First I just wanted to take a minute to thank the crew at the Loadout Room for allowing me to take a few months off writing while I attended Fire Academy. Recently I decided I wanted to start volunteering in my community and the academics, and academy really took about all the free time I could manage to scrape together. With that said, I am excited to get back into review gear.
Today we are going to take a look at the SOG Wood & Bone Saw. Compact saws are great for camping, and hunting. Until this product I actually had two separate saws; one for preparing wood, and the other for processing game (cutting through bone when needed).
This saw comes with two interchangeable blades. Each blade is made from tempered steel designed for cutting bone, wood, and other materials (there is a specific bone blade). There is a quick-release integrated into the handle to allow for fast blade changes.
Specifications (sourced from SOG Knives)
• Blade: Saw/Bone
• Blade Length: 8.25”
• Weight: 5.9 oz
• Overall Length: 17.25”
• Blade Steel: high carbon
• Finish: black (wood), satin (bone)
• Handle: rubber
• Sheath: synthetic fabric (nylon)
When we look at some of these specification there are some adjustments I would make. When SOG measured the blade lengths they used tip-to-tail. However when we look at the actual cutting surface I would put the bone saw at approximately 8”, and the wood saw at 8.5”. The handle comes in at 9” with a grip surface of about 6.75”. The blade length is long enough to allow for proper forward-back momentum while cutting. If this were shorter, say 6”, then your cutting could be interrupted and you would spend a lot of time resetting the blade into your cutting groove.
The grip surface of the handle is rubber. This will allow you to maintain grip when liquids are introduced (field dressing animals). It is also comfortable while using, the design feels natural in your hand throughout usage. The handle also has a safety button which keeps the blades locked into the handle like a folding knife. You wont have to worry about the blade popping open while hiking into an area.
The case had some really interesting features. There is an internal saw blade pouch so you will always have easy access to the blade you don’t currently have equipped. If you’re anything like me this will prevent you from losing the extra blade. There is a dual belt loop integrated onto the back of the case. One is a permanent loop, and the other has a snap. This give the user the ability to wear the saw on their belt, to integrate it onto another piece of kit (backpack). Lacking slightly is the velcro used on the front to secure the whole saw into the pouch. The fit is snug so I don’t believe the saw will fall out, however I’d prefer to see a larger piece of velcro securing the saw into the pouch.
Although this is a first impressions article I wanted to test the saw out itself. Currently I don’t have an animal to test this on, however I did have plenty of wood sitting around. I believe this saw was designed to cut through small, and medium trees and branches (they would need to be smaller in diameter then the cutting surface is long). I decided to use a pressure treated 4×4 secured to my work bench for this test. I was surprised at how easily the saw was able to cut this wood. To be fair I did have the wood secured to my work bench which would be a more ideal environment than in the woods with a tree/branch moving around while cutting.
I look forward to testing this in the field on both wood, and animals. Hunting season (bow) opens for me in September and I will be sure to throw this saw in my kit and put it through some testing in the field. This saw retails for $40, however you can find slightly better prices on Amazon.
