Silky Zubat Saw

[Tiley]

I love my PocketBoy saw and was thinking of trying out one of these as a bigger alternative. Does anyone have any experience of them? Are they worth the investment? I was going to go for the 30cm version; is there any advantage in opting for one of the other sizes?

Any help or guidance on the Zubat would, as ever, be gratefully received!

Many thanks in advance.

Richard

 

[sunndog]

The silky zubat is the mainstay of arborists everywhere.....nuff said really

I prefer the sugoi for bigger cuts. But the zubat is THE standard pro pruning saw

 

[Snake]

Dam good saw I have the 330 one, and it is quicker to use that on 3" branches than it is to start the chainsaw

 

[Dave Budd]

i've got a couple of zubats that i use in the woods (professionally rather than playing if you like). One is the largest curved blade they do on a pole for cutting branches a couple or three meters up.

The other is the largest straight blade they have on my own made handle; it was my introduction to silkys and I bought the blade only to see what they were like without buying the complete saw. That was about 5 silky saws ago!

 

[dwardo]

Evil things they are. Good friend has one and we call it Excalibur!

I say evil as i only have to look at the thing and i start bleeding. Have several scars to prove how sharp those teeth are. Often its quicker to take a limb or a young tree with the saw than it takes to suit up and get the chainsaw out.

Just be very careful..

But yeah great saws.

 

[Leon]

I have a 330 one and it is a fantastic cutter. The only minor downside can be using it to make an accurate gob cut; the curvature of the blade makes it trickier to get everything to meet at the right time and place, as it were. By no means insurmountable but if you intend doing lots of that then maybe look at a straight model. It is pretty awesome at everything else though.

 

[hughtrimble]

The 330 is phenomenal. Saw one being used at a meet, had a go with it and ordered one straight away, and have since had others order them after using mine! They are truly incredible cutters.

This is coming from someone who used to only use large knives and axes for all wood work as saws were just too annoying to use. This thing has seen my big cutters left unused since its arrival.

 

[Buckshot]

I bought the 330 myself. I wanted to get the largest one that would still fit in the Rush 24 pack
As has been said brill saws, very efficient but the curve of the blade can make it awkward if not cutting all the way through something (stop cuts for example)
I like the idea of getting a blade and making the handle myself. might get round to it one day!

 

[Barney Rubble]

The silkys look like amazing saws, but were sadly out of my price range. I ended up buying one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wilkinson-Sword-Pruning-Saw-Holster/dp/B007MKPA06

This links to an amazon site but I got mine for £12.99 in the Range. It's so far proven to be well made, using Japanese steel and cuts amazingly well. You need to learn a different technique when using a pull saw though, it's important to just let the saw do the hard work for you. Conversely with the Laplander, I find myself wanting to be a bit more aggressive (rightly or wrongly!).

 

[Nice65]

330 for me too. Used in trees for years and years, and always packed for camping.

Try EBay Japan. I had to replace mine last year because someone nicked 'old faithful'. Cost $57.98, significantly less than a UK purchase.

 

[juliojordio1983]

Would I be best looking at these or the Gomboy/Bigboy to tackle decent sized logs with?

My Laplander isn't cutting it with thicker diameter logs....

 

[Mesquite]

Would I be best looking at these or the Gomboy/Bigboy to tackle decent sized logs with?

My Laplander isn't cutting it with thicker diameter logs....

Save yourself some money and get a bowsaw for tackling thicker logs

 

[sunndog]

Would I be best looking at these or the Gomboy/Bigboy to tackle decent sized logs with?

My Laplander isn't cutting it with thicker diameter logs....

Dry firewood logs? Yep, bow saw. Nothing else will cut as much wood for a tenner!

 

[Nice65]

Would I be best looking at these or the Gomboy/Bigboy to tackle decent sized logs with?

My Laplander isn't cutting it with thicker diameter logs....

I disagree with the bow saw advice and firmly recommend the Zubat. The Laplander, well, I'd sooner take a chainsaw file to the wood, I found mine to be useless, scrubbing away at the wood for ages. You used to be able to get decently set Sandvik blades for bow saws that cut well and held an edge, but no more. They're also a bit of a liability in terms of safety.

Zubat 330, belt sheath is handy when you've an armful of wood, Big Boy if you store it before you pick up the wood. Gomboy is pretty much a Zubat with a straight edge, good if your cutting wood on the ground as the tip doesn't dig in.

The most efficient opinion is the Zubat. That curve in the blade pulls the saw into the wood.

 

[falcon]

I've had the Silky Gomtaro for a few years now and it's outstanding. It appears to be very similar to the Zubat but with a straight blade,,,

 

[Hammock Hamster]

I have both the Zubat and the Gomtaro and rate them both very highly.
The extra length helps tackle larger logs and both still, just, fit in my daypack.
The curve on the Zubat is helpful and makes cutting easier but if the log is the same size or larger than the blade it can snag on the safety bit on the end, not a problem in the straight bladed Gomtaro.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[robevs73]

I have 3 silkys folders of various sizes and I love them!
I have been thinking of trying a fixed handle version next.

 

[juliojordio1983]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I had considered a bow saw, but they look fiddly compared to a folding saw. I would also not like to have to try and change a blade with cold wet fingers. Yes, all the wood I cut is for firewood, so all dead, no green wood. I tend to take a Berghaus Vulcan on overnighters, so storing/carrying a bigger saw, or a fixed saw such as the Zublat would be no issue. The Laplander is ok on anything under wrist sized diameter, but with winter coming, I would like to be able to tackle bigger logs, quicker. So ive been eyeing the Silky saws up, but there is quite a bit of choice, with the Gomboy, Bigboy, and the Zublat I was getting a little lost in the choice.

So, in short, if I don't mind the size of the Zublat, I should go for it as it'll tackle 4-6" diameter logs comfortably?

 

[Paulm]

Nah, go for the Bigboy, it'll do much larger than 4 to 6" and still take up less space than the zubat in your pack, win win !

 

[Tiley]

So, is it fair to assume that, for the majority of bushcraft applications, the Gomtaro is a better bet than the Zubat?