Ultralight Saw Option

[arwhntr]

Just got my handle from Jan. Nice design. This thing is a huge upgrade from the POS Outdoor Edge saw I use to carry.

 

[NickT406]

Just emailed him. This looks like a great compromise for weight. Had the Gerber with the sliding sheath because its so light but it's also a serious knuckle buster. Thanks for the info

 

[MtnMuley]

I've purchased 6 now from Jan and have nothing but good things to say.

 

[camelcluch]

In for a future saw.

 

[taskswap]

My solution isn't quite as light as Jan's (I wasn't aware of it when I made mine) but I came pretty close. This is a simple 3D-printed "handle" for the Silky Tsurugi 200. I wasn't happy with other solutions from a durability perspective - I know how hard I am on tools, and just felt all of the folding designs wouldn't be rugged enough for my needs.

The Tsurugi is a little heavier than the other blades because it's 200mm long, not 130-170. But it's also a full-tang design, so not only am I not worried about cracking/breaking a hinge pin area, it's also still usable if the handle completely broke - I could just wrap tape or a sock around the tang.

To save a few more grams, I designed this to use pins through holes to align the two halves, and I glued them together. This means the handle itself weighs just 30g. I have another design that keeps the full tang at which makes the handle 1.5" longer so you can use two hands, and also adds a hole for a cord/strap to hang it. That version weighed 126g and went together with a pair of M4 screws.

You can also alter the tang to more of a "rat tail" style (long and thin with no side lobes) if you wanted to save weight but keep the longer length. Cutting the back quarter off as shown below saved 12g, so I have no doubt you could squeeze more out of it.

If you wanted to match other design weights, you could also cut the blade itself down to 170mm (or any desired length) and cut off about half the tang - it's nice to have, but overkill for a lot of needs. But just with this basic setup - I came in at 97g or 3.4oz which I'm very happy with under the circumstances. I might make a "how low can you go and still be useful?" version just to see what the bare minimum is - I suspect somewhere around 60 grams it would start getting useless due to being too short and flimsy.

.

 

[mtwarden]

^ Nice

 

[JD Jones]

just when I thought I was done buying stuff I need, rokslide delivers another rabbit hole to go down.

glad to have stumbled into this thread

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

This is really cool!! Gonna give it a try with 170 blade at 10 TPI for cutting wood. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Felton]

My solution isn't quite as light as Jan's (I wasn't aware of it when I made mine) but I came pretty close. This is a simple 3D-printed "handle" for the Silky Tsurugi 200. I wasn't happy with other solutions from a durability perspective - I know how hard I am on tools, and just felt all of the folding designs wouldn't be rugged enough for my needs.

The Tsurugi is a little heavier than the other blades because it's 200mm long, not 130-170. But it's also a full-tang design, so not only am I not worried about cracking/breaking a hinge pin area, it's also still usable if the handle completely broke - I could just wrap tape or a sock around the tang.

To save a few more grams, I designed this to use pins through holes to align the two halves, and I glued them together. This means the handle itself weighs just 30g. I have another design that keeps the full tang at which makes the handle 1.5" longer so you can use two hands, and also adds a hole for a cord/strap to hang it. That version weighed 126g and went together with a pair of M4 screws.

You can also alter the tang to more of a "rat tail" style (long and thin with no side lobes) if you wanted to save weight but keep the longer length. Cutting the back quarter off as shown below saved 12g, so I have no doubt you could squeeze more out of it.

If you wanted to match other design weights, you could also cut the blade itself down to 170mm (or any desired length) and cut off about half the tang - it's nice to have, but overkill for a lot of needs. But just with this basic setup - I came in at 97g or 3.4oz which I'm very happy with under the circumstances. I might make a "how low can you go and still be useful?" version just to see what the bare minimum is - I suspect somewhere around 60 grams it would start getting useless due to being too short and flimsy.

View attachment 534330. View attachment 534331

Is there a file somewhere to reproduce this handle? I’d like to do the same thing.

 

[Thejet]

Anyone know if these are still a thing? The email in the first post the only way to order them? I did and no response.

 

[Rhino8541]

Anyone know if these are still a thing? The email in the first post the only way to order them? I did and no response.

I’m interested to hear if you get a response. I’ve been looking for a lightweight saw option and love my Silky saw.

 

[taskswap]

Order what? If you're still looking for that 3D file I made, I forgot to post it but it's free:

Silky Tsurugi Handle - Full Tang - 3D model by taskswap on Thangs

Simple handle for a Silky Tsurugi blade. In this model, the tang should be left full-length for maximum strength. Search for "Silky Tsurugi Handle Cut" for a ve

thangs.com

Silky Tsurugi Handle - Cut Tang - 3D model by taskswap on Thangs

Simple handle for a Silky Tsurugi blade. In this model, the end of the tang should be cut shorter with a Dremel or hacksaw to reduce its weight and length. - 3D

thangs.com

These are two variants of a simple, ultralight handle for a Silky Tsurugi blade, which is cheaply available on Amazon. One is designed for a full-tang blade so you just print it (or send it to Shapeways or Craftcloud) and drop the blade in. Two small bolts hold it together. I think I sized it for metric, maybe an M4? It should be easy to find an option. This handle has the most strength but is heavier and wasn't what I eventually went with.

The one I use is the "Cut" version. To use it you'd need to use a Dremel or hacksaw to remove a bit of the end of a Tsurugi blade. (I went with a 200mm, which you can get on Amazon). This design doesn't use bolts, either. Instead, pins from one half go through the other side and you can use any plastic cement or peen it with a soldering iron to make it permanent. These two changes make for a big weight savings. I protect the blade edge in my pack with a strip of electrical tape which holds up to 3-4 uses before losing its adhesion.

It might seem you can just use tape to make a handle and save all the fuss but when using a saw for more than one branch, a handle is REALLY nice to have. For the small weight increase, I've definitely been happy with it. I wouldn't use it to make a bushcraft cabin or anything, but for processing firewood for a few nights of spike-out chasing elk, it's just perfect. In a pinch the same saw will work on bone if you don't mind regularly clearing it as it clogs.

 

[Slalomnorth]

Anyone know if these are still a thing? The email in the first post the only way to order them? I did and no response.

Here’s his email. [email protected]

He usually is pretty responsive. He has since redesigned the handle a bit based on some
of my feedback


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TFrank]

I ordered two. Jan responded right away. He only has a few 170 and 130 on hand.

 

[svivian]

@shedfinder7

 

[SonnyDay]

I also ordered one about a week ago. Jan was super responsive and the tracking tells me it has reached our shores… just not my hands quite yet!

 

[SonnyDay]

Update: saw handle arrived today. I haven’t put it in the blade yet but it looks great.

 

[roosiebull]

you can buy just the blade; be warned Silky blades are spendy- but cut great and stay sharp a loooooong time

They are worth every penny, it’s insane how good silkys cut and hold up

 

[*zap*]

Own pocketboy & bigboy. Katanaboy 500 is being delivered tomorrow, purchased it on here..
That covers my saw needs.

 

[mtwarden]

They are worth every penny, it’s insane how good silkys cut and hold up

True that