UL folding saw

[David Gardner]

11″ blade 2.6 oz:

[DAN-Y]

That 6-inch-blade Milwaukee looks like it would be fine for small stuff and yet quite comfortable to use.

All the shorter Sawzall blades will easily fit the folding saw. I’m going to make a knife blade out of one of the fine tooth blades and so it will make the folder into a multi-purpose tool. The handle of the folder is rounded and feels good in the hand.

[Jan Rezac]

I went through a couple more prototypes and fine-tuned the last details. Here’s what was updated:

1) When closed, the blade is securely held in place (it literally clicks when closed, and requires more force at the beginning of the opening). This was achieved by adding a tightly fitting stainless steel ball at the tip – see the photo.

2) The lock now uses a pin (again stainless steel) that fits the notches in the blade better than the screw I was using previously. It can’t be seen from the side shown in the photo, it’s press-fitted into the yellow part from the other side.

3) The spring that engages the lock is now made of pultruded CF rod which has about the right stiffness. It won’t rust like the spring wire I used previously. To prevent breaking it, I redesigned the lock to restrain its movement only to the range needed for its action.

I performed a breaking strength test on the handle. The handle was fixed in a vise at the point of the blade pivot, and pulled sideways by its end where the lanyard holes are (that’s quite long lever). This tests the weakest spot, and it broke when loaded with about 6 kg. I feel that this is strong enough for an ultralight saw. Anyway, you don’t want apply such a force on the saw because it will also bend the blade. Moreover, I’ve extended the internal reinforcement past the point where it broke, so the latest version should be even stronger.

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Now I consider the design finished, and I’ve also streamlined the printing and assembly so that making a small batch of the handles is feasible. I’ve looked up the shipping costs to US and there are reasonable options because the thing is so light and reasonably flat. I’d go for priority mail (insured, probably with tracking) that is $6. I’ll ask $30 total (the assembled handle packed and shipped – the blade is not included). PM me if you’re interested (and include your email address). The printing takes a lot of time so I can make only a limited batch now (first come first served).

 

[Mike M]

pm sent

[John K]

PM Sent :)

[Mike M]

Jan $ sent- my shipping info is in the pm and also with Paypal

I tried replying to your email, but for some reason it won’t go through

Thanks

Mike

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

PM sent.

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

This is going to be fun seeing how light and efficient Jan’s saw is going to be for those warm nights and small fires. I like the ease of cutting vs busting wood.

Now if we can just get the price of the blades down to $25 or less….

 

Minimal knife/Jan’s saw combo:  6 oz, next up is 8 oz (slightly bigger knife)

Next size up is my Hultafors knife / Sawvivor combo: 15 oz

Lot’s of wood combo: Boreal21 / Becker BK2:  32 oz.

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

Looking for lower cost:

Prices on the 170mm large tooth $34  and medium tooth $29.   (to my door, rounded up)

Complete saw with 170mm large tooth $36.

[Mike M]

$22.50 on ebay for large, free shipping, but it’s going to take 3 weeks as it comes from Japan

I also ordered a fine for blade for bone

[Jan Rezac]

Today I sent out a batch of eight handles to those who ordered them fast. I hope they’ll share their impressions here.

It was a printing marathon, it takes almost six hours to print the parts for one handle and I was running the printer whenever possible. On the other hand, the assembly, packing and shipping only makes sense when such a batch is made at once.

Now I’m going to take a break. I may print another batch if there’s a demand, but I don’t promise when, if at all. Let me know and I’ll put you on the list, and if it gets long enough, I’ll write back.

[Greg Pehrson]

Jan, I just got mine today—looks great! Now I just have to wait for the blade :)

Thanks so much for making these available to the community.

Greg

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

Welp, I got my blade yesterday, just have to wait for the handle. :)

But that’s actually ok, I won’t be able to use it for at least a week.

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

Mine came in today!! Very nice, compact, well built. 

[John K]

Wow, I’m really impressed with this! I’ve got mine assembled and it comes in at 76g. Also tried a silky 130 blade on it and seems to fit well too (70g). Great tolerances on the whole build, nice job. Thanks!

[Roger Caffin]

AU$8 at local HW store.

Cheers

[Jan Rezac]

I’m glad you like it!

@John – Can you please measure the 130 blade for me, from the pivot to the tip? It would be easy to make a shorter handle for it. And how much does it weight?

@Roger – is this an invitation (moderator-approved) to posting pictures of cheap stoves in the threads on your myog designs?

[Kevin Babione]

@Jan – Touché!  I was thinking along the same lines when Roger posted the photo.

In our house we have a saying:  “Don’t yuck my yum” which basically means that if I like something and you don’t care for it (it’s usually involving food, but it applies to activities as well) then saying nothing is better than saying something not nice.

My blade arrived yesterday and I suspect the handle is waiting for me to walk to the mail box.  I’m looking forward to putting it together!

[Matthew / BPL]

Jan – I’m a moderator and I think you make an excellent point.

[John K]

@Jan – My 130 Blade weighs 26g. I do not have a set of calipers to accurately measure the length of the blade, and not sure of the exact points to measure from. What I did instead is mount them on the same hub and aligned together so you could use the teeth as a comparison: 

[Roger Caffin]

is this an invitation (moderator-approved) to posting pictures of cheap stoves in the threads on your myog designs?
Cheap equivalents are always relevant, be it stoves or trowels or saws or whatever. Custom versions of anything are usually expensive (not being made in bulk in China), and not everyone can afford that.

As to this case:
#3677326: DT mentions cheap MYOG alternatives, using bamboo flooring
#3678058: Dan Y mentions a cheap commercial version
#3678094: DG mentions a different commercial version
#3679311: MM mentions buying blades on ebay
#3680986: I mention a commercial equivalent

I don’t know how light DT manages to get his bamboo handles, but I suspect all others might be a bit heavier than Jan’s.

Let a thousand ideas bloom…

Cheers

[DAN-Y]

When cutting limbs we want hand to be comfortable, we want nice rounded edges like what we see in the handle of the silky. We want comfort and light weight ;)

the silky handle shape….good stuff.

 

Does this one look comfortable?

[Jan Rezac]

@John, thanks for the size comparison. I’ve measured what I needed from your picture precisely enough.

I’ll modify the model of the handle and see how much would a smaller saw with the 130 mm blade weight. This could be done solely in the computer. I think the 170 mm blade strikes the balance between weight and performance better, but a smaller version would be truly pocketable.

[Kevin Babione]

Dan – I’m holding Jan’s saw in my hand and it’s “not uncomfortable”.  No – there are no finger grips and it doesn’t fit my hand like a glove.  It’s not a saw that I would want to use for 8-10 hours a day as I trimmed trees, but for 15-20 minutes here and there it would be perfect.

I bought one because when I backpack I sometimes use or want a saw.  For under 2.5 ounces I love the compact form and don’t mind carrying it if I’m on a trip where I know I’ll likely have a bunch of time in camp.  It’s also really nice to have a saw to deal with blowdowns on the trail.  I’m not going to cut an 8-10″ trunk with any saw in my backpack, but I can easily trim off 2-3″ branches to make it easier for someone to pass.

Full disclaimer – I also have one of David Gardner’s 11″ saws (the one in the photo at the top of page 2 of this thread).  I took it on my last trip and it worked really well.  I bought Jan’s because I was looking for something a little smaller and to thank him for his innovation.

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

I really like how flat this saw is – extremely packable, and I wear leather gloves so the ergonomics shouldn’t be an issue.   My Gerber is more comfortable with a thicker handle,  and almost exactly the same size, but it wasn’t cheap and the blade didn’t seem to hold up as well as I expected.

Hopefully the Silky blade stands up to it’s reputation as long as I keep it out of the dirt.

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