What bone saw to get?

FrenchieBoy

Well-Known Member
I am in the process of stocking my stalking bag with the necessary equipment I might need when out stalking. This doesn't mean that I will carry the complete bag with me every time I go stalking, just that when I do go stalking I can pick the bag up and know that I will at least have everything I need in the motor for when I do need it.
I am now at the stage of thinking about which bone saw to buy. I'm not after a full sized butchers bone saw, I'm only after one that is suitable for cutting through the breast bone when I am doing a gralloch. (I usually use one of my knives to do this on Roe but I would prefer to have the right tool for the job, especially for larger species of deer)
With so many different ones on the market which one would you suggest without breaking the bank please?
 
Hi Frenchieboy,

Very rarely use a bone saw other than in the larder however, I have 3,

1. Full sized butchers saw - really only used for larder work (£30/50)
2. Sagen saw (similar to casstrom) - small and portable reasonably strong, perfect for roe (£25)
3. David Stretton bone saw - converted knife, very strong, portable and suitable for all deer. It comes in about £20 + p&p and you can purchase a matching leather sheath with stainless steel liner all from Donington Deer

The David Stretton saw is my go to saw for the field and is OK for the larder.

PS don't use your knife to cut bone unless you want to be forever sharpening it.

Willie

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Hi Frenchieboy,

Very rarely use a bone saw other than in the larder however, I have 3,

1. Full sized butchers saw - really only used for larder work (£30/50)
2. Sagen saw (similar to casstrom) - small and portable reasonably strong, perfect for roe (£25)
3. David Stretton bone saw - converted knife, very strong, portable and suitable for all deer. It comes in about £20 + p&p and you can purchase a matching leather sheath with stainless steel liner all from Donington Deer

The David Stretton saw is my go to saw for the field and is OK for the larder.

PS don't use your knife to cut bone unless you want to be forever sharpening it.

Willie

+1 for item 3, David Stretton saw is simply the best field saw I have used. comparing it to Sagen, castrom, the BDS saw and some others bought at the game fairs. each tooth is bent slightly in the opposite direction from the one next to it meaning it cuts a channel wider than the blade which stops it getting stuck. because it doesn't have a chunk of plastic on the end of the blade or an odd shape like the castrom it can be laid along the pelvic bone and can cut the length of it rather than at right angles (if that makes sense), this means that the bone section you are cutting is wider than the pitch of the teeth and this stops the saw from sticking and jerking.
 
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I have one of these for sale unused if you are interested you can have it for £15.00 plus postage which shouldn't be too much.

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Martin
 
I use this
MP Direct by MP Tools | For Tools and Spray Equipment| Gerber Gator Exchange A Blade Saw

Does Job, blade is removable for cleaning & mine came with fine blade & coarse blade .

It also useable for easy cutting of branches etc for building hides etc if into pigeon shooting etc

Good value multi purpose tool

Paul

And cuts on the push and pull strokes, therefore filling the chest cavity with all sorts of crud from this and previous jobs . Thanks but no thanks Paul. And don't advertise that you used this in your DSC2 portfolio either because it will be an instant fail!
 
B&Q for cutting deer up, but a good knife will split any deer, but personally I never split the chest plate, as the dealers don,t like it.
 
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B&Q for cutting deer up, but a good knife will split any deer, but personally I never split the chest plate, as the dealers don,t like it.
Would love to see how you do a suspended gralloch without splitting the chest plate Taff? Never had a dealer complain either!
 
And cuts on the push and pull strokes, therefore filling the chest cavity with all sorts of crud from this and previous jobs . Thanks but no thanks Paul. And don't advertise that you used this in your DSC2 portfolio either because it will be an instant fail!


So are you saying I don't clean / sterilize it between each job / beast ?!
Thanks very much ! Helluva assumption

Paul
 
So are you saying I don't clean / sterilize it between each job / beast ?!
Thanks very much ! Helluva assumption

Paul
That's not the real issue, although you would naturally clean tools between carcasses.
The issue with a push stroke cutting saw is that you are likely to push hair and dirt into the carcass of the same animal!
MS
 
Are we talking about splitting " in the field "?

If so then ok fair enough ,
I shouldn't have assumed not.

I split the pelvic bone & chest cavity once at my larder & when dong the chest / breasts bone I've already skinned sufficient hair away from either side of the cut.
It leaves a nice clean edge & no hair etc back into the carcass .

Paul
 
Would love to see how you do a suspended gralloch without splitting the chest plate Taff? Never had a dealer complain either!
Never do a suspended gralloch, why would I carry all that crap home, our deer were and still are in the dealers straight from the field, if you have to split the chest plate a knife will do it, As to game dealers, mine preferred to have them unsplit obviously your does not mind.
 
Another vote for the sagen saw. I have two. The blaze orange short one and the yellow longer one. The shorter one is good for fallow but for big deer like sambar, moose, elk the longer one is the way to go.
 
Another vote for the sagen saw. I have two. The blaze orange short one and the yellow longer one. The shorter one is good for fallow but for big deer like sambar, moose, elk the longer one is the way to go.
I have one of each of these but don't rate them as they don't seem to last too long! The blade is carbon which is high maintenance as it rusts and stains very easily. The teeth are very fine like a hacksaw and clog quickly on a large beast. The plastic on the end soon cracks and breaks which has happened on both now. To be fair, they have been used on a lot of deer, but the plastic is too brittle and I'd prefer a stainless version.
MS
 
I always cut down the sternum with a knife First so not to push hair and crap in but in all honesty I don't think I have ever seen a deer carcass witch hasn't got a single piece of hair in the inside . just pick them of no biggie there's far worse dragged though by the bullet.never seen the point in splitting the back legs on a buck as it makes such a mess and seriously reduce the time you can hang it and there's always bits of dirt suck to the legs and the meat turns quickly .splitting the breast bone with a knife is a bit sloppy in my opinion also can be dangerous as there no control on the pressure you apply so it could slip out in to your leg and its a good way to bugger up your edge.
 
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