Silky KATANABOY Professional 500mm Folding Saw XL Teeth (403-50)

Don't need to drag out the chainsaw for small or intermediate jobs. Wish I had this years ago.

This purchase was part of my quest to find durable and environmentally-friendly alternatives to common power tools. In the case of the Katanaboy, I was looking for a hand-powered substitute for a chainsaw. After about 18 months of owning and using this tool, I can honestly say.....it does not replace a chainsaw! If you want a tool that turns trees into firewood quickly and with little effort, buy a chainsaw. If you are like me and want to get a bit of exercise while doing chores, don't mind spending a little extra time outdoors, and appreciate effective tools, the Katanaboy is a fantastic choice. It is my primary firewood cutter, as I do not own a chainsaw. I cut a cord of old, hard elm in about an hour, with frequent breaks, although the more I use it, the fewer breaks I need. Most of the branches were under 8 inches in diameter, but I cut a couple of sections that were twice that size (it wasn't easy, but it was fun). I bought a second saw from another vendor for use at work, where part of my job is management of a nature preserve (which includes trail construction and maintenance). In the nature preserve (and at home), I prefer to avoid the noise and pollution of a chainsaw. Trail work volunteers are envious of my "samurai saw" and argue over who gets to use it first.Volunteers almost always bend the blades of my pull-cut saws, but none of them were able to bend the Katanaboy's blade. In fact, after extensive use, I haven't even come close.The saw's handle is comfortable enough. Since it's a pull-cut saw, most of your effort will be on the pull, so a straight handle works just fine (like a tug-of-war). If you pull by bending at your waist or even rocking back and forth on your feet, you can give your arms a nice break. The teeth are extremely sharp, but the locking mechanism has sort of a half-cock safety that minimizes the chance you'll get your fingers caught between the blade and handle while folding the saw. Interestingly, the back of the blade is a pretty effective machete and is good at cutting grass, non-woody weeds, and small dead branches (although this is obviously not its intended use, so be careful). It's fun to pretend I'm swinging around a real katana sword!If I had a big job to do, I would opt for a chainsaw. While I'm confident I cut bigger logs with the Katanaboy (or more than one cord, if I were in better shape), I really don't want to try. I prefer the Katanaboy for small jobs that can be completed in the time it would take to get a chainsaw ready, and for medium jobs that won't take too much time or wear me out. I also prefer its low maintenance, silence, small environmental footprint, and its aesthetic (the experience of using a quality tool, smelling cut wood rather than burnt oil and gasoline, and the sound of birds rather than a two-cycle engine). I am seriously considering buying three more for the family so we can have a nice family outing while getting a larger amount of firewood (and overcoming the saw's main shortcoming when compared to a chainsaw).

Bought as an upgrade from smaller silkies I have both the Gom and Pocket Boy. This thing is super fast and eats through wood like nobody's business. Easy to use and very fast.

My wonderful Homelite 1978 chain saw finally failed, but instead of replacing it, I bought the Katanaboy. It probably takes 5 times the effort to cut than the chain saw, but, considering there is no setup, starting, fueling, oiling, and noise, it's a pretty clean and quiet way to handle most of my tree cutting chores. If you're cutting down a large tree, or many many smaller ones, then a chain saw is better, but if you have the occasional 10 inch limb to saw up, then the Katanaboy is ready to go to work without any carb adjustments!By the way, I'm 63 and have a bad back, so I'm probably on the weak side for someone doing tree work, so don't think you have to be really strong to get results from this saw.Make sure you wear leather gloves (leather won't stop the teeth but it helps) and if you need to steady the limb you are cutting, keep your hands about a foot away from the cut, because Silky saws will glide through flesh very quickly. It actually takes some time and practice to get to know the saw. You need to be gentle and straight with the forward stroke, because you don't want to bend the blade, and let the modest weight of the saw dig into the wood on the return (cutting) stroke. I find myself setting up the wood that I cut even more carefully than when I use a chain saw, just so I can be sure to keep my hands away from the blade.Because there is no engine to gas up and start when using the Katanaboy, I find myself getting to my wood cutting tasks a little more often. If I have a few minutes before dinner, I'll go and do some wood cutting. When I use a chain saw - it's always more of a production to get the saw ready to go, so I have to wait until I have a large block of time to get started.I also bought a Silky Zubat saw for smaller trimming jobs, and for easy carrying while up in a tree. If you want a Silky saw to rip through good sized limbs, though, the Katanaboy is definitely the model you want.If I need to cut up a 3 foot tree trunk, I'll be renting a large chain saw. (Oh, I might try to cut through a three foot trunk with the Katanaboy once just to say I did it.) But how often do you need to cut up a 3 foot tree trunk?The Katanaboy blade can be sharpened, and I plan to buy the file and learn how to do that, just as I learned how to sharpen the chain saw. I don't know when I'll need to do that, but I'm fairly sure it will not be as frequently as I sharpened the chain saw.I definitely recommend this saw, but can't emphasize safety enough. If you are done cutting, fold it up. Don't let it lay around with the blade exposed. Someone might step on it, or you might grab for it without paying attention and cut your fingers. It's quick and easy to fold and unfold, so there's really is no excuse for laying it down with the blade exposed.And yes, you do feel like a Samurai when using it.