Folding saw

[PlacidWaters]

I'm looking for a folding saw (pruning type). I know this has been discussed at length here, but the search function won't search for "folding saws." Would like to hear suggestions for affordable folding saws (under $30) for cutting wood up to about 4". I have a very small UCO fire pit that takes wood about 10" long. I could also use a new axe, quite small and light, for splitting those pieces. Or post links to those past discussions. Thanks!

 

[Shawn686]

I like the sawsall blade holders, you just get a pruning blade for it. The blade is not proprietary like all the camping/ outdoors ones. And they are available anywhere tools are sold. Not so much for the camping/hunting ones

I have this one:

Blade Holder I use

And use these blades:

Blades I like

The holder folds with blades 6 inches or less. You could modify the holder to fold with longer blades, but they would stick out from the handle. I just keep a 6" in it and a longer one separate. It changes blades and folds at the touch of a button.

Hope that helps

Shawn

 

[Gartenmeister]

Silky makes fantastic saws and is the standard for quality. I carry a medium tooth PocketBoy 130 in my pack, mostly for minor trail improvements. It was $30-something when I bought it, a little more now but definitely worth it. Similar looking cheap saws (Corona, Fiskars, etc) do not compare.

For regular cutting of firewood you might want something bigger than a Pocketboy. Maybe a GomBoy.

 

[NORDFORD]

This saw is the BEST $20 I’ve spent. It’s always in my truck or in my pack. Absolutely love it.

 

[dstefan]

+1 for SilkySaws. But really any Japanese cut on the pull saws will be great. The larger ones like the Silky Big Boy can cut through some really big wood amazingly fast. I use my Big Boy a lot for trail clearing and it will cut up to 1” branches with just one or two strokes and bigger stuff proportionally fast. The recommendation for the GomBoy from @Gartenmeister is probably the sweet spot for what you want.

You do have to be sure you’re applying power only on the pull strokes. You can bend the blades if you jam into anything on the push strokes.

 

[PlacidWaters]

This saw is the BEST $20 I’ve spent. It’s always in my truck or in my pack. Absolutely love it.

The Corona 10" razor tooth would seem to make the most sense for my budget. Thanks. Now how about a lightweight hatchet for splitting these small pieces?

 

[NORDFORD]

The Corona 10" razor tooth would seem to make the most sense for my budget. Thanks. Now how about a lightweight hatchet for splitting these small pieces?

I’m partial to Estwing, but I’ve got a lightweight DeWalt hatchet I like too…

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

Estwing Cruiser and a Silky Big Boy. You’ve blown your budget, but you won’t regret it.

 

[highwest]

Estwing Cruiser and a Silky Big Boy. You’ve blown your budget, but you won’t regret it.

I carry a much small hatchet/hammer thing I found in my grandfather’s shed when he passed that’s only really good for small firewood. I definitely second (third? fourth?) the Silky Big Boy.

 

[jgaz]

We use the heck out of these at a county park where I volunteer.
They last longer than the Corona saws that we have tried.

The silky saws are nice as long as you, or another user, remembers that they are a pull saw.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I’m partial to Estwing, but I’ve got a lightweight DeWalt hatchet I like too…

+1 for Estwing. I use the leather bound handle camp axe.

 

[COAKXterra]

This saw is the BEST $20 I’ve spent. It’s always in my truck or in my pack. Absolutely love it.

+1 here. Used them for work back when I did parks/rec work many moons ago and bought one over a decade ago. Still is my go-to for quick clear/cut

 

[PlacidWaters]

I’m partial to Estwing, but I’ve got a lightweight DeWalt hatchet I like too…

How about this $20 Dewalt camper's hatchet?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20-oz-Campers-Hatchet-DWHT56031/304384101

As a reminder, I posted last year that I wasn't satisfied with the Fiskers X7 hatchet despite the positive reviews, but most here disagreed with my take on this:

Fiskers X7 hatchet: NO!

I read a lot of good reviews about the Fiskers X7 so I picked one up today. Very disappointed! It's too light to have much of an effect on cord hardwood (6" in diameter), but it's more than that: there's something weird about the shape of the blade. It more or less bounced back off the wood and...

forum.expeditionportal.com

 

[NORDFORD]

How about this $20 Dewalt camper's hatchet?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20-oz-Campers-Hatchet-DWHT56031/304384101

As a reminder, I posted last year that I wasn't satisfied with the Fiskers X7 hatchet despite the positive reviews, but most here disagreed with my take on this:

Fiskers X7 hatchet: NO!

I read a lot of good reviews about the Fiskers X7 so I picked one up today. Very disappointed! It's too light to have much of an effect on cord hardwood (6" in diameter), but it's more than that: there's something weird about the shape of the blade. It more or less bounced back off the wood and...

forum.expeditionportal.com

That DeWalt is the one I have.

 

[Alloy]

+1 for SilkySaws. But really any Japanese cut on the pull saws will be great. The larger ones like the Silky Big Boy can cut through some really big wood amazingly fast. I use my Big Boy a lot for trail clearing and it will cut up to 1” branches with just one or two strokes and bigger stuff proportionally fast. The recommendation for the GomBoy from @Gartenmeister is probably the sweet spot for what you want.

You do have to be sure you’re applying power only on the pull strokes. You can bend the blades if you jam into anything on the push strokes.

Can't beat a Silky Saw.

The fractures can be seen through this cut as the weight of the 30' diameter root ball pulled and finally split the tree as it fell back into the hole.



The other side with some of the other trees in the blow down