Hand saw for climbing

[pdqdl]

Thanks for the scabbard number.

I got it a Menards (kinda like Lowe's) for $17.

I think that's more than I paid five years ago.

The Buckingham scabbard is a superior product. Exceedingly well made, it will cost much more than the saw. But then it will probably last 50 years. Rubberized fiber, kind of like leather only tougher, it has a hole at the tip for chips to fall through. You'll never hurt it except with a chainsaw.

The whole setup is a bit larger and heavier than most of the popular saws listed above, but it has greater reach and ease of cut on a larger branch. You should also have a tiny hand saw for tight pruning, like in a washington hawthorn, some crabapples.

Did you say you were doing a pine? Use the backside of the Fiskars like a machete to clear all the little dead sticks on the interior. Unless you are as burly as your Avatar, you're not likely to hurt it.

 

[ntsarborist]

Rubberized fiber, kind of like leather only tougher, it has a hole at the tip for chips to fall through

that slot on the bottom usually fills up with sawdust and occasinally need to clean it out so that saw will fit right.

they are tough. mine is a couple years old and shows very little wear. what i do when i buy a new scabbord is cut a inch and half slit down the underside of the top of the pouch. makes a wider slot to put saw away. saw isnt any good when it misses the scabbord and falls to the ground.

 

[randyg]

I currently have the Sugoi, Silky Ibuki, Silky Gomtaro, and a Samurai (and a couple of folding saws that don't get used on 'real' jobs - just when talking with clients and showing them stuff on small trees).

The Sugoi is the one on my harness everytime. The Ibuki is nice, but heavier and has a wider kerf so more work. I won't call it a waste of money - but I would have been better off to buy another Sugoi instead. The others: it is nice to have smaller ones to reach into tighter spaces on occassion.

$50 = buy it and don't look back - I can't imagine you won't like the saw and the "go cheaper" argument just lost a good $15+ at that price.

Sherrill will price match, by the way (I pass that along because they are a site sponsor and a good company to deal with. Even when they messed up some numbers on my last order, they quickly got it taken care of without any arguments - just a couple of phone calls to get things clarified).

Edit to add:
I have tried several cheaper saws over the years including Fiskars and Corona (but I have never tried a good Fanno). While I have not tried a wal-mart Fiskars recently, all others that I have used just aren't in the same class as Silky or Samurai - not in initial quality, and definately not after even a single day of heavy use. I'm not saying pdqdl is wrong (because I don't know that I've tried the specific saws he is talking about)...but I'm not waisting my money to find out either. $70 is a bite when you spend it, but not so much a year later when it is still running strong and earning me money.

Just called Sherrill and ordered 2 SUGOI's and mentioned I'd heard they price-match? Truth is, they price-match at 150%.

Bottom Line: $74.25 plus shipping gets me 2 saws (and yes I asked if sheath came with each and she said YES?).

Now off to pick up a couple of those 5/32's round file sharpenable saws for the nasty dead wood jobs.

THANKS TONS for all the great input!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ghillie]

Just called Sherrill and ordered 2 SUGOI's and mentioned I'd heard they price-match? Truth is, they price-match at 150%.

Bottom Line: $74.25 plus shipping gets me 2 saws (and yes I asked if sheath came with each and she said YES?).

Now off to pick up a couple of those 5/32's round file sharpenable saws for the nasty dead wood jobs.

THANKS TONS for all the great input!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good deal

Where did you find them on sale? Or can you say?

Did you say you were doing a pine? Use the backside of the Fiskars like a machete to clear all the little dead sticks on the interior. Unless you are as burly as your Avatar, you're not likely to hurt it.

It worked great! Definately going to be with me more in tree.

Did you mean SURLY or BURLY?

 

[Panama]

Ibuki, put loctite on the screws though, throw away the scabbard and use the Sugoi scabbard, on a pod mount. On the saw, put a small snap, on a small diameter short bungee, and a ring on the scabbard to stretch and snap it to, or it will get pulled out and fall. (my $.02)

 

[pdqdl]

Just called Sherrill and ordered 2 SUGOI's and mentioned I'd heard they price-match? Truth is, they price-match at 150%.

Bottom Line: $74.25 plus shipping gets me 2 saws (and yes I asked if sheath came with each and she said YES?).

Now off to pick up a couple of those 5/32's round file sharpenable saws for the nasty dead wood jobs.

THANKS TONS for all the great input!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soon you will be the ArboristSite expert on both varieties of hand saws.

We expect some feedback on which saw you like best, and why!

BTW: the Fiskars has a very aggressive cut, and it will work you pulling it through dead wood. It is much better at green wood. The saws with the zillions of little teeth pull through the dead wood with less effort. I don't know which would cut quickest, probably the Fiskars.

 

[ATH]

........it will work you pulling it through dead wood. It is much better at green wood.

The Silkys I have are not good in dead wood either. Anybody know a specific saw that does well in dead?

 

[tree md]

The Silkys I have are not good in dead wood either. Anybody know a specific saw that does well in dead?

Yup, MS200T.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

The Silkys I have are not good in dead wood either. Anybody know a specific saw that does well in dead?

Huh? Mine work great in dead and green wood: oak or pine.

 

[tree md]

Mine will cut dead wood OK but it takes a considerable amount more effort to cut a larger dead limb, say 2 1/2 inch or better. When I bow hunt I use a climbing tree stand and carry a Gerber limb saw with an aggressive blade a lot like the Silky's. Here we have a lot of scrubby Black Jack Oak that tends to have lots of dead branches low on the trunk. I often find a perfect ambush point in thick areas where the scrubby Black Jacks are the only trees to set up in. Trying to cut all of the lower dead branches to get high enough in the tree will work you to death but are usually well worth it once you get set up. My experience is that the green wood cuts a lot easier than the dead.

 

[coolbrze]

Every time this topic comes up, I recommend the Fiskars handsaw that you can buy at Walmart. So far as I know, nobody here at AS has ever tried it out. I would put it up against any saw made.

Here is another thread on that topic. This will save a lot of people time in re-posting the same opinions. My post is #27

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=84233&highlight=fiskars

I've used the fiskars handsaw & their pole pruner w/ saw blade. Both are good and work well for us. I think some of the Silkys are better quality though and haven't used some of the other top brands.

 

[lync]

Take a hacksaw to the handle of the Sugoi and cut off the pinky finger rest. Since doing this I haven't had it pulled out of the scabbord by a branch or rope. Mine sits in a saw pod on my leg. Much easier to get in and out then on the belt. Its a great pruning set up. Call for the 020 when needed.

 

[gitrdun_climbr]

Take a hacksaw to the handle of the Sugoi and cut off the pinky finger rest.

Not a bad idea!

 

[Bermie]

I use a Zubat...like a third hand in the tree!

My groundies all have a Zubat and a machete is always close at hand, sometimes that's all that's needed, a quick slice or chop and the job's done, saves fuel too!

 

[dave_b_quick]

homemade pruning saw

Here's my homemade pruning saw, open and closed, next to my silky.

I used a 17" snap-cut pole-saw blade and a branch off a silver maple tree for the handle, with a 1/4" truss-head machine-bolt and tee-nut for the pivot and a scrap of 1/8" bungee as a safety to make sure it stays closed when I'm climbing, and a piece of 1/8" poliester throw-line for a lanyard to hang it off my belt. The pivot bolt gives enough friction to keep it in the open position. The home-made saw cuts about as good as the silky, and gives me a little extra reach. A saw pod so I don't have to un-clip it from my belt might be an improvement.

 

[pdqdl]

That looks like a dandy.

The teeth on that saw look like the Fiskars brand, but the saw blade has a different shape.

Do you know what brand of saw blade that is in your homemade saw?

 

[The Lawn Shark]

Full report on Friday night

Will use the zubat all day friday and give my reveiw...compared to the 20$Corona(bought from loews), but the scabbard for the corona cost 28$(weaver)....I have the Sugoi on order and will compare next monday

 

[coolbrze]

Will use the zubat all day friday and give my reveiw...compared to the 20$Corona(bought from loews), but the scabbard for the corona cost 28$(weaver)....I have the Sugoi on order and will compare next monday

I have a 300mm Zubat and love it. IMO, it's the perfect mid-size handsaw. Am looking into getting a Sugoi, what size do you recommend, the 360mm (14 1/5" blade) or the 420mm (16 1/2" blade)?

 

[Raymond]

Will use the zubat all day friday and give my reveiw...compared to the 20$Corona(bought from loews), but the scabbard for the corona cost 28$(weaver)....I have the Sugoi on order and will compare next monday

I have the same zubat handsaw. How I know it's a zubat is because you told me.
Man I buy this crap and two days later I can't remember the name. Till coming here I never needed to know. It was just "my hand knife."

Like my brand new saddle I just bought a month ago. Hell I already forgot the name of it. It's now just called "my saddle."

LOL I just like to give the butthead something to work with. :hmm3grin2orange:

But no I've had the zubat for about 3 years and it's still a good saw. The clip to hold it in, petered out pretty quick, just gotta keep an eye on it so I don't drop it on my help. They can get kinda pissy about that.

 

[dave_b_quick]

blade for custom climbing saw

pdqdl, for my custom climbing saw I used a Gilmour Snap Cut 16" Pole Saw Blade, $9.80 from northeasternarborist.com, but you could probably use any pole saw blade you like. I mis-spoke earlier when I said it was a 17" blade.
-Dave