Thread: Seeking advice / suggestions for Pruning Saw

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

the best saw by a huge margin is silky - but for track trimming I would go with a hook type slasher sometimes called a fern hook - that will do everything you want - just make sure it is really sharp and carry a small file with you to keep it sharp - learn to use it by hooking upwoods with it rather than slash down - if the manuka is to big for the slasher then likely you should be leaving it and just giving it a prune anyway -

How true.

Originally Posted by Bush Basher

Secateurs are also handy for the smaller stuff, especially supple jack

I have an old ammo pouch on a belt that carries those exact same items: A folding silky saw, a pair of leather gloves and a pair of secateurs. Handles 90% of track trimming. If track making, the circular saw blade on a 55cc brush cutter is hard to beat, until its chainsaw time.

The Silky saws are awesome - but WATCH THEM. They are lethal on skin and pull saws work by (duh) pulling towards you. Keep your other paw and any body parts you want to stay attached to out of the line of fire... Ask me how I worked that one out.

Now having said that, for outright speed the billhook or heavy slasher is good and I'd recommend a lopper - like one of the Fiskars Powergear units although there are other brands. Chop up to 50mm in one clip very fast and the tool is right there to do the next cut...

Plenty of awesome advice and tips. Many thanks to all for your posts. I think I can keep the tools requirement fairly simple and get the job done, or most of it at least. I haven't the experience to say so with certainty and I'll be learning as I get into it. If it proves to need more than what I start with I will return with the necessary tools to do the job decently but whatever I end up doing initially at least will be a big improvement.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

it will be great for pruning branches and cutting bigger stuff out of the way - but having done years of track work you will need something to cut the light brush /fern of the track - a sharp machete is okay but a hook slasher is the best - when you get started and see the job you will work out what you need - DOC we used a scrub bar with a steel triangular blade

Silky Yoki is my zombie apocalypse blade of choice, and it should do just fine clearing the smaller stuff out of the way. Did a couple of hours on an avocado orchard clearing light and sometimes not so light bush that had overgrown a stone wall with a mate's and it was like a laser. I've handled the little Nata as well and it also seems to be an amazing piece of kit.

Silky Saw. Mate used one our roar trip to excavate to a remote ridge/China.

Have a couple of Silkys, just gone and ordered one of these:
https://suluk46.com/product/yuka-240-pull-saw/
a Silky Gomby blade in a custom titanium handle!

tell you one thing...the electric pruning saws that look kind of like a sellotape gun..handle and a blade about size of a beer can..... less than $200 last time I looked.really has appeal for the branchs etc and should deal to stuff up to wrist thickness..... and the fern and crap by your feet....a hook slasher used upside down pushing it out and away from you..by cutting up not down,it seems to catch stem and cut as it pulls away from roots,whereas cutting downwards the vegetation bounces and has too much give for it to cut.

Loppers with nice long handles are great. I'd go for these over a saw

Identify your target beyond all doubt because you never miss (right?) and I'll be missed.

In our 4WD we often carry some Ryobi 18 V tools, a chainsaw, electric secateurs and a compact reciprocating saw for clearing overgrown tracks.

+1 for the Silky saw just in case you're not already convinced.

My manager at work insisted with fervent belief on the Silky brand for our pruning saws. I was sceptical that a saw that at 1st glance looked like the rest could actually be that much better. After trying it, I bought one for at home and one for in the truck.

Between a Silky and a decent pair of loppers, there wouldn't be much tanglebush that you couldn't deal to efficiently.

We also have the little Stihl 12V hand held chainsaw. Really useful little bit of kit for doing small cuts on a regular basis, it makes a lot of work really fast, great for doing higher pruning cuts, great for trimming the stray protrusions after you stack a load of branches on the back of a ute or trailer, but if I had to choose just one tool, it would be the Silky.

I have carried the ARS P-18 folding saw for about 40 years.
I think Siky saws are the next generation.
The orange handled BAHCO is cheap and cheerful from Bunnings. Th longer blade has the advantage of longer strokes.
Whichever you buy you will need a "knife file" to keep the teeth sharp. I recently hunted high and low before finding one ar Farmlands Otaki. My one got " modified" for a job, but you get the idea.

Knife files are specifically designed to sharpen both opposite teeth on pruning saw, with each stroke.

The machete it like a cane knife or Gurkha knife. It's really well balanced with the weight up the top end and it doesnt flex like traditional straight blade machetes. it's Chinese, but keeps a good edge. I got this from Pete's Emporium in Porirua. It's called a "HEAD HUNTER!" Which is weird because Porirua is mostly Mongrel Mop turf!?


I keep these in my ute for clearing tracks so I don't scratch much my ute.

@longshot Yes! Loppers are good, perhaps safer and faster for medium sized branches.
LEVIN SAWS manufacturer forestry industrial standard loppers ans pruning saws.