Just a quick thought on the wire saw....

I recently purchased two Coghlans wire saws. I thought I'd test one and put the other in my kit. Being fairly cheap, i didn't expect too much out of it, but was still disappointed.

This is the single wire type which cuts via "teeth" notches raised in the saw.

My hiking trip last weekend was an excellent opportunity to try out my new saw. I got it out with a bit of optimism. Found a dead Oak branch with a diameter of about 2 1/2 inches. I thought this was ideal test material because it's a hardwood and had be dried for some time.

I got about 2/3 through the branch when the binding occured. I was able to force cut my way through the rest, but this was entirely too much work. When i was done, the Saw looked like a curly-q. The second cut went even worse. About 1/2 way into the cut the wire saw kinked. when I removed it I tried pulling the ends away from each other to "un-kink" the saw, and it broke.

I was standing there with two rings in my fingers with a useless saw. Needless to say I took the other out of my kit and I'll hopefully have better luck with the braided type wire saws.

Has anyone had any similar experience?

--Luke