favorite silky?

[imagineero]

Hi All,
Have been looking at getting a Sugoi, for those who own/use Silky saws, what is your favorite model and why?

Shaun

 

[lync]

I prefer a straight blade this is my favorite
www.sherrilltree.com/Professional-Gear/Straight

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Sugoi for bigger work, and Zubat for finer work.

 

[tree md]

Shaun, I use the Sugoi and it is a fine saw no doubt. But truthfully I almost wish I would have gotten the Zubat. The Sugoi is a large saw and I have found that it can be a little cumbersome while climbing. I tried wearing it with the leg scabbard when I first got it bit I found that the handle stuck out like a sore thumb above my knee when I climbed. It was constantly getting caught on something. I clipped it to my saddle with a carabiner and problem solved. It's a great saw but I think a smaller saw would be a little more handy.

 

[Grace Tree]

Shaun, I use the Sugoi and it is a fine saw no doubt. But truthfully I almost wish I would have gotten the Zubat. The Sugoi is a large saw and I have found that it can be a little cumbersome while climbing. I tried wearing it with the leg scabbard when I first got it bit I found that the handle stuck out like a sore thumb above my knee when I climbed. It was constantly getting caught on something. I clipped it to my saddle with a carabiner and problem solved. It's a great saw but I think a smaller saw would be a little more handy.

+1 on all that. I have it clipped cross draw on the saddle. A little off subject but I absolutely love the Longboy pole saw for climbing. I've broken one blade in the last two years.
Phil

 

[flushcut]

Ibuki for me. I do however find it to be a little cumbersome but have gotten use to it in pruning. I really like it for wrecking you can't beat the speed in which it slices through the wood. When hiking up a pine or spruce of medium to smallish size I take that instead of a chainsaw and when up top pull up the saw to top.

 

[treeguyinoh]

The sugoi is a very aggressive saw. I prefer it when working in larger trees. I also have a smaller straight bladed one, Gomtaro maybe, I cant recall. For fruit tree restorations and highly visible residential prunes, it cant be beat.
To be honest, the only product that Silky makes I have ever not cared for is the pruner head for the hayauchi. I have used it maybe a dozen times and just cant get it to behave. The rest of their stuff is top notch.
Dennis

 

[The Lawn Shark]

Zubat for me.... not to bulky not to small. if it wont do it in a timely manner, its chainsaw material.

 

[james 13]

the silky gomtaro is great cuts fast and leaves a good cut but what ever you buy you can't go wrong with silky

 

[TimberMcPherson]

The Gomtaros must be a NZ thing, at least 90% of the arborists around here use them. I have a bunch of silkys of different models but always got back to the gomtaros generally. I get the Ibuki out occationally but not often.

 

[JNGWC&Tree]

I like the Sugoi very much in larger wood. It is quite aggressive and when pruning I will take a finer toothed 9 inch ARS dual strapped with the Sugoi and switch back and forth as needed. I find I save time using the Sugoi as I transition to the chainsaw way less.

Good to hear that folks like the Longboy, I have one on the way and am looking forward to using it.

 

[tree MDS]

The Gomtaros must be a NZ thing, at least 90% of the arborists around here use them. I have a bunch of silkys of different models but always got back to the gomtaros generally. I get the Ibuki out occationally but not often.

I just started using the gomtaro a couple months ago. I love that saw and have almost forgotten the sugoi. I found the sugoi was too big for the finer stuff that I want a handsaw for all too often. Gomtaro is much nicer to carry also. Cuts bigger stuff fine once I got used to it too.

 

[Tobe]

All (and specifically Tree guy in OH),

Record straightener -
The Sintung pruner accessory is not a Silky product rather an (unauthorized) accessory designed to fit the Silky Hayauchi. This product was brought in by the previous Silky importer but is on the "delete when out of stock block" by the new importer. IWord from the field is that the smaller version is a better performer than the larger one.

And an FYI for the coming year -
Silky has an awesome new weapon in the works for 2011 that's sure to take the hort-world by storm. To many saw-hounds it's going to be a "why didn't someone think of this before" kind of product that, having tested a prototype myself, will be to sawing what the desktop computer was to the room-sized mainframe. Stay tuned.

 

[Lawnmowerboy48]

Good for the glam but I can buy a new blade for my fanno for $14 or so.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

Had a sugoi, Too big and the scabbard too heavy. Used a gomtaro, too flimsy of a blade. On my 3rd zubat blade now. Perfect for me....

Mike

 

[Bermie]

Zubat for me.... not to bulky not to small. if it wont do it in a timely manner, its chainsaw material.

:agree2: Completely...

As for the chap who said Silky was Ok for the glam...dude, you've obviously never owned one.

As far as I recall, correct me if I'm wrong, the Gomtaro (straight) and the Zubat (curved) are essentially the same tooth wise...

 

[TimberMcPherson]

All (and specifically Tree guy in OH),

Record straightener -
The Sintung pruner accessory is not a Silky product rather an (unauthorized) accessory designed to fit the Silky Hayauchi. This product was brought in by the previous Silky importer but is on the "delete when out of stock block" by the new importer. IWord from the field is that the smaller version is a better performer than the larger one.

And an FYI for the coming year -
Silky has an awesome new weapon in the works for 2011 that's sure to take the hort-world by storm. To many saw-hounds it's going to be a "why didn't someone think of this before" kind of product that, having tested a prototype myself, will be to sawing what the desktop computer was to the room-sized mainframe. Stay tuned.

Hey this is a now generation, we dont want teasing, WE WANT THE TOYS! Hope its not just a silky with teeth on both sides of the blade! I wonder why silky hasnt developed its own pole pruner.

 

[tree md]

Yeah, no teasing... Is this thing gonna rub our backs at night and make us a sammich???

 

[bigchuck]

Of the Silkys I've tried....

I've tried quite a few handsaws (Silky, Jameson, ARS, Fanno, Fiskers and Felco. Maybe some others.) I will never bother with anything besides Silky again.

I was issued a Zubat at work, and it was my first Silky. I'd still recommend it as a best "all around" type hand saw. I'm a pest tech, and when there wasn't pest work to do, I got sent out on a lot of ornamental prunes that most of the climbers didn't want to do. I never felt that the cuts I made with the Zubat were too rough. Occasionally, the depth of the blade made it hard to get into the tight crotches of a small crab apple or something, but I never felt like I couldn't make the cuts I needed to. The Zubat also does fine removing 4" or even larger limbs (in most species). Lastly, I really like the handle on the Zubat. It has a nice heft and a generally hand-filling, grippy feel.

I got a great deal on a Sugoi when I was looking for a little bit bigger saw to take up in the tree for cutting bigger limbs on large prunes or removals. I was trying to decide between a Sugoi and an Ibuki. Came down to the deal I found. The Sugoi is definitely faster through bigger cuts than the Zubat. That being said, I am not (as yet) totally enamored of it. Where I loved the grip of the Zubat, the Sugoi is more flexible, has a bunch of ridges, an aggressive butt hook and is generally more squared-off. If it fits your hand, you can probably really reef on it more than the Zubat, but I personally don't really like how it feels in my hand. It's possible that I'd like it better if it was my first handsaw, and I wasn't more used to the Zubat. A few more (maybe personal/picky) things I notice with the Sugoi: The tip "vine cutter" (or whatever it is they call that thing) seems to get in the way when I am trying to do a single quick pull to take a small-ish branch off in a single stroke, or to pull fast through the bottom of a cut to drop off the branch. I notice that Silky doesn't have the tip thing on the larger version of the Sugoi they released. Also, for some reason, my Sugoi seems to get caught up alot when I slide it back into the scabbard. Actually dropped it out of the tree once because of that. Not a big thing, but it is kind of annoying.

I finally got a chance to handle an Ibuki the other day, but not to cut with it. It felt like the big brother of the Zubat. The handle is a bit fatter, but has the same rubber and heft of the Zubat. Recognizing that I haven't cut with it yet, I think if I could do it again, I'd trade my Sugoi for an Ibuki, based on the way it feels. It's a Silky. I know it will cut.

I feel like I should mention the Hayauchi pole saw. I love it. It's heavy, but it really does allow you to make quality cuts, quickly, at 25 feet in the air. It lets me cut things from the ground that I probably would want to climb up for, were I using a lesser pole saw.

 

[flushcut]

We all know about CAD right and after reading this thread for awhile it seems that HAD is just as infectious.