I wound up needing to use the saw on my Surge a gazillion times. See, Wal-Mart is smurfing retarded, and even though we were all hired to remodel the store, they refused to let us use any tools that may or may not be dangerous. Therefore having a saw to cut the smurfing wood backing for certain displays was a no no. And having a saw to cut down the seriously wrong sized plastic parts for some of the shelving units? Nope, not allowed, but you better damn well fix the problem or you're fired. So about 8 or 9 times the Surge saw saved the day. Along with every other implement that we weren't allowed to use. Ever since then, and a couple times around the house since then, I've realized there is no way I could ever have a multi with no saw. In fact I'm finding I was seriously wrong about not needing scissors when I got my Spirit S and am really regretting not getting an "X" instead. So yeah, a saw is an absolute must.

[Zack]

Rarely ever use the saw.  Can even do without scissors 99% of the time, if my knife is sharp.  However, I cannot live without a good awl.

[yud]

the other day I was looking at my Champion and considering what I did not need to see if there was a "perfect fit" model and I can lose the saw and the mag glass.  saddly no model has the fish tool and the file 

[ringzero]

I would personally opt for losing the woodsaw to male a sak thinner (and that saying something cause saws are like the thinnest layer in a SAK)

Saws are useless for EDC, at least for me.

Waste of a layer.

Really wish Vic would make a OHT variant without the saw.  A OHT with a thickness of only two layers would be the perfect EDC for me.

OTOH, the 111 mm Vic saw is VERY good to carry in the great outdoors.

Before getting a OH-GAK, I was doubtful about the usefulness of its saw.  After using it a few times, nowdays I wouldn't want to be without it in the woods.

That little bit of extra length in the 111 mm saw seems to make it ever so much more useful than saws on the regular sized SAKs.

.

[AHB]

Heretic's
Everyone need's a saw

Erhhh...   Nope not really...  

[jazzbass]

the other day I was looking at my Champion and considering what I did not need to see if there was a "perfect fit" model and I can lose the saw and the mag glass.  saddly no model has the fish tool and the file 

I did the same thing an then removed the layers I didn't like. Like you, I wanted the file and scaler. However, I kept the phillips instead of the saw.  If the you want a just blade layer, opener layer, scissors, scaler and file, Vic made them a long a time ago. See Chako's collection here: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,15276.0.html

More obtainable, however, would be a version of that with a wood saw. Vic doesn't make this now but did for many, many years. The original Champion was like the modern one sans Phillips/mag glass. When Vic added the mag layer to the Craftsman in 73, they started calling what used to be a "Champion" a "Craftsman" or "Handyman" (back mounted corkscrew or Phillips, respectively). Both of these models changed in 1987 when the got pliers and lost the scaler. These older 73-87 Craftsman and Handyman knives show up on eBay all the time for pretty cheap (I've gotten a couple under $20).

[Santos]

Rarely ever use the saw.  Can even do without scissors 99% of the time, if my knife is sharp.  However, I cannot live without a good awl.

The awl is the other one, i have never truthly used it, much prefer the backspring fine flathead to complement the philips. I am a 'tinker' type though. mechanical and electronic items such as motobikes, ipods, gensets and laptops being items in my daily wilderness.

If people use awls thats ok with me but really its so annoying to have a saw type layer (fish/metal/wood) without a backspae tool on the back... campers and huntsmans for example should have screwdrivers (or chisels to maintain the theme) and while i am thinking about it, the scissor backspace hook could so be replaced by smaller phillips on some models (like 58mm range philips)... my god that is genius.... NEEEEEEEEIIIIL!!  

Back to topic

I am getting a GAK though to go in my 'Gran Suzuki Tool Roll' that stays in my 4x4. The tool roll pretty much can solo task anything... great if you are 1000kms from civilisation. It does not have a saw or a can opener. I am undecided whether to go the OH-gak and get the locking serrated blade or the older more compact one and keep the AK bayonet 'Beater'. (i have both in the mail so i will decide then)

Interesting about the bone cutting... maybe a gak in the First aid kit.

As for the pvc will have to see how a metal saw fares. I am more likely to go to the toolbox and get a proper saw for any tasks around home.

and Pacu... stay away from my family  

[Shane769]

Since I get to do really cool "field trips" for my class, I am constantly in the bush, and since I love it so much I spend all my spare time in the backcountry as well. This means that, yes, I agree with Mike , at least in my case. If I didn't have at least the saw on the Camper in my dayhiking kit, I would probably be in serious trouble. I at least understand that some people never need it, but I do, and think for me it is mandatory, so I guess I am obsessed.

Also, I find the awl on the Surge and the Camper very useful in a lot of situations, like priming for nails, striking firesteels and rough needlework, like bushcraft baskets.

[grimm_kaosboy]

Price of a good bra....around 90 sterling I should think. That's a little under 60 USD  and while I agree love is priceless, the hospital bill for sawing off the misses bra wouldn't be.
As far as the saw goes, I use then quite often. Even in the urban wilds. I've cut quite a few boards working in the warehouse.
Now, my OHT on the other hand harvested our Christmas tree this year. Took about two min to saw thru a 3½" across trunk. Woulda been less but there was zero clearance and I had to unfoul the blade once. Soft, sappy pine is a monster on any saw blade. I was quite happy with it only clogging up once.

[Woz]

I even thought of EDCing a Spyyderco T02 Spydersaw in my pocekt, so there is NO way I would sacrifice my  saw on a large MT or SAK. Saws rule! The movies are pretty amusing too