Shoutout to my old hand saw over chainsaws for pruning live oaks

I keep seeing guys grab a chainsaw for every branch over 2 inches in Austin, but I still reach for my trusty 21 inch rapid cut hand saw. It leaves a way cleaner wound on live oaks since there's no oil spray or chain tear, and the tree heals faster. Last month I pruned a 40 foot red oak with just that saw and a pole saw attachment, no noise or gas smell. Anyone else think we rely too much on power tools for cuts that don't need them?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciareed15d ago

My buddy in San Antonio tried to chainsaw a live oak branch last spring and ended up with bark ripping halfway down the trunk. Took him two seasons to get that tree looking right again. Meanwhile my old hand saw method never left a wound bigger than a quarter and the tree was fine by fall. People forget that gas saws push oil into the cut which messes with the tree's natural healing. Total nightmare watching him fight that cleanup.

hannahk1915d ago

Jumping off what patriciareed said about the oil spray... that's the real killer for live oaks. I've seen it firsthand where the chain oil literally stains the bark and then the tree just sits there trying to seal over that mess. Meanwhile a fresh hand saw cut will callus over in a single growing season if you hit the branch collar right. And the bark tear thing? That's exactly what happens when people try to chainsaw a branch that's under tension, the saw kicks and rips a strip all the way down past the branch bark ridge. I've had to clean up after guys like that where the wound is basically a six inch gash and you know that tree is gonna have rot for the next decade.

margaret_williams515d ago

I gotta disagree with you @hannahk19, a good chainsaw cut is faster and cleaner than a hand saw any day.