Hello, I am using a new ICHIBAN GC-240-LH 9-1/2" (240mm) Curved saw and I like it. I would like to have a smaller and finer tooth saw for smaller branches on fruit trees. Any thoughts or experience?
Thanks!!
Probably not much help, but I use loppers on small limbs or Felco #8 pruners. I have too many to do to saw. When I saw, I either use a chainsaw or Milwaukee hatchet.
Silky used to make a saw with two sets of teeth, with fine teeth in the last few inches of the blade for making very small cuts, I tried it and decided it was a poor design and that all I need is course teeth so I continued to use their Gomtaro 300 course cut saw. Wait, maybe they still offer it, Amazon.com
At any rate, for the last few decades I have pruned fruit trees full time for about 7 months of the year and recommend a straight blade and not a curved one except for pole saws, where the shape helps apply pressure to the point of the cut. When cutting from above it does the opposite, IMO. However, skilled craftsmen often have divergent opinions.
If your current pruning saw gets dull, I recommend you try the Silky Gomtaro 300. For someone who only spends about a week a year pruning the blade could last a lifetime due to a new hardening process they use.
For fine cuts, forget about using a saw, although there are many fine tooth saws available, Loppers (Bahco Orchard Lopper,Super Light 36 inch P160-SL-90 from the Pruner Warehouse), and pruning shears (hopefully this isnāt counterfeit, it is the cheapest available- Amazon.com are what I use.
I have tried many different tools to perform my tasks as efficiently as possible, but someone else with equal experience might come up with a different system. However, if you havenāt tried using a wide range of manufacturerās products, you are only guessing or relying on the testimony of people like me. .
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I appreciate your responses and sharing of your experience. I do have decent small pruner and a new Frisker extendable handle lopper for trimming. I had watched Paul Gautschi do some pruning with his saw and thought this tool could help my efficiency. I like it for larger branches. I think that I would prefer a straight blade for smaller branches - alan mentioned he uses a straight blade. My gripe with the loppers and pruners is when they leave a little tag instead of a clean flat cut. My gripe with the blade is that the teeth are large for small branches so it shreds rather than leaves a smooth clean cut. I highly suspect my technique is in need of workā¦Iāll keep trying to improve. I do carry a dry stone (like I do when I use the scythe in the field) to sharpen the pruner and lopper blade edge. This helps it seems. It is not perfect though trying to sharpen w/o taking the pruner/lopper apart. What do you know about this? I appreciate the advice! 
I was actually looking at Silkyās the past week since they were featured in another video someone posted at around 5seconds here:
Think in the comments Stephen says in comments āWe use the Silky Fox Gomtaro 300mm Apple saw for most pruning work, you can see it in some of the other pruning videos.ā. Maybe this model by the look of it:
https://www.amazon.com/Silky-GomBoy-Professional-Folding-Medium/dp/B0014C6OVW/
Although Iād be curious if people think their curved blades vs straight blades models are better.
I was looking at other ones they offer as well like, PockeyBoy170m, Gomboy210mm, BigBoy360mm. One thing I saw in comments is they cut only on the pull stroke. Wonder why they make them like that, as I assume its more efficient to cut on both pull/push strokes?
You said in another version you didnāt like it had 2 sets of teeth (so cuts on both pull and push stroke i assume?)ā¦ So you recommend the Gomtaro instead but that also has 2 sets of teeth (but i guess because they are course teeth (vs fine teeth) you like it better, right?
It cuts much more aggressively than saws that cut equally on forward and backwards motion. The original turbo or tri-cut saw design revolutionized pruning saws, probably because a two way approach would require a different blade design and we have more strength on our pull than push, I think. Old styles saws cut both directions. I suspect even carpenter saws sold today now mostly used such a blade design.
Bow saws and hack saws benefit from very thin blades as the blade itself is supported with the frame. When you push a turbo saw, Iām thinking you are removing the sawdust so it doesnāt interfere with cutting- that isnāt a problem with old-fashioned blades.
No, the saw I was talking about has the same tri-cut design but finer teeth at the tip.
I want aggressive cutting along the entire length of the blade because it allows me to get through wood more quickly- the wood where a saw is needed. I also need a holster because we work fast and thereās no time to open up a saw every time we make cuts. We look like gunslingers with a saw on one side and hand pruners on the other. Sometimes we also very sharp and sturdy camping knives in a sheath on one side or the other if we are pruning plums infected with black knot, and around here most plum trees become infected. .
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Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. Iāll look for one with large aggressive teeth as well.
I donāt mind a folding design though. As additionally to cutting large fruit tree branches, I also keep it discreetly folded in my hiking backpack to help cut some random branches that growing into the park trails (or to kill invasive āclimbing vinesā going up trees).
Would you recommend a curved or straight blade design for pruning?, I see Silky offer both:
Paul only uses his saw and a set of pruners and says that loppers are not good for fruit treesā¦ im sure this is subjective but its how i want to do it myself as i want small fruit trees as he does. This is my plan going forward but again i only want small fruit trees for personal consumption.
That would come as a great surprise to every commercial grower Iāve known. And exactly how is it not good? Certainly the cuts are clean enough to heal perfectly well, especially with a sharp bypass model. A blade and anvil design may cause some crushing of wood and I only recommend them for breaking down brush. although even crush wounds should really threaten the health of a vigorous tree.
Seriously, what is his explanation, please?.
As Iāve stated several times on this forum, I prune orchards constantly for nearly 7 months of the year, and the majority of orchards I work on Iāve been managing for 20-30 years in the humidity of the northeast observing them repeatedly during the growing season and at least once during dormancy (then I come home and observe my own fruit trees that take up most of my 3 acres. Lopper wounds close just as quickly as saw wounds, but you have to be mindful of the angle you are cutting to avoid occasionally tearing some bark, but even those wounds almost invariably heal just fine.
It would especially take me considerably longer to prune peach trees without frequent lopper use and I charge a professional wage. It would be unconscionable not to do the work as efficiently as possible.
We get the job done much quicker than arborists without the same familiarity with hand tools and fruit trees, which allows me to charge more. .
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Loppers is just a big nippers. If Paul has an issue maybe itās with an anvil pruner.
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I recommend the Corona Razortooth over the Silky. I got tired of snapping the blades on the expensive silkys and tried the 10 inch curved folding Corona. Its cheaper, cuts faster, and the blade bends instead of breaking. I let my friend birrow it when we were out trimming shooting lanes and he said if he had one of those when he was younger he wouldnt have bought a chainsaw.
Corona RS 7041 Razor Tooth Folding Saw, 7-Inch Blade , Red Amazon.com
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I have not broken or bent a saw blade for years. One advantage of a longer blade (300 mm) is it is unlikely to happen. Iāve never broken a Silky blade and I feel certain it is more aggressive than anything Corona makes because Silky uses harder steel, which might lead to breaking a blade if you pulled too far and then pushed the blunt tip into the branch. Harder steel will break before it bends. Iāve chipped the points of an ARS pruner by dropping it on ice as has my co-worker. That probably would never happen with a Felco (Iām sure that in the years I used Felco I dropped a pruner on ice many times back in the days we had real winter). No one uses harder steel than the Japanese. A silky likely holds its edge for more than twice as long as softer steel blades, which is a good thing, because the blades are very expensive. Iāve been pruning almost constantly since Mid-Dec (stopped by flu for two weeks) and have only replaced my blade once. For many back yard growers, that is a life time of pruning.
Incidentally, the Gomtaro 300MM is the only model I use so I canāt speak for smaller folding ones. I also have to admit that I havenāt used a corona for years-not many pros do, but itās probably not fair to dis a tool I havenāt used. However, if hey were as good or better than the pro-type brands they would likely be picked up by pros to save them money, especially the ones working in crews for big companies. .
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I have only used the smaller folding silkys and they have snapped in the middle or at the tip. My usage has been motly trimming shooting lanes for deer hunting and some orchard work. I have no doubt a silky would stay sharper longer if you can keep from snapping it. I was a silky fan but the price of the corona lured me in. I was very surprised how fast it cut. If you havent tried a corona you might be surprised too.
As i noted i am not a commercial grower. I am just a hobby grower that has way too many fruit trees. I do like some of Stephanās pruning styles that he learned from the Frenchā¦and as far as I can tell Paul gets some of his style from the Japanese. I am not sure that there is one way to pruneā¦if so there is no need to discuss or share anymore. But that is not the intention of the topicā¦nor is talking about loppersā¦ I showed the video because i do like his pruning sawā¦and it does make sense to me to get one similar.
To be honest if i didnt watch his videos or Stephanās i probably would use a lopper. And at some point I may anyways.
I have seen folks on the social medias groups that prune with cordless loppers. Just not my style i dont think.
I didnt know myselfā¦ so i googled it.
āPaul does not recommend using pruning loppers because you cannot get close enough to the line and they crush the wood instead of cut.ā
This is in reference to cutting the collars which is noted in the reference noted below and the video posted.
So without talking to him directly im inferring that he uses pruners to cut everything that is small and the saw to cut everything else.
Im sure that cutting the collar or not cutting the collar would demand discussion alsoā¦ if thats the case then i apologizeā¦ i just like the saw he uses and let that be that.
For a part time dabbler like myself the Corona is a reasonable choice, although I donāt particularly like the handle. It does cut well, at least as far as Iāve pushed it, and if I ever need to sharpen it I imagine Iāll be able to.
But if youāre going to grab and use something day in and day out you really want the edge the right edge would give you. Iāve never regretted buying good tools.
The Silkyās are expensive. I did actually end up getting a newer smaller one off FB Marketplace for 50% off last week (210mm Gomboy), but was still looking for a larger one. Anyway, try FB Marketplace if you ever want something at least 50% off and can go pickup/inspect the item.
Do you find it more cost effective to replace them rather than sharpen them, or are they just hard to sharpen? I touch up my Felcos once or twice year, and I only do a very small amount of pruning.
I used to use ARS saws and my wrists would get very sore after a couple months of all day pruning, although the ARS VS 8 hand pruner stopped me from getting a similar injury Felco pruners give me from day after day, all day long use. When I switched from the ARS to the Silky saw my problem was solved. For my body and technique, the Gom. 300 has the right angle and grip to it, Iām just lucky it is also so sharp, but that may also be a contributor to the lack of, what is it, RUI? Repetitive use injury?
Occasional use and almost constant use are two completely different contexts for choosing tools. That is why the pro-shops where pros go to fix their commercial mowers and chain-saws tend to carry higher end products.
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Iāve never used the Corona but I did see a detailed test of folding pruning saws and the Corona was very sharp and cut with less strokes compared to the Silky. Blade stiffness and thickness where similar. Based on that Corona may be a reasonable alternative to the Silky.
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Hmmmā¦ how would this be possible if the saws were the same length and same coarseness? Color me skeptical, and please, if you can find it post a link. There are a lot of variables possible here.
Now, out of the factory a saw with softer steel would be great for a while, perhaps. To me, the important question is how sharp is it after a couple weeks of steady use. Obviously, softer steel will become duller sooner.
For a pocket saw, this model looks pretty cool. Amazon.com
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