pole saw

[Adkpk]

I need a pole saw to climb with. I am a landscaper who does some dead wood in the canopies of some of my customers trees. (mostly for the thrill of the climb) It's mostly hard to reach stuff. No rigging and no chipper so I keep it small. My present saw is a little incumbersome. I am looking at the "Silky Longboy Pole Saw". What do you guys use and what are your experiences with this type of work?

 

[Pete M]

The long Silky pole saw is a beaut - you really can't go wrong with that. Tough as nails too when fully extended.

 

[RedlineIt]

If it's just "for the thrill of climbing", climb out there and get it with your handsaw.

No disrespect, you'll get a better idea of what you're cutting and make a more proper cut if you can see what you're cutting.

The thrill is just the added bonus you get from doing it right.


RedlineIt

 

[arbor pro]

The long Silky pole saw is a beaut - you really can't go wrong with that. Tough as nails too when fully extended.

+1

 

[treeseer]

sometimes you can't reach the right cut with a handsaw, no matter how gifted (and light) a climber you are. see below, was in june's arborist news.

 

[RedlineIt]

see below, was in june's arborist news.

Already read that.

To which I say, if it's that small and frond-like, a pole-saw will be an excercise in frustration, what you want is a pole-pruner.

If it is sturdy enough to sit still for the back-and forth of an accurate pole-saw cut, it's sturdy enough for me to go out and have a closer look.


RedlineIt

 

[Adkpk]

I usually tie my pole saw (wooden poles) to a line, leave it on the ground and pull it up if I need it. I didn't see this particular dead branch until I got in the tree and hadn't tied the pole to me. I couldn't reach it with the chain saw and it would break with my weight for sure. I would have jumped down on it but couldn't tell from the tree if it was over the wires leading to the house. (They were about 2' over the wires.) Now I have to go back cut the end off from the ground then climb the tree again to get the rest. The butt end is a little to big to saw with the pole saw. Thanks for the good review of the saw and great article treeseer.

 

[TreeBot]

Already read that.

To which I say, if it's that small and frond-like, a pole-saw will be an excercise in frustration, what you want is a pole-pruner.

If it is sturdy enough to sit still for the back-and forth of an accurate pole-saw cut, it's sturdy enough for me to go out and have a closer look.


RedlineIt

You don't want to climb on 1" silver maple, but one quick light pull with a new polesaw blade will leave a clean cut everytime on softer woods. The tips of harder stuff like pin oak is a real PITA to polesaw, a pruner works better for those.

 

[ClimbinArbor]

Jamesons are nice, because you can add as much length as you need.

stihls are nice because theyre motorized, but are limited on reach.

havent tried any of the silkys yet, but i hear great things.

 

[Scars2prove-it]

I use a 14 foot wooden pole saw. I think they are made of Basswood. They are lighter and have less slop than fiberglass pole saws. They also withstand the abuse of being dropped out of the tree.

 

[Bermie]

I use the Silky Hayuchi 21', the three sections give a nice range of sizes and its not too heavy, cuts really well!
One of my most valuable tools for pruning waaaay out tips is the Fiskars extendable pruner, it has an 11' reach, with two handle positions, one at the very end of the pole, and the pruning (snip) head is movable 180* making accurate cuts achievable. I've dropped it, banged it, used it as a fishing pole, getting branches out of the water (salt water, pruning mangroves), its still going strong!

 

[(WLL)]

octagon ash-wood poles

the 21 ft silky is not a good choice fer aloft. the best climbing pole imo are the eight side ash-wood poles. your pole is only as good as its blade, with that being said i will only use the hook tip blade as far as in the tree climbers pole its the best on the market.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

The long Silky pole saw is a beaut - you really can't go wrong with that. Tough as nails too when fully extended.

You ever have much of a problem with pine pitch gumming it shut?

Any pine trees to deal with?

That's the only thing that might concern me here. We don't have a lot, but some.

 

[046]

fully out fitted with jamison, standard and insulated poles with lopper head and hooked tip blade.

got 8 sections that will reach further than I can support.

 

[Bermie]

the 21 ft silky is not a good choice fer aloft. the best climbing pole imo are the eight side ash-wood poles. your pole is only as good as its blade, with that being said i will only use the hook tip blade as far as in the tree climbers pole its the best on the market.

Speak for yourself...
The Silky works just great for me, especially manouvering, all sections tucked away, then zip, zip out they come when I get where I'm going.
Hey different strokes for different folks, (and trees)opcorn:

 

[D Mc]

I use the Silky Hayuchi 21',

Bermie, you women of the trees constantly amaze me! I use the Hayuchi 21' when needed. I prefer the Silky Longboy, a fraction of the weight with better balance. Even with my testesterone-laden, massive biceps I find the Hayuchi's weight cummbersome.

Dave

 

[Adkpk]

Bermie, you women of the trees constantly amaze me!
Dave

"Zip, zip" she says. Take her out in the hood for protection. But I must say my girl has shocked me at times out in the hood, telling people to their faces to clean up their act or something while I cower in the background. Girls are important for our protection.

Back to business. I have a 24' eight sided wooden pole. Works great from the ground but becomes time consuming to drag around in the tree. (which makes for another thread) I want to take the pole saw up with me and zip off branches with the least amount of trouble.
I have on heard on here about the silky blades, how people have been sliced themselves up with the blades. It's a good sign they are sharp. I just got a new blade for my pole saw and I plan a little nap when it's time for use. It's a pretty slow cut.

I ordered the lowboy Friday. Sounds like the best for my use.

 

[S Mc]

I use the Silky Hayuchi 21', the three sections give a nice range of sizes and its not too heavy, cuts really well!
One of my most valuable tools for pruning waaaay out tips is the Fiskars extendable pruner, it has an 11' reach, with two handle positions, one at the very end of the pole, and the pruning (snip) head is movable 180* making accurate cuts achievable. I've dropped it, banged it, used it as a fishing pole, getting branches out of the water (salt water, pruning mangroves), its still going strong!

Bermie, you are one tough cookie!!! I really liked when we went to the Silkies (we use the Longboy and the Hayauchi as David said) from Jameson. To me the Jameson had a lot more bounce (which translated into lack of precision and extra effort) and are a WHOLE lot heavier!!! The oval configuration of the Silky handles take out a lot of the bounce.

How does your Fiskar extendable pruner compare to the ARS of like style? I can't believe I'm saying this, but there appears to be a product on the market that we don't own. (Hard to conceive, but there it is.) I really like the idea and your description of its versatility/manageability sound super.

Sylvia

 

[Bermie]

Bermie, you women of the trees constantly amaze me! I use the Hayuchi 21' when needed. I prefer the Silky Longboy, a fraction of the weight with better balance. Even with my testesterone-laden, massive biceps I find the Hayuchi's weight cummbersome.

Dave

Ha ha! Its not the size of the tool, its how you use it (sorry I couldn't resist I didn't know the Hayauchi was considered heavy!
Tell me more about the Longboy, I'm all for saving on weight being such a tiddler. More than one person has heard the mumbles from up in de tree in a particularly tight spot...

I'm not familiar with the ARS, but the Fiskars is pretty good, the 'string' (a flat nylon strap) is inside the lower pole, and lies flat against the upper one when extended, very tidy setup.
It is meant for fine work, its not a muscle tool, it will handle up to 1 1/2" at a pinch, depending on the type of wood. I do bang mine about a bit, and so far so good. The lever for changing the position of the cutting head does sometimes get pushed into the unlock position when using the head to push things around.

I have two of them, one is a 5' stick, the other is the 11' extendable. It came
with a saw attachment but the blade was useless compared to the Silky, besides I just want the pruner snips.
I'll take a picture if you'd like?

 

[S Mc]

I have two of them, one is a 5' stick, the other is the 11' extendable. It came
with a saw attachment but the blade was useless compared to the Silky, besides I just want the pruner snips.
I'll take a picture if you'd like?

That would be great. If not a problem.

The Silky banner on the homepage here has easy access info but basically the Longboy is 12' long (extended), 4.3 lbs. and has a folding blade w/scabbard that hangs tidily off your saddle. When compacted it is under 5'.

The Hayauchi 21' (extended) is 6 3/4 lbs. with a collapsed length of 7' 8". Plus the scabbard is not designed for hanging off your saddle There is a hook that you can purchase to enable it to be hung in the tree while working. Note: I personally think the hook adds a degree of weight that makes it uncomfortable for me to use; however, it is mandatory.

The Longboy does not have the reach and is not as strong as the Hayauchi but its lighter weight makes it a joy to use.

Sylvia and Dave