pruning saw file

2x4

Well-known Member
Getting tired of barely getting thru limbs with a lot of effort & very little sawdust. But from the shape of the teeth I knew a special tool was needed but had no idea what would do the job. Searched online & found a special file that does the job but no one in hardware stores had ever heard of one. Called a pruning saw file & I finally found a Stihl dealer to order it from. Had to convince him Stihl even made one. Nobody must ever sharpen their saws. Tool (Stihl #0000-882-0907 $16.00) came in today & sharpen 2 saws & discovered why nobody sharpens them. Its a job that requires patience. You can only sharpen one edge at a time & only push the file, not pull it on a backstroke. Each tooth has 2 edges & since the teeth are set, each side must be filed twice. I could prolly have bought 2 new saws for what I paid for the file but then I'd have a bunch of saws sitting around, as I never throw anything away. Anyway, that's another nagging little chore out of the way.
 


Amazing the number of people that don't realize a file only cuts in one direction and you aren't ever supposed to drag it back over the item you are trying to cut.
 
Surprised you had trouble finding a pruning saw file. I've got several, but most were picked up at yard sales for a few cents in boxes of other file, with the owner not knowing what they were for. What's harder nowadays is finding pruning saws that are sharpenable, as many are impulse-hardened and are meant to be thrown away when dull. You can't easily sharpen them with a file as the working surface of the teeth is hardened to be at or beyond the hardness of a file, and the rest of the saw is much softer--too soft to hold an edge if you do manage to put one on it. As mentioned, all hand files are meant to only cut in one direction, and trying to cut on the pull stroke will result in shortened file life and a poor finish on your workpiece.
 
Every other little town around here has some old gent with garage full of Bellsaw equipment and a saw sharpening sign out front. None of them have enough business to keep the lights on, we live in a throw away society.
Last week I had an equipment salesman tell me that all the little rubber tracked mini excavators are considered throwaway machines. $40-80K machine and you junk it when it needs the first major repair? amazing. So what do you do with a $10 blade? Pitch it. I know, not me either but that's why you had to search for a file.
 
I have an assortment of grinding wheels for my Dremel, and I can sharpen almost anything with it, not perfect, but make them cut pretty well. I even have a diamond dust wheel that will sharpen carbide saw blades. Probably didn't pay over $10 for all of them. For chainsaw chains I have a HF grinder, that works great too.
 
I agree with most comments above. I've been a treeman for 35 years and we used to sharpen hand saws. We don't anymore. The old Fanno style saws had teeth with 2 sides as mentioned. Most teeth today are tri edge and hardened. Saws also need set to work at their peak after sharpening. Most have no idea how to do this either.
My advise is buy a Japanese style hand saw. Look at Silky brand, possibly the IBUKI, that's what I use in a tree. It's pricey at $100. but won't need replaced for many years. A homeowner possibly will never buy another in their lifetime. A replacement blade is $55.
These Japanese style handsaws cut like you won't imagine. The ZUBAT is a little smaller great for orchard pruning. But for all around homeowner use go with the IBUKI.
SHERRILL TREE is a catalogue company that has a huge selection, good luck and never look back, John
 
(quoted from post at 10:52:26 09/24/18) Every other little town around here has some old gent with garage full of Bellsaw equipment and a saw sharpening sign out front. None of them have enough business to keep the lights on, we live in a throw away society.

Ain't that the truth. We had 3 guys in our little town that did sharpening (Belsaw-Foley of course) plus the hardware and lumberyard also had that service, but they sent them out. Those days are gone it seems. I got a Foley saw sharpener at auction years ago and got a saw carrier for it at auction last year. Got to set that up and put the sharp on my handsaws! I know a really sharp table or radial arm saw carbon steel blade is completely different animal than carbide. Night and day!
 
When Grandpa taught me to trim grapes, one of the necessities was a good hand saw for cutting off large branches or plant trunks. I found a couple of folding saws from Felco, the same company we bought pruning shears from. They were easier to carry and super sharp.

Now, I carry survey tape and mark the needed cuts, follow up with the Gator and my Dewalt 18V sawsall. Don't have to drag the trunks through the snow to the end of the row or saw under the snow.

I have a drawer with probably 20 trimming saws, most duller than Gomer.
 

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