The Best Folding Hand Saws for Hunting
The cold fronts have been moving through my area lately and the rut has just about arrived.
The height of hunting season is always an exciting time and—if we’re all lucky—we’ll be harvesting some great venison soon for ourselves and our friends and family.
The pursuit and the act of harvesting this purest of red meat is only half the of the experience.
If you’re not participating in the processing of the animal, you’re only getting part of the experience and you are not honoring the life of this majestic creature and carrying out certain rights before you stuff your gullet.
However, if you’re not up to the task of full processing and choose to send your harvest out to the local butcher, you’re still going to need to field dress the animal properly. And doing that will require a quality hand saw capable of cutting through the pelvic bone and breast plate.
Like any essential piece of equipment there is always debate over which is the best, and having a trusty hand saw is no exception, for its utility in the woods extends beyond processing your kill. A good hunting saw should be capable of multiple uses, not just cutting through bone.
Before we get into the best folding hand saws, there are some questions you need to ask yourself to determine the exact type of folding hand saw that’s best for your hunting pack.
Can You Use a Wood Saw for Bone?
The short answer here is: yes, you can.
The longer answer is: even though you can, you really shouldn’t.
There is no reason to make the process tougher on yourself and there is no reason to take a chance on ruining or damaging the precious meat you’ve just taken.
Wood saws are designed to cut the various flexible and fibrous grains of wood that exist, and the teeth of their blades tend to make a mess of the more dense and brittle bone while completing the task.
This will lead to bone shards getting into your meat, and if you intend on using the saw in the meat processing you can forget it, it will tear the meat to shreds.
If you grew up in the country, like myself, then you probably have at least some tendency to look for multiple uses for a single tool. While this is a great attitude to have, on this particular occasion it’s best for you to invest in a proper folding hand-saw that is designed to cut through bone.
The bonus here is that while your standard wood saws will not cut it for the rigors of hunting, most of your standard folding bone saws will make the grade if you’re required to use them on limbs and small trees while in the field.
What is the Best Saw to Cut Through Bone?
There are various types of bone saws, but there are two main principles for cutting bone that you should keep in mind:
Saws with larger teeth and greater separation between tend to tackle larger bones with more ease and speed
Finer, more tightly-grouped teeth, tend to make more precise and clean cuts
In all likelihood you may end up needing a couple of different saws, especially if you’re taking the animal from field to freezer without it leaving your possession.
For the purpose of getting started however, let’s focus on the needs more pertinent to you while you’re in the field and actually hunting the animal. This means field dressing, and most specifically a saw that can cut the pelvis and breast plate of a deer or elk.
For my personal use, I’ve found that a hearty fine-tooth with a tighter pattern works best. I enjoy the precision and compact nature of fine-tooth bone saws, and they make dressing a deer a tidier process.
What is the Best Hand Saw for Hunting?
Now that we’ve established why it’s important to get a folding hand saw designed for cutting bone, and which types of blade teeth are appropriate for what task; it’s time to assess other aspects of folding hand saws that make them best for hunting.
Obviously, if we’re carrying an implement into the field, the more compact the better. We don’t want to be dealing with a cumbersome tool that is really only used a small percentage of your time in the field.
We also don’t want to sacrifice performance, and you will want a saw that is up to the task of splitting the pelvis on a larger buck or elk.
Luckily, there has been a focus on improving the technology and ergonomics of folding hand saws, and hand saws in general.
Aside from making quality saws smaller and more packable, the blade and performance quality has gone through the roof in the last couple of decades, or at least the consumer market access to these professional grade saws has increased significantly.
Below we are going to explore 5 different folding hand saws that I have found are the highest performing, while remaining compact, and each one will be a dependable companion when you need it.
So, let’s cut to the chase and take a look at The Best Folding Hand Saws for Hunting!
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The 5 best folding hand saws for hunting: A 2022 Buyer’s Guide
Outdoor Edge 4.5” Flip-N-Zip Folding Saw
Outdoor Edge has really been gaining stature over the last couple decades and using any number of their products will show you why.
Since its founding in the late 1980s, Outdoor Edge has been focused on hunting blades and processing tools.
One of the things I enjoy most about this saw is how user-friendly and beginner-friendly it is.
If you have even a mild amount of pocket knife experience, the OUTDOOR EDGE FLIP N’ ZIP will make perfect sense to you. Even without previous blade experience, this folding hand saw has pretty simple mechanisms and can be used by even the most inexperienced hunter.
With that said, if you’ve been combing the woods and mountains in pursuit of deer or elk for the last three decades, this saw will not disappoint you either.
The 4.4” blade and 9.4” overall length make it great for sliding into a pack pocket or even into a cargo pocket on your hunting pants, at less than 2.5 ounces you’ll probably not even know it’s there.
The spring-steel blade sports a triple ground tooth pattern which is effective on both large and small bones.
The aircraft-grade aluminum construction is anodized orange, which only adds to your overall safety and visibility. If you’ve ever processed game in the forest, you’ve probably lost a couple items over the years- it can be so easy to overlook something when you’re cleaning and packing up, and the OUTDOOR EDGE FLIP N’ ZIP aims to help us prevent that.
Perhaps my favorite feature of this folding hand saw is that the anodized aluminum sports a rubberized finish; so that when you’re in the middle of dealing with a bloody tool, it’s not slippery and therefore more dangerous.
This saw is among the most compact on this list, and it’s highly affordable for such a quality product. I recommend this hand saw to hunters of any experience level.
FEATURES & SPECS:
Blade Length: 4.4”
Overall Length: 9.4”
Weight: 2.46 oz
Blade Material: 65Mn Spring Steel
Triple Ground Tooth Pattern
6061-T6 Aircraft Aluminum handle anodized orange for high-visibility
Thin rubberized finish for better gripping
Lifetime service agreement (Outdoor Edge will address concerns for life of the saw)
Comes with a nylon sheath sporting a mossy oak pattern (great for belt wearing)
There is no other company on this list for which you could heap more praise onto than Silky. Their saws are just a cut above the rest, both literally and figuratively.
For years now I’ve carried a Silky of various models into the wilderness with me and they never let you down.
Even if you’ve let your blade go a little longer without a sharpening, they perform as well or better than any other saw on the market.
Since they cut through wood like butter, it only stands to reason that the tight, 7-teeth per inch blade will expertly handle a deer pelvis.
This particular SILKY POCKETBOY sports the curved blade that larger Silky saws usually have, and is a newer addition to the POCKETBOY repertoire. This leads to faster processing and more ergonomic angle changing as you process.
The teeth on Silky saws undergo a heat treatment which hardens them up to 3 times as much as standard saw blades on the market. That kind of effort delivers you unmatched performance.
The SILKY POCKETBOY sports a 5-inch blade made of chrome-coated steel for resin resistance, and weighs just under 6oz.
The POCKETBOY comes with a clear hard plastic case equipped with a belt clip.
This is one of the very best saws you can get, for hunting or otherwise, and I highly recommend this folding hand saw if you’re an avid outdoorsman.
FEATURES & SPECS:
Impulse Hardening Heat Treatment: keeps teeth sharp up to 3X longer than non-treated blades
Hard Chrome Plating designed to reduce rust and resist resin
5-1/8th inch blade (130mm)
7-teeth per inch
5.9oz in weight (outside of case) approximately ½ lb in case.
Curved blade makes cutting smoother and leads to a 15-20% reduction in processing time
Mirai-Me Technology is designed to allow for 4 main cutting angles - rip cut, cross cut, slant cut, and of course straight cut
Limited lifetime warranty offered on any defects or workmanship quality issues
The 396-LAP LAPLANDER FOLDING SAW by BAHCO has become one of my favorite folding hand saws.
It isn’t often that you can combine aesthetic appeal and top-quality performance and this is a folding hand saw that does just that.
The leather lanyard strap is a nice touch for boosting aesthetics and utility, making it an attractive tool for securing the saw to your hand and wrist.
The LAPLANDER FOLDING SAW is designed to do more than process your deer, and as the name suggests, it’s designed to hold up in harsh elements.
The hearty blade is specially coated to resist rust and create a low-friction performance.
The two component hard plastic handle is equipped with a locking mechanism for added safety both in use and folded.
The handle is also dark green while the blade is black, so if you get this saw you’ll need to keep track of it- it’s not nearly as high visibility as the first two saws we’ve looked at, and while I prefer this for aesthetic purposes, it can lead to lost items or lost time tracking them down.
The XT toothing sports a 7-teeth per inch design, also like our previous saw, but a bit longer blade at 7.5-inches. This makes it the largest saw we’ve examined thus far, which has its advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage is that it will never be under-equipped for a task in terms of processing, and it will be capable of handling other possible woodland tasks.
The disadvantage is that if you are dressing a smaller deer, the LAPLANDER FOLDING SAW may be a bit much and require some careful usage to process without grazing or gouging unintended areas.
The higher in latitude you dwell, the more I recommend this saw. Bahco designed this saw for the Lapland of Scandinavia, so it’s ideal for the northern reaches of North America.
FEATURES & SPECS:
Fast cutting XT hardpoint toothing
7.5” blade with 7-teeth per inch
Specialty coating for rust resistance and smooth operation
2-component handle offers ease of grip
Handle is equipped with blade locking mechanism that works when blade is open and closed
Leather safety strap/lanyard
Spare blades available separately
Designed to cut green and dry wood, plastic, and bone
WICKED has fallen right in line with our last two saws with the WTG-007, an example of what I said earlier about the industry blossoming.
Sporting a 7” blade with a high concentration of teeth, the WTG-007 Wicked Bone Saw has a typical bone saw construction, which is why it made the list.
Our last couple entries have been great saws that perform well on bone, this saw is designed for bone and just so happens to perform well on wood and other materials.
WICKED does not offer a sheath with this saw so, at 8.5” when folded and just over half a pound, storage and packing will need to be accounted for.
Despite not coming with some of the accoutrement of our previous folding hand saws, WICKED offers a top-quality saw at about half the price.
The bright yellow rubber handle is designed to prevent slippage, and of course helps with visibility in the woods. The rubber handle covers a cast aluminium overall construction which provides excellent durability.
My favorite aspect of the WICKED WTG-007 is that the high-carbon steel blade and teeth undergo the same impulse hardening heat treatment as our previous entries, which is perhaps the most important feature to look for in terms of blade performance.
All in all, the WTG-007 will not disappoint you and if you’re new to hunting or just a casual outdoorsman, I recommend this saw over our last couple of picks.
FEATURES & SPECS:
Cast Aluminum construction allows for hearty performance
7-inch high carbon steel blade
8.25 inches when closed
Fail-Safe blade locking design- constructed of hardened steel
No plastic components
0.6lbs in weight
Yellow rubberized grip
Blade teeth are impulse hardened for extra strength and sharpness retention
Limited Lifetime Warranty
The HAVALON BARACUTA BONE SAW may be the folding hand saw on this list most specifically designed with processing animal bone in mind.
Havalon as a brand is another success story of the modern era, producing quality cutting implements for fishermen and hunters alike.
As you may have guessed from the name, the HAVALON BARACUTA was designed to go out to sea and process big fish. However, it makes the grade for our list today because Havalon proudly reports that the BARACUTA was designed to tackle big game as well.
As an avid fisherman and hunter myself, this type of multi-functional bone saw is a no-brainer, and the versatility makes the increased cost a non-factor. There is a reason this saw is the priciest on the list.
The blade is 4-3/8th inches and is surgical steel of honed Japanese construction.
Perhaps the coolest feature of this saw is the multi-blade platform that Havalon has become famous for. The handles are designed to support multiple blade types allowing you to carry a saw and knife all in one easily changeable device.
At nearly 11” in overall length when opened, but approximately 0.05lbs, you will truly feel like you have a scalpel in your hand when using the HAVALON BARACUTA.
Havalon includes a nylon sheath for easy transportation of your saw and blades, and the handle is a polymer construction colored in “shock green” for high durability and increased visibility.
I recommend this folding hand saw for experienced and avid outdoorsmen, especially those who both fish and hunt.
FEATURES & SPECS:
4-3/8th inch surgical steel blade of honed Japanese construction
10-3/8th inches in overall length
Polymer handle coated in shock green for increased visibility
Interchangeable blade system is highly versatile
Weighs only 0.05lbs!
3 blades included with this folding saw
Designed to process all manner of game from moderate sized fish to bull elk
Nylon holster included for ease of transport
“A fascinating mystery of nature is manifested in the universal fact of hunting: the inexorable hierarchy among living beings. Every animal is in a relationship of superiority or inferiority with regard to every other. Strict equality is exceedingly improbable and anomalous.”
— José Ortega y Gasset, Meditations on Hunting
I certainly hope you get to put one of these fine saws to work this season, and hopefully more than once. If your getting good use out of one of these bad boys, then that means you’re steadily filling the freezer!
Cutting tools are always some of the most fun to review because I’ve used so many. I own every saw on this list except for one, and for that one, I have the older model. So hopefully that will help instill some confidence as you decide on your Best Folding Hand Saw for Hunting.
Have a great season and full freezers, friends!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ryan Smith is an avid angler and outdoorsman based in central Kentucky.
Ryan spends between 60 and 110 days fishing each year.
He is a carpenter by trade.
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