15-inch Sven Saw

First introduced in the early 1960s, the 15-inch Sven Saw remains a benchmark for backcountry woodcraft through austere, functional design. Built around high-strength anodized aluminum tubing and a hardened Swedish steel blade, the tool forms a rigid triangle when tensioned with its threaded brass wing nut. When broken down, the blade folds securely inside the aluminum handle spine, eliminating the risk of exposed teeth tearing through pack liners or outerwear during transport.

In the field, this 15-inch model strikes a practical balance between cutting efficiency and pack weight, tipping scales at roughly 11 ounces. The triangular bow saw geometry delivers steady blade tension, enabling aggressive, two-handed strokes through seasoned deadfall. However, that same triangular geometry creates a clearance limitation: cuts are effectively capped at branch diameters of three to four inches before the descending strut bottoms out against the wood.

Against modern folding pull saws like the Silky Gomboy, the Sven Saw takes slightly longer to assemble, and dropping the loose wing nut in snow or deep pine needles is an ever-present risk. Yet for processing firewood on canoe portages or cold-weather backpacking trips, it offers superior blade protection in transit and structural rigidity that pull-cut pruning saws struggle to match, all at a price point that makes it hard to leave behind.