I found an informative thread re folding saws, appropriate for backpacking, and their use on wood.
I'm specifically interested in how these saws perform on deer and elk leg bones, etc.
Have you used one you can recommend?

My old Wyoming Saw has both bone and wood blades, works good.

Why in the world would you need a saw for leg bones? They come apart right at the joint with nothing but the same knife you do the rest of him with......





But..... if I'm going to use a saw, it'll be a cordless sawzall....

Point taken, Don

https://www.amazon.com/Bahco-Pg-72-Folding-Pruning-Saw/dp/B000QD1726/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1Y1671LZ9A17N&keywords=bacho&qid=1702348464&sprefix=bacho%2Caps%2C298&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

This one does well enough on bone and wood. I love the Bacho saws because they're tough.

Thanks Mike and Cricker

Yep. I use the saw to take the lower half of the leg off. The top half I get with a knife as Huntsman said. Change blades to the wood blade and it works great for limbs and cutting down Christmas trees…

Why?

There is no reason to use a saw to remove the lower leg from a deer or elk. A knife is much quicker if one knows the cut.

That said the Havolon folding saw is a whole lot of saw in a light package.

JB,
Yes, and that's how I've always done it. Never tried any other way on deer, elk, bear, antelope, etc. Just fooling around with gear in my pack and wondering about options

I carry a Gerber Exchange-a-Blade saw in my pack. Only time it's used for bone is to cut thru the skull.

Havolon has saw blades for the large folder and it's the lightest useful saw I have used. Those saw blades are sharp and hard.

I do the same. One other way I use it...not really bone...is opening the sternum, usually after it's hung. Knife can do it, but the saw saves edge wear on the knife.

longarm;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope that your section of Oregon is getting a mild winter like we're having up here so far and that you're all well.

The folding saw I've carried for both the odd bit of wood but mostly removing the skull cap on bucks we were backpacking out was this one which was made in Japan and imported by Coglan's.



The photo is from ebay and I see that one is asking $30 which isn't free, but I believe that if it's the brown handle, then it's the Japanese made one.

The ebay linky thing failed for me, sorry, but they show up there from time to time, some like the one in the photo are new and that'd be my recommendation.

Coglan's does bring in a black handled one which if I'm not wrong is made in China, so it might or might not have decent steel in the blade, I have no clue on that.

The one I have got carried for years and I finally broke a couple teeth when I got careless but the local purveyor of them - Can Tire - had spare blades made in Japan so I bought one and was up and running once more.

I have tried to file that first blade and it is possible, but it's harder than my Teutonic skull so fairly brittle for a saw actually, but then again that's likely why it cuts through skull caps better than the Chinese replacement meat saw blade I've got here at home.

Hope that helped and was useful to you or someone else.

All the best to you all this Christmas Season.

Dwayne

I agree. The only bone needed to be cut is the skull if you need to remove antlers. Here's a how-to on the legs:

There is another way I use one that I didn't think of. I'll often split the pelvic bone if one is going to be hanging while I'm dressing it.

I have used Silky and similar saws to cut skull plate. It works well.

The non-folding outdoor edge saw became my standard about a decade ago. Sharp, light, and tough. Big enough to use and small enough to pack.

Agree on not needing a saw to separate a ball joint , but when I need on I also favor tge Wyoming saw.

I don’t think folks are referring to separating the ball joint….they’re referring to separating the lower and upper rear legs by cutting through the joint immediately beneath the ‘heel’ or what most people think of as the ‘knee’.

I may try the Havalon saw the next time I do need a saw for something, as it does look handy.

I use the silky f180 but am open to other suggestions. It's multi purpose for wood and for skull plates but the size of the teeth make it more ideal for wood. You'll get a good workout on a moose getting the skull plate off, but it beats packing the head out. It goes through deer skulls rather easily. I might look for a silky with finer teeth.

Exactamundo.

Havolon makes the large frame folder in a 2 blade version. It takes the small blade on one side and the large blade (which can be the saw blade) on the other.

I modified one to take 2 large blades as I much prefer the bigger Havolon knife blade.

It's a pretty handy setup having a saw and large blade in one folder.

For backpacking the lower weight option is the single blade large frame with knife blades and one saw blade.

I have the folding outdoor edge bone saw and it works great. I use it primarily for the sternum on elk, or sometimes it makes it easier on big bucks too.

I have a Wyoming Saw that is 40 years old that I carry in a bag in the truck.I cut through the joints with a knife. But I do saw the antlers off of bucks. I have bought 1 set of replacement blades for it in 40 years. It is good gear.

I like one for cutting up through the brisket on even a deer, sure you can use a knife, but a small hatchet or saw is the way I go now.

Fiskars Power Tooth is what I currently use. I think it works plenty well enough.

Old Gerber folding saw stays in my pack. Handles any game work needed and is a good emergency tool.

I'm spoiled in that we use a bone saw to drop the guts while we're waiting for a machine to drag it out. We use a saw to split the pelvis and brisket. I will have to look for the Coghlans saw you shared. My only experience with the brand is from the cheap camping section. While their saw blades are very thin they are extremely sharp. One is always in my pack now, hopefully what you shared is a more durable model.

If you go Silky make sure you purchase a finer tooth profile. The Bacho Laplander is less money and a tougher blade than Silky. Keep blade toughness as priority and for $19 for the orange version it's hard to beat.

After you've used your small folding saw on legs or skull plate take and cut some brush or prune some sapling or branches on trees to clean your blade then wash it. This helps clean it without folding and packing that gunk home.

I just can't find the saw that I own on the Internet. It's a Gerber Gator saw. But I can't find it anywhere on the Internet. It has just one fixed blade (not folding). It's a wide blade with wood saw teeth on one side and a bone saw on the other side. Tapered, so (with a little imagination) it looks like the head of an alligator. Pretty lightweight for a saw with such a big blade.

I don't usually saw cut bone. I slit the joints like mentioned above. But one time I cut through the skull plate of a moose. That took myself and a friend half an hour, trading off, to get the job done.

A little brain splooge never hurt anyone

i HAVE BOTH RED AND YELLOW C-180'S. Red is great for most of the year but the yellowworks much better on bone and dry wood. You can buy just the blades too.

I use a Silky Pocketboy (w/ a custom handle) I bring a wood blade and a extra fine (bone) blade- the blades weigh a fraction of an ounce

under 3 oz total for saw and two blades

Brain splooge is where Mad Cow and CWD prions live.

CWD is killing our mule deer bucks before they get any age and has been detected in the elk herd.

No cases of transmission to people but it's a scouge in the deer herd and has dramatically changed Wyoming hunting for the worse.

If you hunt the lower 48 make sure you don't bring any brain splooge north. The prions don't seem to ever die (not really alive).

I've been carrying a Silky Pocketboy 130 for a long time, but have never used it. I ream the pelvic canal from both, the inside and outside, and everything comes out as it should.

with one blade

Mtwarden, how easy is it to change blades in the field with the pocketboy? Parts to lose in the snow? Time it takes?

I've been thinking of retiring the Wy Saw for something lighter and smaller.

Thanks

It's just that one Phillips screw you see on the blade, so relatively easy; but there are some small parts you don't want to lose.

The original handle for the Pocketboy has bigger hardware and easier to manage- it weighs more than that 3d printed one, but it's sturdier too.

Thanks!

John;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope the weather down in your part of Montana has been as mild as ours thus far and that you're well.

Thanks for bringing up the CWD issue, it's something that any travelling hunter needs to be aware of for sure.

We've started to do voluntary sampling of local deer here in BC and there's been a ban on bringing in any ungulate parts other than the boned out meat, hide and properly cleaned skull plate for a couple years.

There has been a bit of discussion on what "properly cleaned" might entail, but in discussions with the bios they'd like to see no tissue whatsoever and if one is inclined to give it a scrub with bleach they said it couldn't hurt.

But for sure where my family in Saskatchewan hunt there's CWD and it's been tough on the mulies especially.

All the best to you sir and Merry Christmas.

Dwayne

The best tool for coring azzholes I've come across.....

That's nice Don but you really should wash it off before you use it to slice apples.

here's the oe pocketboy next to the 3d handle one (and the weight of the oe one); like I said the original handled one is heavier, but more sturdy and isn't overly heavy (the blades are ~ 1/2 ounce)

A sharp knife will easily remove the lower legs once you learn where to cut. There’s a joint just below the hock on the hind legs that a knife will go right through. My dad worked in a butcher shop when I was a baby and he taught me where it is.

Here’s a video on how to do it. He’s doing it cold. It’s easier before the animal cools.

I typically don't carry a saw that much anymore as I've gotten to where I prefer euro mounts most of the time but when I do I use a Stanley wood saw that I ground down so it wasn't so bulky and put a light weight handle on it. It's probably the best thing I've used for cutting through bone.

I have good luck with this for cutting bone. carry and extra blade. very light compact. I prefer gutless and bone out. but for carrying out quarters works well


https://www.acehardware.com/departm...hig3b7dh0hoCUlAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

A sharp knife will easily remove the lower legs once you learn where to cut. There’s a joint just below the hock on the hind legs that a knife will go right through. My dad worked in a butcher shop when I was a baby and he taught me where it is.

Here’s a video on how to do it. He’s doing it cold. It’s easier before the animal cools.


Yep no need for a saw on legs or to split a pelvis, a knife can do all the work.

I have one of these I was given as a gift from my Father. It has ridden around as part of my "kill kit" for many, many years.(I don't care for the term honestly) The saw blade is more than enough to cap a skull and is still plenty sharp after close to 30 years.

Long ago we used to saw elk in half (down the backbone) with a Wyoming Saw when quartering them to carry out on horses. Then we realized it was easier to split the spine with a hatchet but still used a Wyoming saw to split the brisket and remove the antlers. For the last 10 years or so we've gone to the gutless method and carry a Milwaukee sawzall to remove antlers. You can do alot with a Wyoming Saw if you need to. For leg bones we've always just used a knife.

I copied some guy's saw idea on rokslide...drilled some 1/2" holes along a length of rigid conduit to skeletonize it (can't remember conduit size...probably 1/2"), Pressed this to an oval shape in a vise (with solid metal at the crimp, and holes along the flattish sides), and drilled a hole to hold a recip saw blade with a small capscrew and wingnut. When not in use, if you put the hole in the right place, you can shove the blade into the conduit and reinstall the bolt/wingnut. Probably not as light as Warden's 2oz saw but worked OK on a deer skull. Have not yet tried it on anything larger.