Can a folding saw to replace a hatchet and/or big chopper?

[cyprant]

Assuming you have a 3"-4" fixed blade and maybe a small slicer can a good folding saw replace a hachet / large chopper (think Junglas) for bushcrafting / hiking / survival? I am newish to this type of stuff so please explain why or why not.

 

[ViperJock]

Saws are a lot quieter. And I think the return for energy expended is better once you are talking mid sized (6") or larger diameter logs. Get the kind that folds out into a "D" with the blade as the "I" part and the handle as the "C" part. You can use both hands and it goes a lot faster. I can't remember the name of mine right now.... I still carry a knife but for cutting large limbs and logs, the saw is better and lighter than an axe/hatchet/hawk. IMO. That weight adds up in a pack.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I have been hiking, backpacking, practicing wilderness survival and bushcraft, and lived in the woods most of my life. I rarely carry either a saw or a hatchet nor do I consider either for essential for survival. I use a $20 machete around the ranch when I am cutting brush, but wouldn't go hiking with it unless I was going through jungle.

Yes, I'd prefer to have a hatchet if I were to decide to go live in the woods away from any civilization for the rest of my life, but I can make one if necessary and it's a lower priority tool.

 

[chezuki]

The chopper will be all around more versatile. Able to clear brush, sharpen stakes, etc. A folding saw could be useful, but if you're taking one or the other, the chopper is the way to go.

 

[cyprant]

Wow, 3 very different opinions in the first 3 responses. That tells me that it really depends on specific chores need to be done and the experience one has.

 

[snapping turtle]

Deep northern woods the small axe is needed. The jungle the machete is the one. Around here the saw would do.

 

[Bradsknives]

While a saw is the perfect tool for "sawing" up wood, that is all it can do. A chopper, machete, or anything with a blade is a much more versatile tool for other tasks besides cutting/sawing up wood.

 

[glockednlocked]

I really like a folding saw and use one often. I think for the weight the cost vs. benefit equation works for me well. That said Brad is right on a saw is a one trick pony. I often just use a good sturdy knife and no saw or axe and feel fine. Other times I go tool heavy just for fun and take saw,chopper,hatchet and more that a few knives lol.

 

[traderdan]

If you are feeding a campfire.. a saw is the best way to go.

 

[ViperJock]

While a saw is the perfect tool for "sawing" up wood, that is all it can do. A chopper, machete, or anything with a blade is a much more versatile tool for other tasks besides cutting/sawing up wood.

In Indiana, a saw and a knife (not a large chopper but something you can sharpen stakes, cut food, game, rope with) would be enough? What task am I forgetting Brad? Or are you just trying to get me to buy another knife? (J/k)

I guess I build my kit around the idea that I don't want to attract the attention that cutting a trail or hacking at wood would create. Clearly your kit would change based on regional flora and what you were doing in the wilderness in the first place.

 

[metaldog]

Here is another option...

 

[Bradsknives]

In Indiana, a saw and a knife (not a large chopper but something you can sharpen stakes, cut food, game, rope with) would be enough? What task am I forgetting Brad? Or are you just trying to get me to buy another knife? (J/k)

I guess I build my kit around the idea that I don't want to attract the attention that cutting a trail or hacking at wood would create. Clearly your kit would change based on regional flora and what you were doing in the wilderness in the first place.

I believe you have covered the general tasks that I was thinking of. While no single tool is the perfect tool that would cover all of these tasks, I think that a blade 3" to 5" is suitable for most tasks other than chopping...now, what do I want to use for preparing my fire wood or shelter support pieces? I personally like a chopper over a saw, simply because it gives me another blade (back-up) that in a pinch could do most of the other tasks that a saw couldn't do. IMO, most of the wood that you will be chopping for burning or shelter prep would be less than 6" in diameter (easy work for a good chopper). For wood larger than that, that I want to burn, I just use the old "Indian Burn" method.....pushing the log into the fire and as it burns, push a new section into the fire and repeat.

 

[cyprant]

Good advice here, Thanks.

 

[Hammer]

If you want a saw that will cut faster than any other saw you have used, the Silky saws are the ticket. Yes, they are pricey, only because they are worth it.

Tree Stuff - Silky Zubat 330 Hand Saw

I am not a huge fan of folding saws but give this one a good rating if a folding one will fit the bill better.

Tree Stuff - Silky Super Accel 210 Folding Saw

 

[grunt soldier]

I keep a silky saw in my bags. they are awesome. I'm a huge knife junky too and especially love the choppers but they amount of effort expended it chopping is much greater than these little saws. They weigh nothing and are very versatile, a lot more so than most people think. You can saw, notch, and even split wood with it using proper technique. If paired up with a knife it's a very valuable tool well worth the little bit of weight they add imo and I do spend a lot of time in the woods using my tools


[video=youtube;lSOXU0rrqOM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSOXU0rrqOM[/video]

 

[traderdan]

It seems that I rarely get to take an overnight backpack trip, without my teenage son, and some of his friends..Several miles from a road is not the place to have a serious injury, caused by an over zealous untrained teenager with a chopping tool. I am sold on the high quality saws...

 

[cyprant]

I was able to buy the 300mm Silky Gomboy from a going out of business sale.

 

[lava dog 1/3]

Hatchets are more versatile. They are made for hammering, splitting, and chopping. Saws are made only for cutting, there is a difference. But a cheap folding saw has it's place. No need to buy high dollar ones. Cheap ones cut just as good. Spend that money somewhere else, like in the knife department.

 

[Hammer]

Hatchets are more versatile. They are made for hammering, splitting, and chopping. Saws are made only for cutting, there is a difference. But a cheap folding saw has it's place. No need to buy high dollar ones. Cheap ones cut just as good. Spend that money somewhere else, like in the knife department.

i call BS on that one. You take any cheap saw and I will take a silky and out cut you any day of the week. I have run many small saws and by far the silky is tops, nothing even comes close.

 

[Kart29]

I like dry hardwood for my campfires - less flying embers, smoke, and soot and longer lasting than softwoods. Green hardwood doesn't burn worth a darn.

But try using a hatchet to cut dry hardwood! Total waste of time and energy. I always carry a hatchet when camping - backpack or otherwise. But I think I'd rather leave my hatchet behind than my little saw. Also, it's hard to make a flat cut perpendicular to the stick with a knife or hatchet. Stakes and poles that get pounded into the ground work much better when they have a flat face to pound on.