In Boatman's post about additions to Doug's PSK, he mentioned adding a wire saw. That got me to thinking that a while ago I recall reading that some (many) of the wire saws aren't durable enough to suvive more than a few cuts.

Are there brands that are durable? I've seen Ultimate Survival's chainsaw-like saw. I assume that would be durable, but don't know if it cuts well or simply weighs too much.

Maybe Doug or someone else can do a comparison test between different brands of survival saws???

By the way, I did read Doug's chain saw review. In that review he mentioned that a wire saw review would be coming. In the mean time, does anyone have any experience and/or recommendations for wire saws?

Ken K.

Doug already has some info here . Also, here is another review of the Ultimate Survival saw . I have not tried any of these saws myself.

I have wire saws from BCB and Coghlan´s. The saws need to be handled and stored properly. If they get kinks or are bent excessively during the cut, there are destroyed pretty quickly. When you apply little pressure and pull straight, they can be used for a long time. I´ve used my BCB saw to fit wood boards for a colleagues kitchen and to cut tree limbs. The cuts where pretty precise and the saw doesn´t show any signs of wear.
OTOH I´ve seen one saw destroyed after cutting half way through a half inch tree limb. The guy who destroyed it applied a lot of pressure which resulted in a small bending radius. The saw got too hot and broke at a kink. The forum rules do not allow to quote his opinion on wire saws.

Rbruce:

Great link!

I would never buy a wire saw just from the logic and physics angle.

Bountyhunter

Bountyhunter,
Can you explain what you mean? I know wire saws aren't the best tool, but they are compact.

The durability is why I keep a short saw blade in the PSk as well as the wire saw. I like have a saw on my multi tool and SAK as well.

Rbruce:

By virtue of its size, the abrading surface has got to be small, thereby giving little result for time and energy expended.

I would rather hack away with a knife for anything that I could not break with my hands and or leverage.

The manual chain saw is not as compact or light, but to me at least, makes a whole lot more sense for its intended purpose.

Bountyhunter

Bountyhunter,
Thanks for the explanation of your thoughts.

Robert

I've tried the cheap single-strand saws - the typically broke once they got warm - about 30 seconds into a cut.

I've got a couple of the braided wire saws - they have held up much better in routine cutting tasks (trimming the errant tree limb, etc...) I would toss one of these in the kit (it also has swivels, which helped prevent kinking).

I have the "Pocket Chainsaw" - the one that comes in a little metal can. I've played around w/ it while camping & it zipped through a 4" diameter log in about 20-30 seconds. It seems fairly robust (it is also relatively heavy).

Sam