Wood Harvesting Tools - Saws, Axes and Knives

[Odyssey]

My axe hasn't been on any trips lately, nor has my Coglan's (Sven type) folding saw. These two make short work of any dry wood up to about 5" diameter, and I've always enjoyed using them. They didn't break the bank which is nice although I'm eyeing a nicer smaller axe. I don't really know why because these days most of the wood prep I do in and around camp involves my Bahco saw and Fiskars hatchet. I harvest smaller stuff and only tap split with the hatchet, never swinging it like it's big brother. Having downsized my fires and tools has yielded more fuel in less time. Most of the drier branches (there's no shortage of them) are broken by laying them against large rocks (there's no shortage of them either) and stepping on them. I'm trying to be kinder to my knees these days. Often I'll place my (bottomless) Littlbug twig stove in the fire pit so after cooking dinner I can just lift out the stove and let the embers settle into their rightful place for the evening. Some days I miss seeing stacks of split wood resting beside a nearby fir ready for my fire, and those of subsequent trippers coming after me, and although I've loved the hours spent scrounging in the forest, cutting and hauling back to camp, sawing and splitting...I've come to appreciate downtime spent away from even the most pleasurable chores like firewood prep. A couple trips ago I was standing in a forest glade, with the sun streaming down through the freeform woven birch branches above me, breaking the afternoon light into shifting pools like disembodied forest spirits keeping me company. The deep carpet of moss muffled my steps as I walked. And ahead behind a screen of balsam boughs lay a good sized tree perfectly dry and ready for the axe and saw...except I had neither. I had downsized my tools for that trip, so this motherlode would just have to remain where it was. I sat and thought about this and second guessed my approach to tools and fire, camp and cooking, and decided trips are what we make of them. Some opportunities gained, and others lost, there's no winning or losing, just making the most of every moment spent in the backcountry. That tree could wait till next year.

 

[sweeper]

Axes aren't a throw piece of equipment when they get dull. I use the Fiskars saws for a couple years and then they become my yard saw. I don't sharpen the Japanese tooth pattern and at $19 way would you.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

I use to re set the teeth on my bow saw by hand with a pair of plier wile sitting by the fire, easy and doesn't have to be precise, it is not a surgeon tool... You need to know what decent set look and feel like but easy to experiment with !!

I just saw a video where a guy set his teeth (actually not his teeth, butt the saw's teeth) by hitting the teeth softly with a punch. Blade was laid across a round of soft wood. Other people responded that they just used pliers.

I wonder, canotrouge, if you set the teeth with the blade still in the saw? That would make it easier.

 

[Cruiser]

I have both the Fiskars and the Silky ... the Fiskars is better than my bow saw, but not close to the Silky. So comparing them by price is like most gear we all purchase, you get what you pay for ... you can make the Silky even better ordering the specially sharpened/hardened blades from the manufacturer.

Brian

 

[Guest]

Sounds like people don't like the Sven saw. Just wondering why not?

The acute angle at the front edge of the Sven blade and frame is in the way when sawing anything larger than a couple inches thick. I would rather have more of the saw blade available for use than just the back half.

https://www.rei.com/product/404013/sven-folding-saw-21

Even an inexpensive Fiskars has a better frame design.

https://www.horseloverz.com/lawn-ga...MIvpiew5z83gIVQ0OGCh3Epwg6EAQYBSABEgI-y_D_BwE

I don’t care that it isn’t collapsible, with a DIY blade guard - length of old ash gunwale with a groove down the flat side centerline, and a couple of Velcro straps (attached to the ash so they don’t get lost) - it still doesn’t take up much room, and is more convenient than assembling a Sven-type saw. Safer with no assembly required as well; I never much cared for the Sven saw blade swinging free until the saw frame was assembled and the wing nut attached.

Our old Sven saw has a spare wing nut on a piece of cord.

Er, had a spare wing nut; I just put the Sven in the truck and noticed that at some point I had lost the original wing nut and used the replacement.

 

[sweeper]

Saw Vse and Saw Set

https://www.ebay.com/itm/STEAMPUNK-...h=item1eeebff149:g:JkIAAOSwKvJaw8DN:rk:8:pf:0

 

[Canotrouge]

I just saw a video where a guy set his teeth (actually not his teeth, butt the saw's teeth) by hitting the teeth softly with a punch. Blade was laid across a round of soft wood. Other people responded that they just used pliers.

I wonder, canotrouge, if you set the teeth with the blade still in the saw? That would make it easier.

Yes I did. I mean if it is a saw for wood working/fine work, then it is not the same, that need to have proper and some what more precise set to have good results, but for a short buck saw to cut fire wood, I found that the pliers work just fine.... Try to sight down the blade, start at the handle so you have a few inches to get the feel for it since those teeth are not touching the wood often unless you like the feeling of your knuckles banging against the rough bark of the wood you're cutting.... Anyway, takes about minutes to set a 24" blade and it is hard to mess up... Try and keep the set some what equal side to side so the saw track straight!

 

[lowangle al]

I figured the pistol grip saws were pull saws. What I should have said was that my intuition tells me that pushing is more ergonomically efficient than pulling. History tells me that my intuition is not always right, and there are other variables to consider, so I guess I'd have to try pull saw to find out.

 

[Guest]

I figured the pistol grip saws were pull saws. What I should have said was that my intuition tells me that pushing is more ergonomically efficient than pulling. History tells me that my intuition is not always right, and there are other variables to consider, so I guess I'd have to try pull saw to find out.

I am wondering about that as well, for a different specific application; clearing small strainers.

I am not bringing a chainsaw to cut out large tree trunks spanning the river, and question whether that action is ichthyologically appropriate on small streams. But I will tackle (max) four or five inch diameter stuff, especially in a hazardous location or where carrying around is too much of a PITA.

Specific questions:

Working on a still leafy branch or small tree horizontal in the water, with some pressure on the wood from current, what type of saw would be preferable?

And, as importantly to me, working the saw while floating in the boat (see swamp runs, mangrove tunnels or etc where standing/wading alongside is not an option) what saw, tooth, push/pull, blade would be most advantageous for in-boat cutting work?

I’m thinking pull, so the cutting action would not push the floating sawyer away from the action, but ???

 

[Bothwell Voyageur]

Because the blade is in tension on the cut you can get a longer blade and consequently a longer stroke on a pull saw without having to reinforce the blade or use a frame. LeeVally sell a Katana Boy copy that is about 3ft long. It processes wood like nothing I have seen. Maybe overkill for what you need though!

I have a Corona pull saw for winter camping, very similar to that Fiskars but with a wood handle. I like that it is narrow so I can get in between standing dead trees to individually select the tree I want, something that you can't do with a buck saw

 

[lowangle al]

I have been thinking about getting one for carpentry, not the pistol grip type but the straight handled two handed more traditional Japanese type. Never thought about one for wood processing, but I will now.

 

[sweeper]

I like Japanese Pull Saws for carpentry and have collected a few. I keep them handy and have to walk past them to get a Western saw.
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[PaddlingPitt]

You guys on this topic of saws are way ahead of me in terms of knowledge and skills. Thanks for all your input!

 

[dougd]

I use a pull saw for finer cuts when I'm working with wood. I a collection of good handsaws but since I bought that one upteen years ago I find myself using that almost all the time. Once I get it going it cuts very sweet. I guess I should break out all of my others and at least get the rust off of them.

 

[sweeper]

I like old hand tools and have set my shop up so many are in reach and are closer then corded tools. Unfortunately, my batteryed tools are in reach also.

 

[Grandpa Paddler]

Having little skill and no patience, my great uncle's really old hand tools are in a drawer only to come out to be admired while I marvel at the thought of the things he created. I have trouble using fancy power tools!

 

[sweeper]

I like hand tools because it takes me longer to make mistakes

 

[Holmes375]

I like hand tools because it takes me longer to make mistakes

Well said!

 

[Canotrouge]

I use probably 90 percent hand tools in my work in the shop, but even on job site I end up using them quite a bit too... But in the shop it's mostly hand tools and mostly Japanese hand tools.

 

[Guest]

Wandering afield from wood harvesting tools. . . . .

I like old hand tools and have set my shop up so many are in reach and are closer then corded tools. Unfortunately, my batteryed tools are in reach also.

My assortment of shop equipment tends toward hand tools and the “in reach” bit was improved for the tools I most frequently use at the bench by installing a couple of magnetic tool bars affixed to the front of a shelf set 7 inches deep off the wall.

The main bench is 37 inches deep, and my arms are not long enough to reach tools on the wall while seated at the bench. Having to get up and down and up and down every time I needed a screwdriver, caliper or scissors was inconvenient. Now that all of the usual suspects are within reach it is easier to grab what I need, and easier to put it back properly, that last part being critical to my anal shop organization.

About battery operated tools, I am usually reluctant to try new technologies but was an early adopter of the first mass market battery drills. Which were, at the time, crap, but better than nothing. With improvements in batteries and in the tools themselves the battery op stuff has become my go to.

When working on a boat I would much rather have two battery op drills, one with a drill, one with a driver, than two corded drills and be tripping over extension cords. Same with making a single cut on a piece of lumber, battery op circular saw every time. Battery op leaf blower for shop dust.

A battery op power inflator; it’ll do 4 car tires on a charge and my wife uses it once a week for bike tires, best $19 I ever spent.