Best saw for sawing branches from trees.

[Diane]

Can anyone recommend a readily available, professional (but not ridiculously expensive) saw for pruning larger branches on trees. (A one person saw - not two handles) Already have loppers but wanting to add to my arsenal of gardening equipment.

Any advice much appreciated.

[Tony Hague]

I would imagine many of the pruning saws with Japanese style teeth that cut on the pull stroke would work well. I have a Spear and Jackon one which is just fine, I think the Silky and Bacho ones have good reputations, amongst many others. Sometimes the length of the saw is hard to gauge from a photo online though, so check it is right for you.

I woudn't buy a bowsaw - the easily obtainable ones seem a bit rubbish. The frame cannot tension the blade enough for them to saw straight, and the blade loses its set quickly.

[richard p]

first we need to know how big these large branches and trees are and how many youre going to be cutting?

start with the folding pruning saws ...which i personally dont like
then theres the bow saw... i use one with a triangular frame cos it fits in better than the bigger saws.
then theres the power saws
i use a ryobi battery reciprocating saw on a stick ... it will cut a 4 inch branch ten foot in the air easily.
then theres the pole chainsaws to stick on the end of a petrol strimmer. with a ten inch bar



i usually use the last two cos you can prune a reasonably large tree with yer feet on the ground.... if you aint up a ladder you cant fall off it.

[Ricard with an H]

Come-on Diane.

Let us know what you need to cut so we can help, I do a lot of tree pruning to full-on arboreal tasks with chainsaw.

I do use the folding type pruning saw and find them useless for anything other than twigs. A quality Japanese saw or Japanese-type will be a good choice for anything between a couple of inches and up to six inches. After that a good quality bow saw that tensions a good quality blade will cut it's way through quite heavy stuff if you have the arms for it.

Most bow saws and blades on the market are really quite poor, a good blade in a frame that tensions the blade is worth the expense though you won't get into tight spaces like you can with a Japanese saw.

Try Axminster Power Tools.