FAQs Frequently Asked Questions

One of the most frequent questions we get  … which is better?

It’s pretty easy. Neither … and both.

A curved blade will cut faster than a straight blade. The natural curve of the blade will bite into the wood at the toe end of the cut as you pull the blade towards you, slightly increasing cut speed.

A curved blade is also advantageous when you’re cutting above your head … the blade will stay in the cut more easily and again the curve will naturally assist cut speed. For these reasons …. all polesaw blades are curved!

Straight blades have been the traditional choice of Arborists and orchardists. They are a better choice for undercutting and are slightly easier to get into tight spaces.

Other than this …. It all comes down to personal choice. It’s like the age old argument of Ford versus Holden. You’ll never convince everybody which one they should use … but they all enjoy the benefits of working with a high performance tool.

Carrying on from last issues training tip, the other question we hear a lot is  .. Should I buy a sheath saw … or a folding saw?

The key question here is … what kind of usage is planned for it?

If you customer is a commercial user who will be using it continuously for long periods during the day and generally cutting bigger limbs … then a sheath saw is generally where I would point them.

If your customer is just looking to use it around the garden or using it sporadically throughout the day, then a smaller fold out saw is a good option.

As a general rule, the folding saws are shorter in length … although the BigBoy range with their 360mm blade is a notable exception.

There are also other exceptions. Hunters, hikers and DOC workers will always prefer the folding saws but depending on usage can choose anything between a 130mm Pocketboy blade through to the BigBoy.

And then … after all that ... you get the customer who will choose the saw with the brightest coloured handle!

Silky has an abundance of saws in their range and a plethora of teeth designs and sizes … so it can be a little confusing. This issues training session will be dedicated to teeth. Silky grade their saws by the number of teeth per 30mm.

Saws with large teeth 6—8/30mm are a more aggressive cut and are ideal for very fast cutting of green wood.

Finer tooth saws (10-13/30mm will be slightly slower to cut green wood, but cut dry or harder woods faster and more efficiently and leave a very smooth cut surface. Common uses in horticulture are mature citrus or olive trees. Finer tooth saws are also preferred for certain trees with fragile or loose bark.

Very fine teeth (14-32/30mm) are required to cut the very hard fibres of bamboo or dry and treated timbers (eg carpentry/ Woodworking)

The other thing that can be considered is that your older customers might find a finer tooth saw (while slower) may be easier to use than a more aggressive tooth.