What to Look for When Buying Hand Saw for Cutting Trees
Before you buy your own hand saw, you must first take note of several factors.
1. Design
The hand saw must feature an ergonomic design: light weight of the tool, non-slip and non-conductive grip. Your muscles will eventually get tired, but a well-designed hand saw will enable you to work longer than expected.
Likewise, a steel tubular design will not only improve grip but also performance.
2. Blade Quality
The blade will determine how fast you can cut down a tree. If it’s flimsy, you’ll get tired without accomplishing your task. Moreover, a weak blade can be broken after just several uses on the hardwood.
Ideally, the hand saw must have hardened steel blades. These are incredibly tough blades that don’t lose sharpness and are not affected by tension adjustments.
3. Tension Adjuster
Speaking of tension adjustments, the hand saw must have a feature that will allow you to conveniently change the blade tension.
Contrary to what many people believe, you don’t actually need to use the hand saw at maximum tension all the time. Sometimes, it makes perfect sense to lower the blade tension.
4. Hand Saw Safety Features
The hand saw must feature an exceptional grip. Without a good grip, your hand could easily slip away from the hand saw and injure you. Moreover, there must be a knuckle guard to stop the saw from hitting your hands in case it does slip off.
Apart from a good grip and knuckle guard, your hand saw must come with a protective sheath. We all appreciate sharp blades, but we need to completely cover them as we put them in the storage area.
It’s not uncommon for some people to get a minor cut just because they were looking for their cutting tool in the dark. Thus, it’s important to check the quality of the sheath itself and if it entirely covers the blades.
5. Blade Change Efficiency
While hardened steel blades are sturdy, their overall sharpness can be affected if maintenance is not properly conducted. Thus, the hand saw must be designed to allow quick blade replacements so you can get back to cutting trees in no time.
6. Blade Length
Just like chainsaws, the blades of handsaw vary in length. The small-sized hand saws have around 17 inches long blade.
These are good for pruning trees and other light garden maintenance tasks, particularly those in narrow areas, a band saw may also be useful.
On the other hand, the bigger hand saws can have 30-inch blades. These are much more capable of cutting logs and trees in a relatively short span of time.
Looking for more saw options? Don't miss our review on the best bow saws available in 2023.