Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)For a period of twenty years or so starting in about 1950, bow saws based on a design by the Sandvik Company in Sweden were used for serious work in forestry and arboriculture. They were lighter and easier to use than crosscut saws, but were much cheaper than gasoline powered chain saws, which had not quite permeated the market to the extent that they did later on. Unfortunately for those of us who still use bow saws for serious work, they are no longer made as well as they once were. Today's bow saws are almost all made by contract with companies in Asia and marketed for very light use.
Nonetheless, in the midst of this sad situation, the Fiskars stands out as one saw that is reasonably good. It is lightweight, has excellent balance, feels right in the hand, and the the blade stays taught in spite of regular use.
By comparison, the Corona 30 inch saw is strong but feels a little heavy. The Bahco and Gilmour versions of the 30 inch saw are lightweight and well balanced, but the tensioning handles are loose. The cheap plastic hand guard on the Bahco saw I own actually fell off the first time I used it and I have had to wrap the saw with tape to keep the handle tight. The saw selling for five dollars available from Northern Tool and Equipment Company is so poorly made it is appalling.
I have used the Fiskars 30 inch bow saw in trailwork and around the home, felling, bucking and limbing trees up to 10 inches in diameter quite easily. It cuts well in both green and dry wood with a Bahco No. 51 blade (all cutting teeth, no rakers), and it is small enough to get into tight places, which is often needed when clearing blowdowns or when limbing large trees. To cut trees in the 10 inch size range, one must, of course, cut from two directions. With a little practice, one can master the art of getting both cuts to meet so that the log is cut through cleanly, almost as if it was done from one direction only.
I have purchased and tested additional bow saws made in Italy and Germany. One of these was quite good but apparently not available in the United States. I have also purchased the Bahco heavy-duty 30 inch bow saw, called the "Force" model. This saw is excellent and should not be confused with the more common Bahco saw with the removable plastic hand guard. The Force saw is heavier and more ruggedly built than either the common Bahco saw or the Fiskars model, and it cuts logs up to 12 inches in diameter. The strong plastic hand guard is part of the saw frame and there is no handle that opens and closes to apply tension to the saw blade. Instead, a screw-type tensioning mechanism, similar to those first used on Sandvik bow saws 60 years ago, is used to insert or remove blades and to keep them taught. This method of tensioning the blade is much easier and keeps the blade tighter than in most of today's models. Because the Force saw is heavier, I would still recommend the Fiskars model for most homeowners, but for demanding applications, such as trailwork and forestry, I would recommend the Bachco 30 inch Force saw instead.
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Fiskars 7031 30-Inch Bow Saw70316935A Size: 30"Features: -Bow saw. -Lightweight tubular steel frame. -Safety tension lever. -Lifetime warranty. -Hardened steel blade. -Available in 30'' and 21'' sizes.
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