• Happy Patent for First Computer Mouse (1970)! 🖥️🖱️🐁

Video: HOOP clears portage trails with Silky KATANABOY and BIGBOY saws

Glenn MacGrady

Glenn MacGrady

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
6,542
Reaction score
6,046
Location
Connecticut
Silky makes the best pruning saws, in my experience, and in many sizes. I've had a 14.2" curved blade Silky BIGBOY 2000 and a 9.5" curved blade ULTRA ACCEL for eight years and love both. I use the BIGBOY for larger stuff on my 11 acres, and usually take the ACCEL on canoe trips along with a short parang machete. Never an axe.

Silky's most powerful saw is the KATANABOY 650, which has a 25.6" blade. I think that's too long and heavy for my typical canoe trips, but here's a video of @HOOP (Glen Hooper) successfully using and praising the KATANABOY and BIGBOY for clearing big blowdowns on Canadian boreal forest portage trails.

 
Gamma1214 said:
Well done, Glenn; yet another instance of CTN separating its members from any loose cash. I'm gonna need another job to hang out with you guys.

(yeah, I'll almost certainly be packing a Katanaboy in August when I next visit NW Ontario. I too was debating the 500 or 650 but "Bigger is better", right?)
Click to expand...
The 650 with a measured stroke cadence is the closest thing to a a chainsaw I have used in the woods. It cuts unbelievably well when the tooth pattern is matched to the wood. Gotta be fairly careful on the return stroke with the 650, there's a LOT of blade to flex when it binds. I have considered buying one a time or two, but just don't have a strong enough use case.

A less considered benefit of the 650 is that if/when you snap the tip off, you still have more saw than most will ever use.
 
I'm amazed by how quickly the katanaboy 650 cuts through a tree that large!

When I'm portaging (my upbringing hasn't quite yet yielded to CT.n's "carry" culture), I hate to put down the canoe and pick it back up again, because I'm inevitably tired and doing so is hard. Despite the speed with which the 650 dispenses with that tree, lowering the canoe and dragging it over or under that branchless tree is still likely quicker and less effort than cutting through it twice. That said, my canoes aren't precious (Royalex gallantly suffers all my abuse) so their preservation doesn't factor into my calculus.

There's certainly a case to made for the good citizen sawyer, whose benevolent labor warrants its own effort. But setting aside any consideration for your fellow trippers, solely for your own purposes, would you prefer to clear a log or navigate around it?

Sincerely,
A spoiled son of the well-traveled and maintained North Maine Woods, who has never encountered more than a few trees on any portage.
 
Pseudonym said:
I hate to put down the canoe and pick it back up again, because I'm inevitably tired and doing so is hard. Despite the speed with which the 650 dispenses with that tree, lowering the canoe and dragging it over or under that branchless tree is still likely quicker and less effort than cutting through it twice.
Click to expand...

I would certainly agree with that. I've never used one of the huge silkys, I think mine has an 8" blade, and the first carry over a portage was always with my lightest pack and the folding silky in my pocket. That way I could cut away the limbs/trees that would hamper carrying the rest of my gear without even having to remove the pack I was currently carrying.

Sometimes, if I felt like it, I might spend extra time to clear away more debris but most often I just cut away enough that I could get through. And I had no problem with sliding the canoe over/under obstructions when necessary.

Alan
 
Makes me want to buy a Katanaboy. I usually carry a chainsaw but that Katanaboy 650 looks like a great device.

As someone who often travels in less-traveled areas, I like to clear as much as can for two reasons.
One, I like to contribute to the overall tripping community by helping to clear and maintain trails in areas where no paid worker is coming to clear the trail, and,
two, I find portaging over a cleared trail sooo much easier than trying to go through, over, and under alders, birch, fallen trees (especially large spruce and pine). I've watched a number of videos of people attempting to portage without doing any clearing and then struggle and sweat and sweat and struggle and tip the canoe on edge, etc., etc. I'd suggest and 15 or 30 minutes of trail improvement would not only improve their portaging experience but it might actually save them time and energy.

In addition, I'm seldom in a blind panic to get over the trail as quickly as possible (as attested to by my usual 3 carry routine) so speed is not a consideration. In my trip planning, I usually give my self enough time to not be rushed.

I usually start my trips over the portage trail with a small/moderate pack and cutting devices. Sometimes I can leave the pack on and deal with minor issues as I make my way along. If I start encountering major issues (lots of blowdown, dog's hair alders or spruce, losing the trail) then I'll put the pack down and walk through the trail clearing as I go. As I said, when I've done a decent job of clearing, the portaging is much less work and the walk back is quite enjoyable.

I guess it partly depends upon where you paddle/trip and how fast you need to be going in order to complete the trip in the time you have available.
 
My 1st trip is always with the pack as well (I double-portage everything) so that the trail is clear when I am carrying the canoe.

As for how much clearing: I think that's somewhat situational. If I'm sure that I'm on the portage and the loop is unlikely to be otherwise maintained, I might be more energetic about clearing as a way to "give back" and ensure that the trails can be found next year (or 3).

I expect to have some bush whacking in the next couple of years and, if I'm sure that I'm on the actual portage, I will probably clear them pretty well. If I'm simply plowing thru based on GPS coordinates, I'll leave as little trace as possible so that others aren't led astray (maybe they can find the actual trail if I don't muck it up for them.)

Either way, anything that can be easily stepped over will, most likely, remain.

That 650 might be a cool toy at the next sawyer certification for the North Country Trail. Certainly lighter than a chainsaw, gas & oil, although I wonder if I'll need to be crosscut certified in addition to chainsaw certified to be completely legal in the National Forest.
 
In the video, HOOP give a shout-out to YouTuber Lars at Survival Russia for turning him on to Silky saws.

Here is Lars demonstrating the rare KATANABOY 1000 and comparing it to the KATANABOY 500. At the end of the video, Lars recommends the KATANABOY 1000 only for certain applications such as . . . . . . . . . . . . portage trail clearing on canoe trips!

 
Glenn MacGrady said:
In the video, HOOP give a shout-out to YouTuber Lars at Survival Russia for turning him on to Silky saws.

Here is Lars demonstrating the rare KATANABOY 1000 and comparing it to the KATANABOY 500. At the end of the video, Lars recommends the KATANABOY 1000 only for certain applications such as . . . . . . . . . . . . portage trail clearing on canoe trips!

Click to expand...
I want one! That 1000 isn’t just for length. It’s also the price.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Glenn MacGrady
Weaponized, I prevail in my first bear encounter (pix fixed)
2
Replies
39
Views
5K
alsg
alsg
A
Silky Saws
Replies
18
Views
3K
Alan Gage
A
Back
Top Bottom