Some time ago I read a review about the "Bob Dustrude folding buck saw" over on Song of the Paddle. It seemed that it was a pretty good tool so I decided that I would get one, just as soon as I could afford it. Well, over two years later, i finally got one. The review on SOTP is a good one, but as it was over two and a half years ago, I thought I would give my own.
The saw is a "U" section of Aluminium, with two folding arms which are rivited to the main body with copper rivits.
On opening up the two arms, you find the blade and the wooden handle/tensioning device
You remove the blade, which has a nut and bold in one end and the handle attached to the other and locate the ends of the blade in the blade location slots
Then you can tension the blade in the saw by folding the wooden handle up into the "U" section of the saw frame
The saw is now ready to go to work. I gave it a run out on some Ivy that I wanted for bow drill spindles. the saw comes with a 24" blade for cutting green wood
But as my ivy was already dead, I changed the blade to one designed to cut dead wood.
If changing the blade, be careful as the replacement blades will probably have a square end, which will poke out from the wooden handle of the saw
This could catch the palm of your hand and cause a nasty cut. It can be easily removed with a file or grinding stone. The origional blade supplied already had this removed.
In use, the saw performs like any other bow saw. Being a full size 24" saw, it was possible to give long strokes which cut quickly and with little effort.
I did find the "U" section of the saw frame to be a bit larger and slightly less rounded than a normal bow saw, but I don't think it would cause too many problems.
When finished, the saw can be dismantled and replaced back inside the "U" section of the frame.
When the blade is back inside the folded frame, is is completely enclosed with no part of the saw blade teeth exposed. It also dosen't rattle about which is good. It is a fair bit lighter than a normal bow saw of this size and when packed up it stands at 24.5 inches (62cm) there is a canvas carry case available which has a pocket for an extra blade, but this is an optional extra which I didn't get, but I think I may have a go at making my own carry case. I purchased mine from Tamarack Outdoors (no connection etc) but it can also be bought direct from the USA where it is made from the Duluth pack company. With the exchange rate as it is, it will slightly cheaper to inport it from the USA, but only as long as you don't end up having to pay import tax.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the saw. It is a light weight package that cuts as well as a normal bow saw and you store the blade safely inside it so no damaged equipment. If you plan on spending a few days outdoors and need a good saw to cut fire wood with, then I would highly recommend it.
The saw is a "U" section of Aluminium, with two folding arms which are rivited to the main body with copper rivits.
On opening up the two arms, you find the blade and the wooden handle/tensioning device
You remove the blade, which has a nut and bold in one end and the handle attached to the other and locate the ends of the blade in the blade location slots
Then you can tension the blade in the saw by folding the wooden handle up into the "U" section of the saw frame
The saw is now ready to go to work. I gave it a run out on some Ivy that I wanted for bow drill spindles. the saw comes with a 24" blade for cutting green wood
But as my ivy was already dead, I changed the blade to one designed to cut dead wood.
If changing the blade, be careful as the replacement blades will probably have a square end, which will poke out from the wooden handle of the saw
This could catch the palm of your hand and cause a nasty cut. It can be easily removed with a file or grinding stone. The origional blade supplied already had this removed.
In use, the saw performs like any other bow saw. Being a full size 24" saw, it was possible to give long strokes which cut quickly and with little effort.
I did find the "U" section of the saw frame to be a bit larger and slightly less rounded than a normal bow saw, but I don't think it would cause too many problems.
When finished, the saw can be dismantled and replaced back inside the "U" section of the frame.
When the blade is back inside the folded frame, is is completely enclosed with no part of the saw blade teeth exposed. It also dosen't rattle about which is good. It is a fair bit lighter than a normal bow saw of this size and when packed up it stands at 24.5 inches (62cm) there is a canvas carry case available which has a pocket for an extra blade, but this is an optional extra which I didn't get, but I think I may have a go at making my own carry case. I purchased mine from Tamarack Outdoors (no connection etc) but it can also be bought direct from the USA where it is made from the Duluth pack company. With the exchange rate as it is, it will slightly cheaper to inport it from the USA, but only as long as you don't end up having to pay import tax.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the saw. It is a light weight package that cuts as well as a normal bow saw and you store the blade safely inside it so no damaged equipment. If you plan on spending a few days outdoors and need a good saw to cut fire wood with, then I would highly recommend it.
