by Ja.W. Smith

Created on: September 01, 2011   Last Updated: September 02, 2011

Whether you call it a bow saw, buck saw, or Swede saw, nobody can argue its effectiveness and versatility. It will cut cleanly through branches and firewood and just about everything in between. With such a valuable tool, who wouldn’t want to keep it working well for as long as possible?

The overall design of the bow incorporates a thinner blade than that of most other saws. Its slight blade cuts faster and with less resistance, presenting an easier job for the person using the saw. The bow earns its highest marks with thick limbs and in less cramped cutting scenarios, where the height of the bow doesn’t impede the work. Most users of the bow saw prefer the type with a tapered nose. The shape retains all the main advantages of a bow saw, but allows cuts in slightly tighter areas than that of the standard “D” style, which generally requires a fair amount of space for its cuts.

Proper care is a must. Before attempting a cut, inspect the saw blade and replace it if necessary. Missing teeth can cause irregular and more difficult cuts that snag or don’t cut at all, turning what should be a smooth cutting exercise into a choppy, forced, and strenuously long undertaking. Also, clean the blade of sap, bits of wood, or other debris. Such foreign matter dulls blades and rusts metal, which does nothing but slow work down to a snail’s pace.

Grip the saw for the most cutting efficiency. With large or secured piece of wood, you may benefit from holding the bow saw handle with two hands and taking a wider stance. The combination of which generates and transfers more power to the cut and will spread the strain of the work throughout the body. Otherwise, all the exertion centralizes on just one arm.

When trimming a tree branch with a bow saw, hold the branch with one hand and the saw handle in the other, and pass the blade back and forth over the desired cut point, allowing the blade to penetrate the wood. Proceed by making a short cut, on the bottom side of the branch so that when the branch separates and falls it doesn’t hang on to that last strip of bark and forcefully strip it from the tree. Continue by cutting through the branch from the top down, or at least as close as possible. This lets the weight of the branch to naturally spread and hold the gap of the cut open without extra effort. During the cut, apply pressure to the branch, as needed, with the non-cutting hand so as to keep the branch from pinching the gap of the

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