silky saws ,waste of time?

freeweight

i keep hearing people say tese things are crap,taks twise as lomg as a chain saw,

how well do they work...i wannnatry one out for pruning

one that is around 25$


whats yalls experience with them,cut fast ,light,easy to use in tight spots

Jeff Darby

look Tafe trained climbers will always strap on their silky, for tight stuff where you can not get the saw back in and that extra whisk on a back cut where you just cant manage your 200t

here's a link to a similar thread..Hand and Pole saws some might say you look a little gay with a hand saw in a tree fight...lol

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Levi Parkin

I love silky handsaws and never enter a tree without one. Most of the time I can have a climb cut off with my silky in the time it takes to start a chainsaw... whithin reason of course. I have a zubat and would rather cut limbs up to the size of my forearm with that than a chainsaw. Anything bigger, break out the 200t. Good luck finding one under $50 though....

Apocalypsse

Depends on what you are trying to compare a chainsaw with a handsaw with. Smaller branches you are better off using the handsaw, will give you a much better finish. In the time it takes to unhook & start your saw the handsaw will have the job complete.

second-gen_monkey

i use the gomtaro 300 when i can. reciently been using a sthill but only because i got a good deal at $15 a peice from a shop that closed out down here.

the silkys are champs and seem to cut alot smoother. they also loose less teeth when i get mad and use them to machette annoying tips but at 60-80 a peice i think i'll just use up these sthills first.

Hayden Watt

I always have my silky on my harness, great for pruning small limbs and agree with others. just as quick as starting and working with the 200.
Also with the silky you have the free hand to cut and throw which is alot more dangerous with the MS200....

TrevMcRev

They're pretty sharp.

Daniel Janjic

Thats cool.

I love to use my Zubat to prune light stuff, even talk while cutting, like the client saying "yeah now that little one out there, and that one above you, oh and the next one up!"...

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Dano

http://www.treelove.com.au

Eric Frei

Is it just me?

All push bikes are crap because they take longer than a car to get there.

That Stanley hacksaw is crap because it takes twice as long as an oxy-cutter.

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sir_nick2

I broke the top handle on my 338 a fortnight or so ago so I sent her in to be sorted and in the mean time I borrowed an ARS straight blade hand saw it was only 20 or so cm long and used it for the next couple of days doing line clearance. The saw performed way better than I expected it to cutting stuff up too about wrist size with ease and quick too, cuts were so clean aswell, I'll definitely be ordering one in my next lot of gear

jim1nz

Yep all depends...

It takes longer to get in you car and drive to the corner shop than it does to jump on ya bike.

Its easier and quicker to cut the end off a bolt with a hack saw than set up the oxy and cut it off.

Freeweight, its $25 just get one and try it

Daniel Janjic

Just a note of advice, when choosing a saw try to make sure it has some form of front finger guard / quillon, or finger grooves, as most are designed to only cut on the pull stroke, it is often unavoidable to encounter some sort of resistance on the push stroke, if your hand slips you could easily shred fingers, if not careful..

Choose carefully

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Dano

http://www.treelove.com.au

Done it

I bought a folding handsaw last year after people were talking about them here, about $50. I keep it in the truck, it's amazing how much I use it and I've got plenty of chainsaws.

For $25 I don't think you should be too worried about buying one.

Smallsy

The Silky is the way to go. i love mine and use it for most pruning and dead wooding. The only problem is that you will often catch yourself with it and it looks like you've been bitten by a tiny shark.

Willard Holmen

I have about 6 different Silkys which I use on the job and they work very well for me. Being very proud of them and bragging about them on another site, I was cut down to size when an arborist from Japan called them "disposable junk".
According to him in Japan where the Silky tooth pattern technology came from, there are still saw makers and filers who practice the trade of building and maintaining these type of saws and have being doing it for hundreds of years.
But he says there are getting to be fewer of these tradesmens around because of the cheaper disposable Silkys that can be bought in the box stores.

Willard.

Victor Lindsay

When working a tree, not a removal, a silky is all i take up with me. If I need a chainsaw, i'll just rope one up, then back down it goes until i need it again. Moving through a tree with a chainsaw is like swimming with a 20 pound brick.

Rockin'Robin

I use a fanno handsaw, I never go up without one, even on removals. For the added few ounces of weight, you can't deny it's effectiveness, efficiency and versatility.

Pony Saw

Anything up to the size of my wrist I don't even bother with the chainsaw, no point, my fanno will dust it way faster. Just take care of them. A lot of folk just use and abuse handsaws because they see them as "disposable". They are inexpensive, not cheap. They are a tool, and I was always taught use the right tool for the job and take care of your tools and they'll take care of you. The fact remains, you will always get a better, cleaner cut while pruning with a hand saw then with a chainsaw, and if you give your handsaw a little love, clean it, sharpen it and don't heave it out of the tree, it'll serve you well and faithfully for a long time.

Larissa

Definitely not a waste of time! nor a waste of money. ($85.00 canadian) They are the saws of handsaws. Lightweight, sharp, quick and give a beautiful clean cut. One of my favorite pruning tools.

Joshua Rugg

are you aussies getting the ARS saws yet? i have heard on the "tree buzz forum" that the ARS saws are far Superior to silky.

Jamie Myers

The old ARS used to have wooden handles and thin blades. Is this still the case Silky saws are awesome for pruning.

Apocalypsse

Thats scary. When I use my Silky I have to have a gentle touch otherwise it tries to dig like I've taken the rakers right off a chainsaw.

Jeff Darby

I use ARS at work, they are a good saw..imo, the choice between these two hand saws will come down personal preferance..just like stihl's and Huskies...I feel Silky saw are a tad better than ARS, the same as I feel Stihl just knock off huskies. The ARS is well made with a plastic handle and you can replace the blade when it's no longer servicable

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Member: Australian Tree Association

Join the Australian Tree Association...Have your voice heard !

Arboriculture, A life long study for some, a passing phase for others

© Jeffrey J Darby 2011

Paul Toivonen

I have managed to snap the tips off both of mine.
The pocket boy is not that great w/o the tip.(Too short)
IMO the handle is the best thing on them, if only they could improve blade strength.
The Bahco/Sandvik saw has a much superior blade on it.

flute

Trees are an important component of the natural landscape because of their prevention of erosion and the provision of a weather-sheltered ecosystem in and under their foliage.

Chris75

Apocalypsse

This smells like spam.

Joshua Rugg

i just started using barnell handsaws. pretty nice if you ask me

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Stihl
MS192T 14"
MS200T 16"
MS261 16"
MS440 25"

Husqvarna 359 20"
394XP 32"

Poulan P3314 14" ( new hire/groundy saw)

Brocky

I have always owned the zubat 330 but never really used it that much until i had an american backpacker come and work for me who used his religiously,now i will not go up a tree with out one,perfect for line clearing or possum clearence etc... plus when customer or groundies pointing out which one branches to cut you don't have to be turning the chainsaw on and off all the time.Also i'm not sure about anyone else but if i know all branches required to cut i find it a bit of a better feeling to get up there with my Zubat and just swing around and carry out job.

Rob Chace

silky = avoid noise abaitment act?

Scott Augur

Thanks for posting TrevMcRev...this is the kind of real life testing/experience that cuts through so much Bull Sh*t in our game. I have run my Silky Suguoi across my knuckles in the tree and besides bleeding and cutting a nice pair of gloves, it took a long time to heal. Silky Saw is great...just slow down and make sure it is cutting what it is supposed to be cutting, HUH!?!