Best tool for cutting small branches

DaleW

DaleW

Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
2,194
I did some pruning of 1"-2" green deciduous branches yesterday and used several different tools. I thought it was a good test as it is the sort of stuff you would be cutting for shelter and fire making in a survival situation.

I tried the following tools:
Fiskars 14" axe
Tramontina 12" machete
Kershaw Outcast knife (10" blade)
Kershaw folding saw

The saw was easiest to use by far. It was quick and clean, where the chopping tools bounced around and the other branches got in the way of getting a good swing.

I think the axe would be best of the bunch for cutting stuff that was on the ground and stable and of would be the natural choice for splitting.

The Kershaw Outcast was a bit better than the machete as it had more weight behind it. It would be okay to baton, but I'd rather haul the axe.

I found out something about machetes. The longer machetes let you reach close to the ground. The 12" rig is fine for vines or cleaning small twigs off a branch, peeling bark, etc, but doesn't have the real cutting/slashing ability that a longer machete does. It is cheap, light, and packable.

For survial use, I'd go with the saw. It is much lighter (6oz), compact, doesn't need a sheath, and is much safer and stable to cut with. It has the added benefit of making really accurate, smooth cuts for any kind of building. The effort is much less and more efficient-- no missed swings, etc-- all the effort goes into cutting.

As I was moving stuff around, I also came to the realization that I wouldn't be moving much large stuff around. An axe might cut up a log, but I wouldn't be making shelters with it-- a wet 8" log isn't going far and not at all if I were injured. 99% of the stuff I would be cutting would be 3" or less and the saw works great for that.
 
I am not picking on you but depending on location or position of branches, I can off a branch of that thickness in 2-5 swings of a machete. Tramontina bolo, golok, panga, or fishspliter. 1" - 2" thick shouldn't take as much energy as pushing a leatherman saw.
 
Just went outside and cut two pieces from a live mimosa tree in my yard.

Diameter on one end about 1 3/4" and the other is 1 7/8".

The first cut 1 7/8" took 13 chops and the second took 11 swings. They both took less than 1 minute. The branch was about 5 ft off the ground coming off the main trunk at a 45 degree angle.

I used a martindale golok, which has a 13" over all blade but sharpened length is 11".

Even though, my original guess was 2-5 cuts was off, it still would be tons more efficient to use a machete than a saw. For a 1" diameter branch it would only take 2-5.

This is an interesting thread idea.
 
I would use my saw too. However, if I only had a knife, say my Buck Pathfinder, I would move the branch back and forth to open up the fibers on the wood and apply pressure with the blade to cut thorugh the branch. This techniques works pretty well for me. Obviously a larger blade, machete or saw are superior.
 
chrisaloia said:
Just went outside and cut two pieces from a live mimosa tree in my yard.

Diameter on one end about 1 3/4" and the other is 1 7/8".

The first cut 1 7/8" took 13 chops and the second took 11 swings. They both took less than 1 minute. The branch was about 5 ft off the ground coming off the main trunk at a 45 degree angle.

I used a martindale golok, which has a 13" over all blade but sharpened length is 11".

Even though, my original guess was 2-5 cuts was off, it still would be tons more efficient to use a machete than a saw. For a 1" diameter branch it would only take 2-5.

This is an interesting thread idea.
Click to expand...

When I did my tests, I definately favored the saws. I had a pocket chainsaw and a Revolver saw. I was doing thicker stuff though, 3-4". I was just worn out after chopping with my BK7 and a small hatchet. I like the safety factor of a saw too.

L
 
rfbadger said:
I would use my saw too. However, if I only had a knife, say my Buck Pathfinder, I would move the branch back and forth to open up the fibers on the wood and apply pressure with the blade to cut thorugh the branch. This techniques works pretty well for me. Obviously a larger blade, machete or saw are superior.
Click to expand...


I agree-- use the leverage of the branch to work for you, cut some of the outer layers to get a split started and snap it off. Vine maple can be a pain-- it will peel for a foot or more.

Someone mentioned the saw in their folder or multi-tool and they are great for little stuff. That Kershaw (same as Bahco) really blew me away-- like cutting butter, and of course the longer blade took far fewer strokes. If you haven't tried one, make it a point to check them out. I've used cheap pruning saws and there's no comparison. The cutting abilty for the weight is the trick. I have a Gerber Sportsman's saw that is decent, but nowhere near as tough as the Keshaw-- just 3.5oz though.

Like I said, this is green stuff with other branches in the way. If you were getting solid hits and full swings, I'm sure the efficiency of the choppers would go up.

All said, I would only be carrying a wood cutter for worst-case scenarios where I was more than one day out and lost my gear. If I have my poncho and sleeping bag, I'm CYA.
 
A 1"-2" branch in the clear is chopper bait, but in a jumble, just a full stroke on the bottom, and 1 or 2 on the top from my gerber saw, and they pop off like matchsticks. If you have room to swing, a heavy chopper or hatchet will do nicely, but I will give a tangled mess to the saw.
 
beckerhead said:
A 1"-2" branch in the clear is chopper bait, but in a jumble, just a full stroke on the bottom, and 1 or 2 on the top from my gerber saw, and they pop off like matchsticks. If you have room to swing, a heavy chopper or hatchet will do nicely, but I will give a tangled mess to the saw.
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Well said. I was thinking along the same lines as I read the other replies, and then you summed up my thoughts, probably better than I could have myself.

I just had just gotten a Fiskars hatchet and was really excited about trying it out a few weeks ago. I ended up at a fairly well used camp sight though, and there wasn't a lot of good firewood left. What there was was tangled up in new saplings and other brush and I kept finding that just didn't have the room to get a good swing with the hatchet. So I used the saw on my Swiss Tool to get most of my wood, then chopped it into smaller sections with the hatchet because the Swiss Tool is a little uncomfortable for extended use on the wrist-thick branches I was gathering.
 
That Kershaw (same as Bahco) really blew me away-- like cutting butter, and of course the longer blade took far fewer strokes. If you haven't tried one, make it a point to check them out. I've used cheap pruning saws and there's no comparison
Click to expand...
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+1

I found out something about machetes. The longer machetes let you reach close to the ground. The 12" rig is fine for vines or cleaning small twigs off a branch, peeling bark, etc, but doesn't have the real cutting/slashing ability that a longer machete does.
Click to expand...

There is a night and day difference between a 12" and an 18". The 12 works, but my 12" Ontario seems to be just more than 1/2 as efficient as my thinner Corona, even though the Corona weighs less. Both have had the edges convexed.

On Saturday I cut an alder branch over an inch thick w/ 2 strokes. If I can get a good swing on it it will often go through in one. That is with the long one. The shorter one does not get a lot of use.

For most of the wood I deal with, it has to be larger than my wrist to make it easier to use a saw.
 
The saw might be easier, but I find it a lot more fun to do a little whacking!:)
If in a survival situation where you are not trying to conserve heat you might find it a good stress reliever! :D
 
If you're pruning your yard, a saw will preserve the life of your trees, but for clearing trail and getting through the forest, the reach and efficiency of a long knife is superior in my opinion. I use several, including sirupate and chitlange style khukuris, to straight edged goloks of various lengths and weights, to more traditional styled bowies. Each with its own purpose and mode of carry. I prefer them to thin stock machetes for all uses.
 
I do a bit of rough gardening and grow a few fruit trees, so I do a bit of pruning.

Heavy duty pruning is done by a chainsaw. When the branches are smaller and I want to make a neat job, I sometimes use a small folding pruning saw. This saw does not have offset teeth...it has a tapered blade with the teeth side being wider than the back of the blade. And when it was new it cut very smoothly. It is still fairly good, but I reckon it has got a bit blunt over several years. I think I've also cut the odd arrow shaft and bow stave with this saw.

I have a Swiss Army 'Rucksack' knife with a short saw. This is useful for the odd small job like cutting a nice arrow shoot when I see it while out walking.

I also do a bit of noxious vine clearing for a local conservation project. I use long-handled lopping shears mostly for this work. Quick and safe. I also sometimes carry a short machete or golok while doing the work for laying into a mass of small vines, or cutting off something that is too big for the loppers. My golok is actually a bit thick in the blade to be an efficient cutter of light vines.

After doing a bit of research, but mainly because I fancy owning one....I've just ordered a 15" Ang Khola khukri from Himalayan Imports. Normally I would not have thought about spending significant money on something that I really don't need....but I am excited at the prospect of it arriving some time in the next two weeks. I do a bit of part time trapping, and I reckon this khukri could be just the thing for clearing the odd bit of rubbish at a trap set, or for cutting and sharpening pegs etc. It will feel nice to have an authentic, traditional tool on my belt that is capable of great things.

So my current thinking is that for light chopping in the wilds something like a khukri is a good choice. It is a versatile implement and can do other things besides cutting small branches. And it looks much nicer than my saw.
 
For pruning around the yard, I use pruning shears. They seem to work well for that.

I prefer a long blade for my woods loafing though. In a tangled mess, I can use it to clear the smaller brush first, or use it to cut a beating stick 3 or 5 feet long. With a good swing, it will go right through hardwood limbs up to 2" thick (the cut would actually be more like 2 1/2"-3" long) in one swipe, and if I'm constrained to just using wrist power, it may be two or three chops. I've cut through 3" willows in one swing before with it. So if I want to cut 10 branches ranging in size from pencil diameter to 2" thick, I can have them all cut in like 5 or 7 seconds. I've never met a saw that could come anywhere close to this.
 
I guess I should rephrase that. I realize the saw on my leatherman isn't the best. But it's what I use because I have no use for a machete around here and little use for a hatchet. Both would be handy, but don't warrant being carried.
 
For me it depends on weather I'm going long or short term, as to what I carry. For the long term-limbs are saw material. I use the Laplander. For the short term-my Fallkniven will do the job nicely.
 
when I did some brush clearing in the summer, I could go through 2 diameter branches with 1 swing. No problem.

It was with a corona cane knife. Flat grind. With a file and steeled before use.

4 inch trunks would take about 4 good swings.

Pretty happy with that cane knife because it was pretty cheap, and it has weight behind it, at the tip, so it is good for chops.
 
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