sawzall or reciprocating saw blades in kit?

Here is a webpage from Hoods Woods featuring the Bennett's Expedient Survival Tin. Basically it's an Altoids tin kit with a jig saw blade adapter. Pretty cool: http://www.survival.com/best.htm

Related to this topic, the Leatherman Surge utilizes T-shank jig saw blades that are readily avaiable from various manufacturers.
 
In follow up to my earlier post about the flimsiness of the blades in my experience doing home reno work with a sawzall, I admit that when I am working the saw I am concentrating on getting the job done, and so see the blades as being somewhat expendable. I'm not being delicate with them, in other words. A more thoughtful user probably wouldn't be so unforgiving on the blades.
 
Lawlor69 said:
In follow up to my earlier post about the flimsiness of the blades in my experience doing home reno work with a sawzall, I admit that when I am working the saw I am concentrating on getting the job done, and so see the blades as being somewhat expendable. I'm not being delicate with them, in other words. A more thoughtful user probably wouldn't be so unforgiving on the blades.
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I've seen the really long reciprocating saw blades bend fairly easily. I've been looking at the 6" to keep it small enough for my PSK and they look fairly stiff. Not sure though if a 6" saw blade would be all that useful or not. Gonna get one and try it though.

Charles
 
A lot of sawzall blades are made with hardened teeth welded to a soft spring steel backer. this keeps the teeth real hard, but the spine soft enough not to shatter when the tip hits something in the wall. I do not know of any sawzall blades that are made hard in the body. There may be, but I know of none.

i keep a few sawzall blades in a little kit in my car, I have used a vise grip in an emergency to cut things where the sawzall would not fit on the job, works not ideal but it works, I also have the little milwaukee handle as it came with my saw, it works very well for little tight jobs.
 
DaleW said:
That Milwaukee handle looks good.

Maybe some of our knife makers can tell me if one of those saw blades would be worthwile for grinding to a knife edge. My thought was if I was hauling a saw blade, I might as well have a general cutting tool.
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I have that handle. It came with a pruning saw blade. It is very handy around the house and yard but the handle is too bulky to take to pack all the time. I did take it to the woods once to cut a few saplings for walking sticks. The blade cuts very well and does not bend or break.

I have been thinking for a while that it would be great in a kit if you could modify the handle or design a new handle to turn it into a folder.

You can find knife blades of sorts here.

http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/accessories/miscellaneous_blades/
 
with all the knives and a ax, this blade just seems redundant.
 
555 said:
with all the knives and a ax, this blade just seems redundant.
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For me the attraction is to not have to carry an hatchet/hawk. This is for my "anytime I'm in the woods" kit and a hatchet is just a bit big for that.

I picked up a 6" 6tpi wood cutting reciprocating saw blade as well as a pack of Bosch t-shank "Progressor for Wood" jig saw blades. These are roughly 4" long and have some great looking teeth. I also figure the t-shank will be easier to fasten the blade to a handle with.

I'll do some testing over the coming weekend and report back.

Charles
 
CShepherd said:
For me the attraction is to not have to carry an hatchet/hawk. This is for my "anytime I'm in the woods" kit and a hatchet is just a bit big for that.

I picked up a 6" 6tpi wood cutting reciprocating saw blade as well as a pack of Bosch t-shank "Progressor for Wood" jig saw blades. These are roughly 4" long and have some great looking teeth. I also figure the t-shank will be easier to fasten the blade to a handle with.

I'll do some testing over the coming weekend and report back.

Charles
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for this reason i get your point.
myself i tend to over pack, even for than 1 hour hike. it's that old boy scout thing.
i use these blades all the time in my dewalt and porter cable.
if i was going to pack one though, it would be the longest blade i could pack and in the pruning teeth type.
i also like the demolition, rescue the blades are thicker.
i must have 24+ of these in stock, in my shop. these saws are great, they can cut through anything.
 
I even thought that if I could make this work, it might be handy to also pack one of the carbide blades for cutting metal as well. They're small and lightweight and really might come in handy.

Charles
 
not a bad idea, with the handle and and even three blades would still be light weight.
 
Racerx2oo3 said:
15-333_mid_res.jpg


Stanley 15-333 - 8" Folding Pocket Saw

Accepts both Recip blades and sabre saw blades. You can usually find them at ACE hardware stores. Haven't seen them at Home Depot, although HD carries a similar IRWIN brand saw that is built stronger but 2x times the cost of the stanley.

IIRC the Stanley is about $9 and the IRWIN is Around $20.

Sean
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I had the Stanley saw and it broke when I dropped my fanny on it. The recip. saw blades are PULL type blades so you have to get used to cutting on the pull stroke, not the push stroke or you'll buckle the blade.

I like the looks of that Milwaukee handle and the price is right!

J-
 
bigox said:
I have that handle. It came with a pruning saw blade. It is very handy around the house and yard but the handle is too bulky to take to pack all the time. I did take it to the woods once to cut a few saplings for walking sticks. The blade cuts very well and does not bend or break.

I have been thinking for a while that it would be great in a kit if you could modify the handle or design a new handle to turn it into a folder.

You can find knife blades of sorts here.

http://www.cpomilwaukee.com/accessories/miscellaneous_blades/
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Got me to thinking . I grabbed a well used, Skill brand , wood pruning saw blade out of my collection of saw zall blades.
Went to the garage to rummage up a small pair of vise-grips. Decided that
vise grips would be to heavy to carry , grabbed a rag ( an old sock cause it was handy ) wrapped around the end for a handle and went out in the yard.
WOW !!! 2-3" dead or green branches very easy and fast cutting (4"would be doable ) , big kerf , cuts on both push and pull stroke, strong spine never even wiggled. Over all 9 ish inches, I think folded cardboard for a sheath , a little thought into a handle wrap , and that is going into my fanny pack for this falls hunting season :thumbup: Great for cutting a few poles for an emergency shelter , or whatever. :thumbup: Great tip.

Phil

Edit to add : I have never used a "pocket chainsaw " Does any one have both that could do a side by side ?
 
Okay, had a bit of tinkering time tonight so I rigged up something that seems to work using the t-joint jigsaw blade.

jigsawblade.jpg


Here's a closeup view of how it's fastened in.

jigsawbladecloseup.jpg


It worked quite well. While not ideal, definitely lighter and smaller than anything else I could find to go in a kit.

I tried tying it in place with paracord but it wouldn't get tight enough. Tired small cable tied, but again couldn't get them tight enough. The wire worked well, and since several have suggested some wire in the kit anyway, figure what the heck. Would require a multi-tool, which I usually carry on my person anyway.

Haven't figured out a way to use the reciprocating saw blade yet with out making a handle out of aluminum or flattened pipe. If I do I'll post pics.

Charles
 
looks like you are on track with your proto type saw.

i think you are right on the flattened pipe idea.
 
I picked up a handle at my local Advance Auto. I forget the brand, and I don't have it handy to look (AmPro maybe). It takes reciprocating blades, screwdriver bits, and drill bits. It doesn't fold, but the handle will lock in straight or pistol-grip positions. The roundrd handle and pistol grip make it so much easier to cut with than most handles. Plus, the ability to carry a drill bit or two would make certain traps much easier to construct. It was around ten bucks and came with three blades and a bunch of screwdriver bits that store in the handle.
 
I took about 15 min. today to persue this. Grabbed some mason line ( it was handy ) and tried it again. Approx 4 min cutting

IMG_5990.jpg


A 2 x 6
Light wieght , extra string , easy cutting for branches / small trees for
shelter / firewood .
I'm talkin' myself into this :)

Phil
 
If you going to have a 6" blade on a saw, why not just add a few more ounces and get a gerber, or fiskars folding saw?
 
Fonly said:
If you going to have a 6" blade on a saw, why not just add a few more ounces and get a gerber, or fiskars folding saw?
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Room is getting short in my fanny pack ;) I'd rather that room went to a couple of energy bars, and water pure system.
I don't walk too far from camp , but , if I get broken out there , It could be 2 - 5 days before someone notices I'm not back . Chance I take , but the fanny pack is as big as I want to carry for a day hunt.
Learning lot's here and rearanging what I carry from this great forum though :thumbup:

Phil
 
For me this pursuit is about saving space and still having something that will work in a pinch. So far I'm impressed with the results. Because of this I have added some wire (good for other things anyway), the jigsaw blade shown, and a Swiss Tech micro tool. I tried it and it cut the wire just fine and twisted it great.

Charles
 
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