Lost $75 on a cheap pruning saw that couldn't cut green wood

Picked up a $12 folding saw at a hardware chain thinking I was saving money, but it bound up on the second branch and snapped the blade right off. Anyone else had luck with those budget brand saws or should I just stick to what I know?

3 comments

3 Comments

cora5181mo ago

Were you cutting branches that were under tension when it snapped? That usually kills cheap saws faster than anything else, even the mid-range ones struggle if you don't cut the weight off first. Just wondering if it was the saw's fault or if the angle and pressure did it in.

the_jennifer1mo ago

@cora518 honestly I think people get way too dramatic about this stuff... yeah tension can mess up a cheap saw but it's not like it's gonna explode in your hands or anything. Half the time it's just a dull chain or user error, not some deep engineering flaw. I've put cheap saws through way worse than a tension snap and they still ran fine for years. Feels like everyone acts surprised when a $40 saw doesn't perform like a $400 one, you know?

michaeltorres1mo ago

Ngl cora you're spot on about tension being the real killer. I blew up a $35 saw last summer because I got lazy and tried to cut a branch that was bent back, and the whole bar twisted before I even heard the snap. Honestly cheap saws can handle a lot of abuse, but once you add that sideways pressure from tension, it's basically over.