Manual pole saws, Silky, ARS, Jameson & such

[Wacky]

Getting ready to buy @ a 18'-21' pole saw for trimming and pruning ornamental, fruit, pine and oak trees. Just seeing if anyone has any advice on which one to go with. I am looking very hard at the Silky Hayauchi 390, one reason is that I can swap to a lopper head that is available for it. Any help is appreciated.

 

[forgeblast]

I cant remember what kind my buddy has, It does have fiberglass extensions which makes it lighter to carry into the woods. I would say the blade is the most important thing, if you can find a cheaper extension go with it and just buy a name brand blade.

 

[charlz]

I just have one of the $30-or-so Fiskars, works pretty good. Cutting anything more than 2" is a bit of a work out although it does cut fast. If you want to cut out away from the trunk it gets hard as the branches just move with the blade. Mine has the lopper hook built in but it only cuts small branches and it leaves a 1/2" or so nub which really isn't ideal for pruning. Some Stihl gas pole saws showed up on craigslist this year for about $400, they are about $600 new, but I haven't quite go to that point.

Some guys I know carry Silky hand saws for cutting down trees while riding dirtbikes in the mountains and really like them.

 

[HCJtractor]

I have never used the Silky Hayauchi, but that will be the next saw I buy. I have used several of the Sthil telescopic models, which I think is the same saw as the ARS 20' . It works great but has some flaws. The plastic locking mechanism is very fragile and broke on both my saws. But is is not necessary for operation, as the metal spring "ball detant" holds fine. On one of my saws, I eventually had to drill the poles and use a clevis type pin to lock it, but that works satisfactorily. The blade on this ARS is excellent and I am sure the Silky is also. A sharp blade is a must. When it dulls, it makes for slow cutting and more fatigue. So even with its flaws, the ARS/Stihl still cuts great and is lightweight and balanced.

The only thing you must be careful with with any of these telescopic aluminum saws is that they must be handled with care. They are tough but can bend, and a bent shaft renders the saw worthless. I learned this the hard way. Step on it and it is ruined, or even drop a heavy limb on it and it can be damaged. I still prefer it over the fiberglass pole type, as it is much lighter, easier to transport, and easier to use.

I also have a set of the Jameson yellow poles. I have enough poles to go 25' and they are bombproof. I also have the Corona lopper head for these and it also works great. But when I use all four of my poles and reach 20' or more, the poles flex a lot with the lopper, and can make cutting a big limb (say
1.5") a little hard. The fiberglass poles definitely are heavier and will wear you out using them. The higher you cut, the harder the effort. For normal cutting, i will always use my aluminum telescopic saw before I drag out the Jamesons.

I did not know they make a lopper for the Hyauchi. Loppers need a really stiff, non flexing pole so that when you pull the rope, the pole doesn't flex much.

Check out an arborist supply house. Sherrrill Tree has all types and good descriptions of each. Any of these are far superior to the generic Home Depot saws. These large Japanese blades are razor sharp and cut great. Hope this helps.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I've got a couple of them that are Craftsman brand (Sears). No complaints. I don't use them much anymore, since I bought the saw head for my Stihl brush cutter.

 

[Wacky]

Thanks everyone for their input. HCJtractor, you have all the saws I have been researching. I have been looking hard at the Hayauchi, the lopper head is on Silkys' (which has the same look as the Sherilltree) website, it is called the Sintung 38 attachment. It is around $60. I was wondering how high could one use the lopper w/o too much flex. I have a plum tree that is around 10-12' high that I am trying to find the best way to prun. I think I am going to buy one of these saws. Just been waiting for a discounted price to come out, these are very pricey saws, but sound worth the money. I have heard that you can sharpen the blades too. The files are on ebay for about $23. Alot cheaper than a new one at $72. But I will probably just buy a new one, I would probably make it duller than it was before. I will most likely buy from Silky or Sherilltree directly. Nobody seems to have them at a better price.

 

[MF RED in MT]

Getting ready to buy @ a 18'-21' pole saw for trimming and pruning ornamental, fruit, pine and oak trees. Just seeing if anyone has any advice on which one to go with. I am looking very hard at the Silky Hayauchi 390, one reason is that I can swap to a lopper head that is available for it. Any help is appreciated.

Hey Wacky, may not be what you are looking for, but I have a Black and Decker 18 volt pole saw, about $120, and it works great, :licking:. I just lay it against the branch and then pull the trigger, :thumbsup:. Good luck with your search, KC.

 

[HCJtractor]

Thanks everyone for their input. HCJtractor, you have all the saws I have been researching. I have been looking hard at the Hayauchi, the lopper head is on Silkys' (which has the same look as the Sherilltree) website, it is called the Sintung 38 attachment. It is around $60. I was wondering how high could one use the lopper w/o too much flex. I have a plum tree that is around 10-12' high that I am trying to find the best way to prun. I think I am going to buy one of these saws. Just been waiting for a discounted price to come out, these are very pricey saws, but sound worth the money. I have heard that you can sharpen the blades too. The files are on ebay for about $23. Alot cheaper than a new one at $72. But I will probably just buy a new one, I would probably make it duller than it was before. I will most likely buy from Silky or Sherilltree directly. Nobody seems to have them at a better price.

I think that flex would be no problem at 12'. With my fiberglass poles, flex is not a problem at that extension. I routinely use mine at heights greater than that. My only complaint about using it for high limbs is that it is fairly heavy and it will cause fatigue if used for extended periods.

As far as sharpening blades, I have never done that. I just buy new blades. They last a long time unless you bend one, which can be done when sawing heavy limbs up high. (or stepping on it). But for pruning fruit trees, that should not be an issue. I use mine for clearing shooting lanes for my hunting stands, and often cut hardwoods with limbs much bigger than you will be cutting.

I also have a Stihl "Extended Reach Pruner" PP100, which is essentially a lopper head on a 7' pole. It is extremely light and very quick and handy for use around the house. It will cut branches up to 3/4" at a height of 10 or
11'. It works by just squeezing the handle.

By the way, the Stihl telescopic saws that I have are the PP 780. They are really nice, except for the little plastic cam locking lever, which broke on both of my saws. Fortunately, the saw works fine without it, just by using the little metal spring locking pins.

 

[chipsndust]

I bought a Silky Hyauchi pole saw and 2-1/2" loppers from Bailey's for pruning apple trees. Haven't used the loppers much, but the pole saw is a pleasure to use.

The pole saw has 3 aluminum extensions which allow you to extend to 21'. The blade is 16" with upper and lower edges sharpened to cut under branches to avoid damaging the collar and to cut vines.

They're not cheap, but they work much better than the hardware variety pole saws. You can cut 1-1/2" branches, 25' high with 3 or 4 pulls on the saw.

 

[Wacky]

I bought a Silky Hyauchi pole saw and 2-1/2" loppers from Bailey's for pruning apple trees. Haven't used the loppers much, but the pole saw is a pleasure to use.

The pole saw has 3 aluminum extensions which allow you to extend to 21'. The blade is 16" with upper and lower edges sharpened to cut under branches to avoid damaging the collar and to cut vines.

They're not cheap, but they work much better than the hardware variety pole saws. You can cut 1-1/2" branches, 25' high with 3 or 4 pulls on the saw.

That's what I'm talkin' bout'