So....what would everyone like for Christmas ?
Santa came early for me a couple of weeks ago with some
new skate skiis and boots. With the early winter we've had
in these parts, it's been great.
As a result, while my list could be much greater, I've pared it down
significantly. What I would like, however, is a better folding firewood
saw. I've been using my wife's Lee Valley pruning saw for a number of years, but she wants it back. So, I was looking at Lee Valley's folding
dozuki saw. It's intended more for woodworking, but it looks like it would fit the bill.

My Christmas came a bit earl too, when I was able to get a pair of Solomon Techamphibians with my REI dividend.

Santa is getting me a new sleeping bag, because my trusty old synthetic, which I've used for fifteen years, is finally starting to show its age.

I'm looking at Big Agnes, down, and I'm now deciding between mummy and rectangular.

1. Healthy Family
2. Healthy Economy ( too much to ask for?)

Hmmm my xmas will be 1/2 late this year

1) Expedition Canoe Cart: Santa will deliver on time
2) 16 foot cedar/canvas/butyrate canoe with cherry trim is apparantly not going to be leaving Santa's workshop until June

Karior

Formerly Foxco, for what it's worth, my favorite folding camp saw after years of trying many different kinds is the 18" (not the 15") Sawvivor. Very light, easy to use, and capable of cutting fairly large pole wood. Google it for lowest price. I did not get a response from the company when I sent them a detailed description of my customized improvements to the saw, which make it more comfortable to use, more compact, and able to contain a spare blade. If you buy one, let me know and I will share my changes.

John,

I use the same saw. I like it over the others i saw at the time -- didn't seem as bulky. I don't have many beefs with it really. Any discomfort experienced when using it is generally by my own fault (e.g. the orientation of the blade tightening bolt can dig into your hand if not turned perpendicular to the handle, but this is an obvious thing).

I'd be interested in your improvements.

I'd like to see the plastic cover over the blade tightening bolt be replaced with something that works...when the plastic finally breaks or falls off...with no Allen key to tighten it...was not able to saw wood.



Mark Rubino
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler - Blog
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler

http://www.ABRweb.ca .. Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists - Caring for Algonquin's Backcountry

+1 on that. it's a real pain in the @$$ to tighten to a satisfying degree at times, especially with cold fingers. but once it's tight and you've got a reasonably sharp blade on it... it's like hot knife thru butter.

for my list, i'll have to put snowshoes on there. and a friend who's "crazy enough" (as they would say) to come with me.

An Evgeni Malkin jersey. Man, Gino's one phenomenal player...I think I enjoy watching him stickhandle as much or more so than The Kid. I don't think I'm getting any camping/fishing gear this year cause I usually get that for myself anyways and it spoils the suprise when I wrap my own gifts!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Hey Bryce,

I know what you mean!
Hollow aluminum poles/bars/etc have to be the coldest thing on earth to handle on cold days!
Ouch!



Mark Rubino
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler - Blog
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler

http://www.ABRweb.ca .. Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists - Caring for Algonquin's Backcountry

I want shared custody of my kids, but my ex doesn't see it that way...she want's to keep the soul custody my children, which includes my child support checks and children's allowance checks.

I thought Christmas was about sharing?? I guess she is Scruge!!

Bryce, I have the 18" Sawvivor in front of me and will try to explain the changes I made. They would apply to the 15" size as well. I quickly got annoyed at the way the red tensioning wing nut chewed up my hand, so I simply removed the black cushion grip and slid it onto the other handle. I also thought that when folded, the handle with the red nut stuck up too high, so I took off the thick washer that came on the saw and replaced it with a small, thin stainless steel flat washer. To keep both handles from unfolding in my pack, I added two sturdy 1/2" wide rubber bands made from a bicycle innertube. They stay on the saw always and do not interfere with sawing.

Perhaps the best change I made enables me to carry a spare blade right alongside the other blade without having to remove the spare when assembling the saw. I knew for certain I would sooner or later lose the spare blade if I had to remove it and laid it down somewhere while the saw was set up to use. With the blade still housed in the spine of the saw, unfold one handle until it hits one protruding end of the blade. That is where I made a 5/8" long slot in both handles by drilling two holes about 3/32" in diameter. To remove the material between the holes without resorting to a milling machine, I took one of those carbide chip covered wires intended for use in a hacksaw frame, broke a few inches off one end, gripped the piece in a pair of Vise-grip pliers, inserted the wire in one of the holes and sawed down to the other hole.

Finally, after tearing a waterproof bag inside my pack on some edge of the saw, I now slide a lightweight leather sock I made (could be made of cloth) over half the length of the saw.

One footnote. The two spring clips (one at each end) that keep the blade(s) snug inside the spine of the collapsed saw, can be accidentally pulled out and lost. Just be mindful as you remove a blade.

Sorry to hear, dano... take the high road and be there for your kids, though I'm certain these thoughts were in your mind from the start.

John: I'll have to crack out my saw and follow through visually. Sounds interesting. I definitely agree with the handle grip being swapped to the other handle. Makes you wonder why the manufacturer didn't build them that way! I'm not clear on how you're storing the spare blade yet, but like I said I will look at my saw and try to figure it out. Thanks for sharing! By the way, have you noticed any rust set in? I don't mean to leave my saw out in the rain or anything, so I'd assume it's just the moisture/humidity that sets into it.

Bryce, the spare blade slides in alongside the one that comes with the saw, but as the saw comes from the manufacturer, you cannot leave any blades in the storage tube when you unfold the handles because the handles will hit the ends of the blades before getting fully deployed. Obviously that is not a problem if you have only one blade because the tube will be empty when you have the saw set to cut.

When the handles are rotated in preparation for attaching a blade, imagine a spare blade still in the tube, or spine, of the saw. The ends of that blade will prevent full rotation. Imagine the handles are made out of soft clay. The blade ends would each punch into and through one side of each handle. All I did was make that slot in each handle so the spare blade could stay in the spine of the saw while the other blade was being used to cut.

As for rust, I think only the blades can rust. Apply a little cooking oil to the blades. I used to carry a little can of 3-in-1 oil but now use cooking oil if I need to lubricate anything, even my fishing reel.

I've been using the Trail Blazer saw, for many years now, and it has worked great so far,no complaints, i'd buy another one in a minute if I lost it. Not sure how it compares to the 'sawvivor' though, have any of you used both of them??
As far as Malkin goes, I was a fan of his until last years playoffs. Where was he when they needed him to be a superstar?? I believe they would have won if he had played the way he can. Can't help but think he'll fold everytime the pressure is on-sorry Pa!!
Skeeter

No apology necessary...you couldn't have been as disappointed as I was but did read afterwards that he had the flu during the finals. Two things come to mind that could have affected him - the first being the flu bug and the second was that he spent between 8 and 12 weeks single-handedly leading the penguins when crosby was out with his ankle injury in the couple months before the playoffs started. For the young players that aren't used to an 82 game schedule then adding another 15 to 20 playoff games on top of that it becomes quite a physical demand that even the best conditioning practices cannot prepare for. I just think that he over-extended himself physically during that stretch then didn't have enough in the tank for the push through the playoffs and into the finals.

Hopefully it's a lesson learned and they'll all save a little extra (hear me knocking on wood that they'll even make the playoffs to begin with!?!?!?) for a cup win!

Dano - likewise my sympathies. Stick to your guns and good luck with the shared custody. I heard from someone who has gone through this scenario that having lots of photos of you with the kids or photos you took with the kids from birth - current showing you've been an active participant in their lives will help your case.

Regarding saws - have been using the Sven Saw for decades, same blade.

http://www.svensaw.com/

Likely ordered it from LL Bean or REI in the mid 1980's (can't remember where). Must have cut close to 3 cords of campsite firewood with the thing over its lifespan (and counting). Great unit and I can highly recommend it.

While camping within Gros Morne this summer I purchased the Take DOwn Buck Saw and it performed very well:

http://www.cspoutdoors.com/trailblaztak.html

Cuts larger diameter wood then the Svensaw but has more 'smaller' parts (higher risk of loosing them).