A Reliable Triangular Saw
Sven-Saw Folding Saw
Weight: 14 oz. (21″ blade) | Available Blade Lengths: 21″, 15″
The Sven-Saw has been made in the U.S. for almost 60 years and is outfitted with a super sharp blade made of Swedish steel. Once assembled, this was one of the fastest triangular frame saws, cutting through a 4-1/2-inch diameter log in just 35 seconds. At just under 14 ounces for a 21-inch saw, it’s also quite lightweight. The hardened, anodized aluminum handle and back bar folds into a flat rod shape that slides nicely into the side pocket of a backpack. The handle protrudes below the sharp blade, allowing you to saw efficiently using both hands. With a triangular geometry, the frame is quite rigid, and a wingnut allows you to tighten the blade to your preferred tension.
Assembling the Sven is a little awkward and time-consuming. The back bar and blade unfold and insert into the handle but need to be simultaneously lined up correctly, a task that would be much easier to accomplish with the help of a third hand. Then, you tighten the blade with a wingnut, which you hopefully didn’t lose in the snow-covered forest. But if you did, you’re still good to go since the Sven-Saw has a spare wingnut included. Luckily, the time lost in assembly is probably saved in cutting, which is a pure delight with the Sven-Saw. We feel this saw is a great option for someone looking to make lots of cuts with a rigid saw that reduces fatigue over time.
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Why You Should Trust Us
Brian Smith, our primary tester on this project, is a professional internationally certified IFMGA/UIAGM mountain guide. He is also a long-time carpenter and an avid wood stove user. For over twenty years, Brian has used gas-powered chainsaws, electric chainsaws, mauls, hatchets, skill saws, table saws, and of course, hand saws. When he isn’t guiding in the mountains, Brian spends a fair amount of time cutting his own firewood for the long winters in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, so he can keep his wood-burning stove nice and warm. And with over twenty years of carpentry experience, Brian has sawed through several different types of wood using various tools. He knows wood, and he knows which tool to use to get the job done right.
Our testing of folding saws is divided across five rating metrics:
- Sawing Performance (30% of total score weighting)
- Quality and Durability (20% weighting)
- Handle Comfort and Ergonomics (20% weighting)
- Blade Sharpness and Strength (20% weighting)
- Features and Packability (10% weighting)
After researching over 40 different folding saws, we carefully selected nine of them to review. We then purchased each one and shipped them to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where there are plenty of beetle-killed trees to test saws on. Throughout the entire testing period, we compared and assessed for quality and durability, handle construction/ergonomics, blade sharpness and strength, sawing performance, and packability/features. Each metric was assessed individually, all products were compared to each other, and every metric was noted during actual use. Saws were timed on the same sized logs when possible (which depended on the length of the saw blade), with sufficient rest in between timed sawing. Scores were compiled, and we combined subjective and objective assessments to yield our proven and authoritative conclusions. During all of these tests, we kept one primary objective in mind: finding the best folding saw to suit your needs.
Analysis and Test Results
To help you find the best folding saw for your performance needs and budget, we subjected each product to assembly and disassembly analysis, multiple log cuttings, and timed cuttings. Below, we’ll delve into the criteria that we rated them on and explain how all the different models compared to one another.
Value
We don’t let the price of a product play a role in our assessment of performance, but we do appreciate a good value. Some of our top-rated models, like the Agawa Boreal21 and the Sven Saw, are also among the most expensive. Boasting high performance-to-price ratios, the Corona RazorTooth, Opinel, and Rexbeti all offer great value.
Quality and Durability
Have you heard the saying, “It’s the rider, not the bike?” Well, we hate to break it to you, but the bike makes a big difference these days (especially in the Tour de France). The same goes for saws. Like a bicycle, the quality of the materials and construction play into the durability (and, therefore, the longevity) of the saws we tested. So, we researched the composition of the saw blades and handles, inspected the hinge points, and sawed like mad to help you find a top-notch product.
The top two scorers in this metric earned their high rankings. The Opinel is a beautiful saw whose high quality is immediately apparent, while the Wicked Tough Hand Saw touts the burliest construction in our review. The Opinel’s attractive French beechwood handle has a slight ergonomic curve, its high-quality locking mechanism is made out of stainless steel, and its blade is carbon steel with an anti-corrosion coating.
The Wicked also reveals its quality with more of an emphasis on durability. Its high carbon steel blade is taper ground, with a heavy gauge that resists bending and breaking. The aluminum handle is wrapped in a sticky rubber over-mold grip, and the pivot point is strong with its hardened steel lock-pin. With no plastic parts to break, we found this saw to be “wicked” durable.
Handle Comfort and Ergonomics
While this metric overlaps somewhat with our Quality and Durability metric, it’s worth sharing our detailed inspection methods and findings with you. In our experience, the shape and friction of a saw’s handle significantly affects our fatigue level over time while cutting wood. A saw with the right-sized handle, curvature, and even indentations for your fingers plays a huge role in allowing you to have fun cutting wood for longer periods of time. That means more wood to stoke your fire with — without your forearms feeling like they’re on fire, too.
The Wicked Tough Hand Saw has the best ergonomic handle that we tested. While the handle’s construction is burly, its true advantage is an over-mold rubber grip that is super sticky with indentations for your fingers that allow you to loosen your grip while sawing, thus reducing fatigue. The concept of “barely holding on” is familiar to rock and ice climbers, allowing them to “send” climbs they never thought were even possible by conserving energy without over-gripping. This concept was beneficial while we tested saws and analyzed handle ergonomics. Even if you’re not a climber, you will find that it conserves your strength and energy to use a hand saw with well-designed ergonomics like the Wicked.
The Corona Hand Saw has a co-molded, bi-colored handle that is very easy to hold. The defining feature of the Corona’s handle is a sharp curve at its base that prevents your hand from slipping. Very similar to the hook on a vertical ice climbing tool, the hook on the Corona allows you to open your grip slightly or hold on a bit loosely to minimize the pump in your forearm while sawing away. The bi-colored black and red rubber handle is designed to match the location of your fingers, with the softer black rubber providing more friction for your fingers to grab onto. Simply hang on loosely and have fun as you watch the aggressive blade of the Corona rip through one log after another.
Blade Sharpness and Strength
Let’s get down to business and delve into blade metrics. After all, the finer points of a saw’s blade are what puts them a cut above the rest. Simply put, from a subjective perspective, the Agawa Boreal21, the Sven-Saw, and the Corona RazorTooth felt the sharpest while cutting, looked the sharpest, and of course, they all have big teeth.
The Agawa quickly and smoothly slices through logs, thanks to its tight, long blade. With double-pointed rakers in between sets of four regular teeth, the blade clears sawdust and wood chunks as you cut. The large trapezium-shaped frame construction gives ample space within to cut larger diameter logs.
The Sven-Saw really shines with a long, very sharp blade that can be tightened to your liking. Manufactured in Sweden, this 21-inch long steel blade tears through wood. A pretty sweet combination that we discovered was to use the Sven-Saw for larger cuts and then swap to the Corona for making quick work of smaller diameter logs.
The curvature of the Corona‘s blade is what differentiates it from the Agawa and Sven saws. Let’s consider log geometry for a minute. They’re round, so a curved blade arguably has more surface area while cutting through a round piece of wood, right? Well, it’s just theoretical, but the curved geometry of the Corona’s blade could be the reason it was the fastest-timed saw in our testing. The Corona’s self-cleaning chrome blade is both corrosion-resistant and replaceable for longer life. Additionally, the razor teeth are three-sided for increased efficiency and impulse-hardened for exceptional durability and strength. So if speed is your game, take a look at the Corona’s blade.
Sawing Performance
To test sawing performance as objectivity as possible, we timed our cuts for every single saw. However, we quickly realized that the saw blade’s length would affect its performance, so we are providing you with four of our top performers in this metric, along with their recommended cutting diameters. Our best advice for you is to start by deciding what the average-sized wood is that you will cut before purchasing a saw. Then, look up the specifications for available blade lengths and the corresponding log diameters that the blade is designed for. Keep in mind that many manufacturers have multiple blade lengths available in the same model saw.
For smaller diameter branches, the Opinel’s 5-inch blade (recommended for 3.15-inch diameter logs) performed amazingly well on a 2-1/2-inch diameter log with a cut time of only 20 seconds. It also seemed to cut pretty darn well on a 5-inch diameter log. The Opinel also comes in a 7-inch blade for 4-inch diameter logs.
For medium-diameter logs, the Corona is a hands-down winner. The 7-inch Corona blade is designed to cut limbs 3 inches in diameter, but we tested it on a 4-1/2-inch diameter log, and it still outshined all the other folding saws with a blistering time of 24 seconds. The Corona also comes in 8-inch and 10-inch blade lengths.
For larger diameter logs, the Agawa Boreal was our top performer. With its trapezium-shaped frame and 21-inch blade (also available in 15-inch, 21-inch, and 24-inch blade lengths), it sliced through a 4-1/2-inch diameter log in just 30 seconds.
Features and Packability
There are many activities you might want a folding saw for. Cutting firewood, pruning trees and bushes in your yard, backpacking, hunting, kayaking, rafting, canoeing, car camping, four-wheeling, trail work, etc. No doubt, they’re very handy. Depending on what you’ll be using one for and what method of travel you’ll be embarking on, a saw’s weight, size, and carrying method will be important during your purchasing process. Since all of the saws we tested scored pretty high in this category, we will describe some various benefits for different-sized models to assist you in picking the right tool for your adventure.
Ounce counters and ultra-lightweight experts will be happy to hear that the lightest saw in our review, the Opinel, weighs in at a mere 4 ounces. If weight is a critical factor, and you require something for smaller limbs (recommended to 3.15 inches, to be exact), you’ll do well with this compact option. It even features a small round hole to thread a lanyard (not included) through so you can attach it to your pack or yourself.
If an open frame saw is alluring to you, the Agawa Boreal21 folds into a somewhat straight bar configuration that can easily be slid into the side of your pack. While the Sven-Saw does the same, the Agawa Boreal is much quicker and easier to stow away. If you don’t mind a larger, somewhat straight saw in your pack, one of these frame saws might be the right choice for you.
Conclusion
We’ve conducted an in-depth comparison of the best folding saws on the market to assist you in filtering through the seemingly endless options available. We purchased and used each one and had a team of testers consult on our findings. We bring extremely diligent attention to detail in all our product comparisons. Finding the right saw can be critical to cutting efficiently and with ease, and using the one that’s right for you might just put a grin on your face.
