Thread: Lightweight portable bone saw

Just wondering if anyone has recommendations for a small bone saw, mainly to cut through the sternum and pelvis of animals for field dressing and butchering in the bush.

This one has good reviews but its a bit large, ~ 200 grams.
https://www.tradetested.co.nz/p/gard...ning-saw-190mm

This one looks good and very lightweight at 35 grams. Just need to find a good place to buy it
https://darlac.com/product/dp818-min...t-folding-saw/

Just want to check to see if anyone has other opinions and experience on this sort of tool.

I have a Havalon dual knife that has a bone saw one end. They are very light and you can just get the bone saw version too.

Originally Posted by JessicaChen

Just wondering if anyone has recommendations for a small bone saw, mainly to cut through the sternum and pelvis of animals for field dressing and butchering in the bush.

This one has good reviews but its a bit large, ~ 200 grams.
https://www.tradetested.co.nz/p/gard...ning-saw-190mm

This one looks good and very lightweight at 35 grams. Just need to find a good place to buy it
https://darlac.com/product/dp818-min...t-folding-saw/

Just want to check to see if anyone has other opinions and experience on this sort of tool.

the DP818 has a 50mm blade, you'll be sawing for a while.
Look at Silky saws, a fine tooth pocketboy, come with 130mm or 170mm blades

While you can cut through both, I’m more intrigued as to why you would unless bringing animals out whole. If this is the case, purchase a butchers hand saw. For skull caps in the bush a Silky or a light gyprock / plaster board saw will work.

Originally Posted by Dicko

While you can cut through both, I’m more intrigued as to why you would unless bringing animals out whole. If this is the case, purchase a butchers hand saw. For skull caps in the bush a Silky or a light gyprock / plaster board saw will work.

Just looking for more options and cleaner ways to bring some bits out. Eg sawing off the lower bits of the legs instead of carrying the whole leg , cutting open the sternum for cleaner access to chest cavity, and opening up the pelvis to more easily cut out the anus/intestine. Probably don’t need to but there have been occasions where I wished I brought a saw. Could just be overall lack of experience field butchering too. Usually don’t drag whole gutted corpse far, just to a more suitable area to do the quartering and/or deboning.

Originally Posted by Tikka7mm08

I have a Havalon dual knife that has a bone saw one end. They are very light and you can just get the bone saw version too.

The havalon blades seem cool and are very light. Looks like there are all sorts of Blade types they offer for different tasks as well.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

If you look inside the chest cavity, there is a "joint" in the ribs about a couple of inches off center either side of the sternum. A knife will cut through there reasonably easily. Same with the center of the pelvis. But it is best to bone around the outside of the pelvis and through the ball joint.
I will sometimes bone out the lower legs up to the first joint and cut through there. Gets away from a big bit of long bone poking out, making pacing easier. That can all be done with a knife.

And a longer straighter boning type knife reams the arse out better than a skinning shape.

I got this one: https://targetspecies.co.nz/products/havalon-titan as I was keen to try the v-shape pelvic bone cut that Steve Rinella does so that everything lifts straight out.

Now I think I'll do a gut in approach as someone on a Stewart Is trip showed me how easy it is.

I liked the way GregD showed boning the cuts off the back legs on the NZ Hunter program the other night, must try it that way.

You can get a handle that saber saw blades go into is light & you can choose any blad you want

Not seen these in NZ but a Gerber Vital Pack Saw is what you are after....or very similar...

I don't know if you can buy here but a Casstrom field saw number 7 or 11 would be the go.https://www.casstrom.co.uk/casstrom-no-7-field-saw

Originally Posted by JessicaChen

Just looking for more options and cleaner ways to bring some bits out. Eg sawing off the lower bits of the legs instead of carrying the whole leg , cutting open the sternum for cleaner access to chest cavity, and opening up the pelvis to more easily cut out the anus/intestine. Probably don’t need to but there have been occasions where I wished I brought a saw. Could just be overall lack of experience field butchering too. Usually don’t drag whole gutted corpse far, just to a more suitable area to do the quartering and/or deboning.


The havalon blades seem cool and are very light. Looks like there are all sorts of Blade types they offer for different tasks as well.

If the carcass is not perfectly spotlessly clean in the chest cavity and through the pelvis after gutting then I would say the technique / method used is not correct. In the correct method, the released and tied off windpipe is grasped and pulled down through the chest and abdominal cavity taking with it the fine membrane that lines both and leaving a perfect job.

I use one of these https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Edge-.../dp/B003ZSHCJG
I picked it up at the sika show one year.
It’s quite small and a bit fiddly, but it gets the job done and takes up no space and weighs bugger all.