Why I stick with a handsaw over a chainsaw for pruning live oaks

Everyone at the Austin chapter meeting last month was bragging about their battery-powered chainsaws, but I still use a standard 24-inch pruning saw for most cuts. It's slower sure, but I've made cleaner cuts on my client's 50-year-old live oak without tearing bark or compacting the tree's collar. Has anyone else gone back to manual for certain jobs and felt like it paid off?

2 comments

2 Comments

miam759d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy tried to convince me to switch over to a chainsaw for years... I finally gave in last spring and took a chunk out of a branch that ended up splitting right down the trunk. Heard that sound and just stood there watching the sap run like I'd wounded the thing. Went back to my old folding saw the next day and haven't looked back since. There's something about hand cutting that lets you feel the wood grain instead of just blasting through it.

emmaallen9d ago

I mean, I get where you're coming from but I don't quite see it that way. A chainsaw is a tool like anything else, it's all about how you use it. I've been running one for years and never had a tree split on me like that, sounds like maybe the chain was dull or you were cutting at a bad angle. There's a time and place for hand saws, sure, but if you're taking down anything bigger than your arm you're just making way more work for yourself. Idk, maybe it's just me but I'd rather spend 10 minutes with a chainsaw than an hour fighting with a folding saw.