61g Japanese Pull Saw @ Harbor Freight

Cool I have a Harbor Freight very close so I may have to get one!

Would this be something to cut up small 'logs' for firewood while backpacking, or is that not the use of this saw?

Should work great for small stuff.. These things are the "Ginsu" of the saw world IMHO.

I've used a slightly larger size of one of these for everything from wood, thick plastic (ABS/PVC/etc), plaster, etc..

Obviously nothing metal filled, but for camping purposes, this thing should rock. I'd imagine anything under 4-5" should be fair game. I'll do some testing tomorrow.

Only thing about this one, the handle doesn't seem ultra rugged, it's light wood, which, helps alot with the weight. It's also not full-tang, so, don't expect it to last forever.

That thing looks like a great idea for anyone burning small pieces of wood. Those things are great. I have one of those too. I'll have to bring it out on my next trip to see how it works on the stuff I find out there. I've only used it for cutting dowels flush to the surface.

If you do any winter camping in wooded areas (especially hardwod), this would be great. I do a lot of twig-based cook fires, but for a substantial, easily managed fire, a saw is oh-so convenient: by no means necessary, but convenient.

I wonder how it compares to various wire saws. I've never tried them, but the idea has always intrigued me. Anybody have wire-saw experience to share?

A wire saw is good as an emergency saw. I've cut softwood at 1.5 inch diameter before. However, the wire saw does not have much of a cutting edge, so it dulls and clogs quickly.
–B.G.–

I have been looking at folding saws but they weigh more and can fail at the joint. FYI here it is at Harbor Freight Link

Hmmm…. I have never needed a saw when backpacking. And if using a Bushbuddy, don't they just need twigs, not pieces of wood that would need to be sawed?

I suppose if we're talking saws, we're well into the realm of convenience rather than necessity, as well as into the realm of full-scale camping, rather than lightweight backpacking.

But in the interest of making a cozy camp a few miles into the woods; or even/especially for winter camping in wooded areas, there's no doubt that such a saw would be a welcome, and lightweight, addition to the backpacker's kit. It'd be especially welcome with something like Titanium Goat's stoves. Or an open fire in a tradtional tipi, for that matter.

Don't forget a recent thread on Bill Forshnell's amazing little folding saw wonder: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=2237&disable_pagination=1

as well as a link therein to another similarly priced Japanese saw. Probably quite lightweight as well: http://japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=11.143.04&dept_id=13087

I like this sort of thinking outside of traditional backpacking rules and markets. Thanks for the link. If I were't in Europe, I'd probably try to pick one up.

There needs to be a light aluminum, plastic, or titanium bow saw

break your wood caveman style by picking up a large rock and breaking the pieces. you can break some pretty large pieces of wood.

Yeah, this could definitely be filed in the camp luxury section, depending on your mindset, but then again, everybody has one or two little weight sacrifices they make for comfort or philosophical convenience.

Personally, this is one of those things that will keep me happy certain days, when I would otherwise be annoyed. Some mini-logs that can't be wedged to break even by jumping on them, would snap easily with a 1" slice cut into them with this little guy.

If you think about it, even a knife isn't strictly a necessity either for some, I've gone on week trips and never had to use one, but I wouldn't ever leave home without it.

A sadist could even replace their knife with this thing.. =D Emergency camp surgery? Not a problem, pull saw to the gory rescue!

I carry a small saw early in the season to help with blow downs. I can't remove the entire log, of course, but just removing the branches makes it much easier to navigate. This looks like a very good saw, but the one I have folds, which is really nice. This makes it easy to slip into the pocket until the next blow down.