Coghlan's Folding Saw

The 21" Coghlans Folding Saw is one of the best values in camping/bushcraft gear I've found yet. When I was younger, I worked for a gigantic outdoor sports retailer, where I came to know Coghlans as a company that makes very cheap, one- or two-time use items for family camping on a very tight budget. Imagine my surprise, then, when I took a risk and discovered that this saw is better designed and just as well built as some of the best portable saws on the market by more respected manufacturers.SMARTLY UPDATED FOLDING-TRIANGLE DESIGN -- FASTER TO DEPLOY, WITH NO PIECES TO LOSEIf you've seen or used a 21" Sven folding saw, the 21" Coghlans Folding Saw should look very familiar. It's virtually identical in size to the Sven. When folded, it's 21" long x 2-5/8" wide (at the wider folding handle end)x 1/2" thick. It weighs 16 oz. When deployed, the triangular geometry of the saw is almost identical to the Sven as well. But the similarities end there.Coghlans has substantially improved on the folding triangle design. First, there are no loose parts like the Sven's notoriously easy-to-misplace wing nut for attaching and tensioning the blade. Instead, all of the Coghlans saw's pieces are integrally connected--virtually eliminating the likelihood of losing a piece in the field.Second, because everything is connected, the saw can be deployed much quicker than the Sven. All you do is (1) fold down the handle, (2) loosen the saw blade retention screw, (3) fold out the saw blade, (4) slide the hole in the free end of the blade onto the peg on the tensioning handle, and (5) fold the tensioning handle up into place. The blade locks solidly into position with perfect tension and voila! You're done!After trying it two or three times, this saw is easy to deploy in under 20 seconds! By contrast, the Sven saw takes noticeably longer to deploy because it requires extra steps (threading the blade tensioning bolt through the frame and attaching the wingnut) and extra care (the wingnut is easy to drop and lose, so you have to work very carefully and deliberately--i.e., slowly--during its assembly or you risk losing a vital piece and rendering the saw inoperable). Also, the Coghlans design has a cleaner, less obtrusive handle compared to the Sven because there is no extra length protruding below the cutting teeth (which I always found strange on the Sven, as it was unnecessary and tended to bump against my thigh or nearby brush while sawing).In short, the Coghlans saw offers a slightly smaller, slightly lighter, noticeably quicker-deploying, and mercifully loss-proof design! And as icing on the cake, the Coghlans is also compatible with any 21" saw blade, unlike the Sven, which requires proprietary blades. Any 21" buck saw blade with a hole in either end will work fine on the Coghlans. To change the blade, you just remove the keyring that retains the blade pivot pin, pull out the pin, insert a new blade, and reattach the keyring to secure the pivot pin again. These simple but substantial refinements add up to a simply awesome wilderness saw!WELL BUILT, SUPERBLY EFFICIENT CUTTINGBuild quality is very good. The two frame sides are made from oval-shaped aluminum channel, while the tensioning handle and folding joint are made from heavy duty (1/8" thick) black polymer. Once deployed, it is a very sturdy saw with a well-tensioned blade that cuts smoothly on the push and pull strokes. The polymer parts may bother folks who equate plastic with junk, but they seem plenty durable for this purpose and should not break if you know how to use a buck saw properly (i.e., let the teeth and a long efficient stroke, not brute downward force, do the work).Impressively, the blade is a good quality 21" woodcut blade made by Bahco--a brand that is well known and trusted by many outdoor fanatics. Combined with good quality cutting teeth, the 21" blade length makes it astonishingly more efficient at cutting wood than the popular 8" to 10" pull-type folding saws, such as the ubiquitous Bahco Laplander or Silky Gomboy 210/240. In addition to doing more cutting per stroke, the Coghlans saw's triangular frame and tensioned blade will tolerate an undisciplined sawing technique with far less risk of kinking the blade on the push stroke (which is very common on unsupported folding saws if you improperly apply downforce on the push stroke.) That may not sound like a big deal, but if you're making more than a few cuts, it's very easy to get sloppy with your technique. Just ask anyone with a kinked pull saw how it got that way. With the Coghlans, you'll be able to make at least twice as many cuts for a given amount of exertion compared to those smaller folding pull-saws, and that difference adds up remarkably quickly when, say, cutting a pile of wood to feed a campfire through a long cold night.Test cutting a 2" diameter branch of southern yellow pine, I made five consecutive cuts with almost no appreciable exertion (i.e., no perceptible rise in breathing/heartrate, and no significant feeling of fatigue in my arm). Each pass through the 2" diameter took an average of 10 strokes. Compared to a smaller, folding pull-type saw like the Laplander or Gomboy 240, the energy savings are truly impressive. Later, I cleared some 3-1/2" pines that had fallen across a path in the woods behind our house. I didn't count the strokes or measure the seconds, but I was zipping through each tree so quickly that it couldn't have taken more than 20 or 30 seconds per cut--and almost no fatigue. The rigidity of the frame and the Bahco blade are such a great combination that it's truly a pleasure to cut.CUTTING CAPACITYThis saw will saw quickly and almost effortlessly through wood up to 3-1/2" diameter--which makes it more than sufficient for most bushcraft/camp needs. Technically, it can also handle much larger cutting tasks on wood up to 8" or so in diameter; however, cutting any deeper than 3-1/2" will significantly limit the length of stroke you can take (before hitting the triangular frame) if you try to cut all the way through from a fixed angle. That means either you'll lose efficiency (by being forced to take increasingly shorter strokes as the blade progresses deeper) or be forced to keep changing your angle of attack (working the saw around the perimeter of larger material as you make converging cuts toward its center, which is fine as long as you have enough room/clearance from surrounding brush to do so). I don't find this to be a problem or shortcoming. Just be aware that the triangular frame geometry does limit the straight-through cutting depth a little more than a traditional-shaped buck saw.At 3" depth of cut, you'll be able to take 3/4 of a full stroke (plenty!) before the material hits the frame. At 5" depth, you'll only be able to take half of a stroke and will really start to lose the efficiency benefit of the long blade.SHORTCOMINGS/PROBLEMSReally, I've found nothing to complain about with this saw. It works great and is built more ruggedly than I expected, with tight, smooth joints and perfect blade tension. However, if I had to nitpick...(1) The split ring (keyring) that retains the blade pivot pin will bang noisily against the aluminum frame while hiking unless you silence it by placing a thick rubber washer underneath it, or placing a rubber band around it, or even simpler, using a small piece of electrician's tape to secure it to the frame. In my case, I swapped it for a smaller (1/2" diameter) keyring and that quieted it enough to suit me.(2) No stuff sack. This would be an absolutely amazing deal if Coghlans included slim nylon pouch for the saw, preferably with a few loops, webbing straps, or velcro tabs to facilitate easy attachment to a pack. I suspect that would increase the price point, though, and many people will already be able to find a place to stow this in their existing pack--such as tucked under one of the side compression straps and supported underneath by a side pocket.(3) The finish details need smoothing. Although very well built, Coghlans leaves the corners and slits of the cut aluminum rough/sharp. It's nothing that a few quick licks with a fine file or some 400-grit sandpaper can't fix. Just be sure to smooth the corners a bit before you pack this saw into the wilderness or it may wear or tear your pack (or scrape the flesh of someone who handles it unsuspectingly).CONCLUSIONAt one time, it was difficult to choose between the ultra-efficient cutting of the Sven saw (with its slower, more awkward setup), or the ultra-convenience of pull-type folding saws like the Laplander (which deploys instantly but requires noticeably greater exertion for a given amount of cutting). The Coghlans strikes a much more ideal balance between the two. Weight is perfectly acceptable unless you obsess about counting every ounce. While it weighs nearly twice as much as some of the lightest pull-type saws, it packs up easily and folds out to become an exponentially more useful and more efficient tool. If I'm only going out for a day or two, I'll likely stay with the lighter weight of the Bahco Laplander (or Silky Gomboy 240), but for anything longer than 2 days, it'll be the 21" Coghlan's folding saw for me!Truly, I can't believe I haven't seen more people use and recommend this saw. Quite possibly, it has been overlooked because Coghlans is almost synonymous with low-end budget equipment, and not often mentioned in discussions of lightweight performance gear. Whatever the case, I highly recommend it for camping/bushcraft, especially if you'll be out for more than a couple days.[UPDATE 2/16/2014: I had not expected to have an update so soon, but we just went through an unexpected ice storm in Georgia that left 350,000 homes without power for almost three days. So many trees came down that all my neighbors were asking me if I had a chainsaw they could borrow. When I said no, but I had a hand saw, they sighed in disappointment and said it would have to do. When I started zipping through 4" to 7" diameter trees, though, their eyes went wide. All the while, I heard a steady stream of comments like, "That thing's as fast as a chainsaw!" and "I didn't know a hand saw could cut so well!" My favorite comment was: "When you said you had a 'hand saw,' I thought this was going to take forever. Where did you get that thing? I want one!"Long story short, there were so many trees down that I decided to build my daughters a full size teepee instead of the tree house we've been planning to build. So in a few hours, this little saw successfully cut and de-limbed TWELVE 15' pine support poles, all 4" to 5" in diameter. After all that, the blade is still very sharp and ready for more! So, while I don't normally use a saw this rigorously even when I'm out working on bushcraft, I can now attest that this little saw is more than up to the task of building a semi-permanent wilderness shelter. As I predicted in my original review, cutting through logs larger than 4" diameter takes noticeably greater effort, but is surprisingly manageable all the way up to 7" in diameter UNLESS you are not in a position where you can rotate or get under the log to cut from multiple angles (such as when a very heavy long is laying flat against the ground and can't be lifted). You need to be able to attack from multiple angles to effectively get through anything that requires more than a 4" or 5" depth of cut.So, to sum up: Are you looking for a super-cutting heavy use wilderness saw? This baby is the real deal!]

I have finally found a saw that I can recommend. I have always purchased straight folding/pruning type saws in the past. Every time that I have purchased a saw, I have been hopeful that it would serve me well for the long term. But the other saws that I have owned have not had good hardened blades that would remain sharp and last for the long term. Sure, with some effort and time, they can be resharpened and hardened. But the average person is just going to discard it and move on.Enter Coghlan's Folding Saw. The green wood blade that it comes with appears to be a good hard blade. But the blades are easily interchangeable and replaceable with just about any 21" bow saw blade. The lightweight folding design makes it ideal for carrying in a pack. A pruning saw may be able to cut in tighter spaces. But for cutting firewood in a campsite, it would be hard to beat this saw. If there is a downside to this saw, it would be that the 'small/sharp angled' end can limit the depth of cut in larger pieces of wood. But in reality, any piece of wood that is too large for this saw, I would prefer to tackle with a chainsaw. If you want to spend two or three times as much, go right ahead. But you probably won't get a better saw than this. Do a Google search, watch some Youtube videos. I have yet to see anyone who has anything negative to say about this saw.

I purchased 2 backpacking limb saws, this one and a more expensive Sven saw. This one out performed the more expensive saw. The more expensive saw the blade wanted to buckle as soon as you started cutting , this one did not. The only thing I wish this saw has was a case or round the corners so it doesn’t eat a hole in my back pack .

Works great

Have used it several times now, no issues, blade hasn’t dulled yet, pretty sure I’ve cut up atleast 4 small trees with this already.

Super light, portable, sharp and functions perfect. Can be noisy with the little key ring thing but easy go around.

I won't repeat all the accolades in other reviews, I agree with all of them. This camp saw will not disappoint and it's the best value on the market.

The Coghlan's Folding Saw has been a lifesaver for our construction projects in our NYC apartment. Its compact size makes it easy to store and use in tight spaces, which is perfect for urban living. It's also been handy during camping trips and travels, proving its versatility.The only downside is its price, which seems a bit high for a simple saw. However, I've found that most foldable saws are similarly priced due to their design and functionality. Despite this, I would still recommend it to friends looking for a reliable and portable saw for various uses.