The Best Folding Saws of 2026, Field Tested and Reviewed

Folding saws have been around for quite a while, but they’ve recently become much more popular with all types of outdoorsmen. Hunters, bushcrafters, survivalists, campers, backpackers and gardeners are all carrying them now. This is because they are incredibly useful tools that can take on a wide variety of tasks without the bulk of a traditional saw, and without the common risks of an axe. Whether you’re brushing in a blind, breaking down big game, clearing a shooting lane, building a shelter, bucking firewood, clearing a trail, or trimming some branches in the backyard, a good folding saw will handle it all. 

The two types of folding saws we will look at will be folding bow saws, and straight folding saws. (If you’re unfamiliar with a straight folding saw, just imagine a really big pocket knife with a saw for the blade). 

The Best Folding Saws

How I Tested Folding Saws

To test these folding saws, I cut up some wood I had around the property — mostly maple and seasoned cherry firewood. The maple branches were cut about four months before this test, and the cherry was cut about 10 months before testing. Obviously, green wood cuts more easily, and soft woods like pine will cut more easily than hardwoods, but I wanted the test to be challenging for the saws. I cut four different sized pieces to see which diameters each saw could handle. First was a 1.5-inch diameter maple, then a roughly 4-inch piece of maple, then a 6-inch piece of seasoned cherry, and then a 10-inch round of maple for the bigger saws. Realistically, I wouldn’t want to cut a 10-inch log with any of these for more than a few cuts, unless I just needed a workout, because they aren’t designed for logs that big. But if you find yourself in a jam, with downed trees across a trail, the bigger saws will certainly get the job done. 

So whether you need to tame some bushes around the house, or build a lean-to in the woods, I’ll detail the best folding saws for the task.

The Best Folding Saws: Reviews & Recommendations

Best Overall Folding Saw: Agawa Boreal 21

The Boreal 21 has everything I want in a folding saw: cutting performance, packability, easy set-up, and a high-quality build. The Agawa Boreal 21 is probably the most well thought out folding saw I have ever used. The blade is totally concealed when it’s folded, the grip is ergonomic and comfortable for extended cutting, and the blade never needs adjusting. Plus, it doesn’t rotate while cutting. The saw is stiffer and holds the blade better than any regular bow saw I have used. Another reason I chose this as the best folding saw overall is because of the more vertical grip. It just seems to be less tiring than the horizontal grips of a straight saw. 

The Boreal is available in 15- and 24-inch configurations, but I prefer the 21-inch version. It’s deep enough to cut through a 7-inch piece of wood without having to rotate the log, but it’s also handy and controllable enough for trimming small stuff. The Agawa was able to make it through the 10-inch log by changing my cutting angle.  I was using the all-purpose blade, but there are “aggressive” and “bone/meat” blades available too, which makes this a very versatile saw.  Changing blades is easy and the saw comes with an extra set of circlips for the blade pins, which is a nice touch. If you want your saw to cut fast and perform in almost any situation, the Agawa Boreal 21 should be at the top of your list. 

Best Straight Folding Saw: Corona RS 7265

The Corona Razor Tooth saw was impressively fast and the curved blade and hooked grip made it easy to power through cuts. The Corona Saw was originally designed to be a pruning saw for the orange groves in Southern California, but it has found its way into plenty of other environments because it worked so well. I don’t know if it was because of the curved blade, or the extremely sharp teeth, or a combo of the two, but this saw really ripped through the cuts. Even though there were a few saws with longer blades, the Corona could cut through with the same number of strokes, and was flat out impressive. The hook at the end of the handle also helped with locking in my hand and allowing for more force with less effort. There is also rubber on the grip near the front if you are doing smaller, more controlled cuts. The Corona cut fast, felt comfortable, and locked in the open and closed positions. This is a great saw for logs up to about 6 inches for straight cuts, but could go bigger if the log was rotated. The Corona also manages to retain a sturdy feel while being quite light. 

Best Folding Saw For Big Jobs: Silky Professional BigBoy 360

The Silky BigBoy is a two-handed saw with enough blade length to tackle about as big a log as you would want to cut with a hand saw.  The Silky BigBoy certainly lives up to its name. This was the best saw for the 10-inch piece, and the grip is designed to be comfortable for two-handed cutting. If you want the capability to cut some bigger logs, the BigBoy is the saw for you. I wasn’t a huge fan of the saw when using it one-handed. It just felt a bit long and cumbersome compared to the other, smaller folding saws. 

The BigBoy could really cut fast when I was able to use the full length of the blade and use both hands. Mine has Medium teeth, but there are more and less aggressive blades available for it. I think with the aggressive blade and two hands, this saw will really fly through bigger pieces. The fully rubberized grip was great, and I never felt like I was sliding on the handle, which meant I didn’t have to grip as hard. That means I can cut longer with less energy. If you want a folding saw that can take on the big stuff, look no further than the Silky BigBoy. 

Best Backpacking Folding Saw: Sven Saw 15”

The Sven Saw has been around for over 60 years and hasn’t changed. That’s mostly because it just plain works. The design is simple, rugged, and reliable. The Sven Saw is in its 60^th year of production up in Duluth, Minnesota and it’s still going strong. Like the Agawa, this uses common bow saw blades which are light and widely available. I picked it as the best backpacking saw because it’s lightweight, and packs away easily when folded. No portion of the blade is exposed and it’s barely more than a half-inch thick and 1.5 inches wide. Once you make camp, put it together and get some firewood ready. The grip/frame of the saw is hard anodized aluminum with a nice red color so you won’t lose it in the woods. While there are slightly lighter saws out there, I think the Sven Saw performs better, and is more comfortable to use than other slightly lighter options. 

The handle extends down below the blade so you can get a full stroke without worrying about smashing your fingers into the log while cutting. You can also brace your other hand against the top of the handle for extra oomph on the push stroke. While many saws only cut on the pull stroke, the blade on the Sven cuts in both directions. 

Best Folding Saw for Bushcraft: Woxna Halsing

The Woxna Halsing has a beautiful oak handle and super sharp carbon steel blade, and its larger size allows it to tackle just about any task. Will the Woxna Halsing cut twice as good as a saw that is half its price? No. It will cut about the same. But it will look and feel about 10 times better! 

If we are being honest, performance matters about as much as looks in the world of bushcraft. And the Woxna has it all. Very good cutting performance, solid lock with a laser engraved lock button, and a sturdy oak grip set with a stainless steel liner frame. Woxna is a small company, and everything is designed and made in Sweden. Their products are made well. Sweden has a long history of producing some of the best axes on earth, and now Woxna is making a run at the folding saw market. I’m picking the Woxna as the best bushcraft saw because it cuts great, and looks even better. The optional dangler style pouch sheath really completes the package. The Woxna Halsing possesses a feel of craftsmanship that you just can’t get with mass produced metal and plastic saws. Bushcraft revolves around taking time to build and make things out of natural resources. For me, the Woxna Halsing nails the bushcraft feel and brings a high-performance blade along with it. If you prefer a smaller saw in this style, Woxna also offers the Ljusnan with a 7in. stainless blade and walnut handles, and it is equally functional and beautiful.  

Fastest Cutting Folding Saw: Lagom 11.4” Curved Blade

See It

Pros

• Available with curved or straight blade
• Rubber over-mold for good grip
• Fast cutting
• Orange blade makes it easy to find if you set it down in the woods

Cons

• Lock will engage when you get the blade open about 45 degrees
• Curved blade does allow for some teeth to be partially exposed

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Key Features

• 
  Weight: 11.5 ounces

• 
  Cutting edge: 10.5 inches

• 
  Open/ Closed Length: 22 inches / 11.75 inches

• 
  Straight Saw

• 
  Price: $36

• 
  Made in Taiwan

The Lagom 11.4” saw with the curved blade was the fastest at cutting through both green and seasoned wood. The Lagom Curved blade saw has a few features that help it cut faster than the rest. First, they claim the coating on the blade reduces friction. I don’t know if that’s true, but the coating will wear off the teeth rather quickly. Second, there are three chip-clearing notches cut into the blade to prevent the channel getting plugged up, which keeps the teeth cutting more efficiently. In between the notches, there are three slots that will allow chips and dust to have somewhere to go if they aren’t cleared, which will reduce friction. Lastly, the curved blade aids in cutting on more than one plane, and keeps good pressure on the entire cutting stroke. The rubber grip has a decent feel, and the lock has an average amount of play. Overall, the Lagom saw really shines when it comes to speed, but the curve and the aggressive teeth and notches tend to hang up on loose bark. They will pull bark up and lift it and bind the saw, which makes you stop and pull the bark off. Not a huge deal, but it was the only real drawback to the blade design. If you want to get things done in a hurry, the Lagom Curved blade folding saw might be the ticket for you. 

Best Compact Folding Saw: Felco 600

See It

Pros

• Replacement blades available
• Compact construction that can fit in your pocket
• Comfortable hooked grip aids the pull stroke Very secure lockup

Cons

• Short blade limits the size of the piece that can be cut
• No lock detent to stay closed

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Key Features

• 
  Weight:

  
  5.5 ounces

• 
  Cutting Edge:

  
  6 inches

• 
  Open / Closed Length:

  
  14 inches / 8 inches

• 
  Straight Saw

• 
  Price:

  
  Price: $33

• 
  Made in South Korea

The Felco 600 is small enough to be carried in your back pocket, but the rubberized curved grip allows you to cut with less effort even with aggressive teeth. The Felco 600 pruning saw is super lightweight, has a great grip, and aggressive teeth for faster cutting. Obviously, this saw won’t be handling wood that is much bigger than your wrist, but if you are looking for something easy to carry, the F600 is a great option. This would fit in most front pockets, and is light enough that it won’t drag your pocket down. All the cutting happens on the pull stroke, and the curve and hook on the handle allow you to really put some pressure on the cut for speeding things up. For green wood, the Felco glides through easily, and when I tried it on seasoned hardwood destined for my woodstove, it still performed admirably. 

This saw would be good to throw in a pack for a backpacking trip, and would also do well in a hunting pack for clearing branches and backcountry butchering. Overall, this is a small, comfortable, and capable folding saw and that’s why it’s the best compact option. 

Gerber Freescape Camp Saw

The Gerber Freescape is at the small end of the folding bow saw range, and gives solid performance in a compact package. The Gerber Freescape Saw is easy to unfold and fasten, and does a good job once deployed. The Freescape is really intended for wood 4 inches and under. When I was using the saw, the grip was comfortable and secure, but when I was sawing fast, I did bang my knuckles into the piece a few times. A bow saw this small will always run into that problem. But if you can keep your strokes to the right length, the Freescape can make a pile of firewood in short order. This would be a good saw for car camping and shorter backpacking trips where weight and cutting larger pieces aren’t a priority. Overall, the Freescape was a solid performer for a compact folding saw. 

Silky Gomboy 240

The Silky Gomboy is a great medium-sized straight folding saw with solid construction and excellent cutting performance. The Silky Gomboy has been a popular folding saw for quite a while now, and for good reason. It has solid construction, solid performance, and multiple blade options depending on your application. My saw has the Medium blade, which is an all purpose type blade. It’s fairly aggressive, but can also make nice clean edges on cuts. One of my only complaints about the Silky is that the blades are a little more susceptible to bending and breaking than some others. If the wood binds and pinches the blade as you are pushing hard, there’s a possibility that you’ll bend it. Mine has a slight warp near the end from getting caught. All folding saws can have this problem when they bind, but I have found the Gomboy in particular to have a greater tendency to bend. That being said, I have a Gomboy that is about 3 years old and have cut a ton with it while making brush blinds and setting tree stands. It hasn’t failed me yet. 

Bahco Laplander Folding Saw

The Bahco comes with the shorter teeth than others, making for a fine cut with clean edges, but trading some speed for that cleanliness.  There was a time where the Bahco Laplander was considered the standard folding saw in most Bushcraft circles, with good reason. It stays sharp, performs well, has muted colors, and is affordable. It has been unchanged for years. The Laplander has seven teeth per inch, making it an all-purpose type blade. However, the shorter teeth aren’t raked as much as some others, which means it gives up some cutting speed. But the Laplander makes up for that speed in longevity. I have one Laplander that is about six years old, and it’s still pretty darn sharp. The Laplander also comes with a lanyard, which, if nothing else, provides a means to assure it won’t leave the stuff pocket on the outside of my pack where it lives. I tie a lark’s head knot on another strap for extra insurance. If you’re looking for an inexpensive, tough saw, and don’t need to be the fastest cutter, check out the Laplander. 

How to Choose a Folding Saw

Use Case

As with most outdoor items, the first consideration in choosing a folding saw is how you intend to use it. Do you want an all-purpose saw for using around the house, at camp, and in your hunting pack? If you need something capable of cutting larger wood, look at the Boreal 21 or Silky BigBoy. Or, are you just trimming some branches and untamed bushes around the house? Well, any of these will do for that. Are you interested in trying your hand at Bushcraft, but are on a budget? Grab the Laplander. 

The important part is to be honest about what you’re doing with the saw. You don’t want too much saw for little jobs, on the flipside, you don’t want to be stuck cutting an 8-inch log with a 5-inch blade. 

Style

The next consideration will be style, and I don’t mean how the saw fits your décor. I mean a bow saw or a straight saw. If you’re mainly bucking up fire wood and knocking down larger branches, I find the more vertical grip of a bow saw more comfortable and less tiring. 

But, in tight areas with lots of limbs, a bow saw gets in the way. A straight saw however, shines in tight spaces and where maneuverability counts.  They might not be as comfortable for tons of cutting, but they blow a bow saw out of the water in a tight spot. They also tend to weigh less for the same blade length. 

Price

The saws here range anywhere from $25 to over $200, and some go higher than that. More expensive does not always equal better for you. If you are on a budget, don’t hesitate to pick up the saws on the lower end of the range. They will serve you very well. But, if you want maximum capability, the more expensive saws are bigger and tougher to handle the extra work and bigger logs.

FAQs:

Q: What does large, medium, and fine mean for saw teeth?

 A: This generally is referring to the TPI, or Teeth Per Inch in straight folding saws. “Large” means less teeth per inch, usually around 6 TPI. “Medium” usually means 7 to 9 TPI, and “fine” has a TPI around 15 to 18. The less TPI, the more aggressive the cut, which usually means speed. A higher TPI makes finer cuts, not ragged ones, but it takes longer to make the cut. 

Q: Can I sharpen a folding saw blade?

A: Technically yes, but not practically. Sharpening these types of blades would take specialized equipment and really isn’t practical. As long as you aren’t hitting rocks or metal, these blades will stay sharp for a long time, and can be replaced without too much expense. These blades can also break, and if you’re planning on lots of heavy work out in the backcountry, it’s not too hard to carry a spare. The Bow saws can accommodate spare blades alongside the one on the saw.  

Q: Is there one folding saw that can do everything?

A: No, not really. But most saws can do enough so that you can get by with just one. For me, a larger folding bow saw is my go-to for larger volume work, and a medium-sized straight saw covers the tight spots and smaller work.

Final Thoughts on the Best Folding Saws

Folding saws are great tools for camping, hunting, keeping up your property, or having fun with bushcrafting in the woods. They are far better than an axe for bucking up wood and making precise cuts, and they require less skill to use. They also don’t come with all the risks that an axe does. Use our guide to pick the saw that will suit your needs, and get to cutting.