When safely manageable, a fallen tree across the roadway should not be reason enough for rerouting your adventure. Over the three two guide seasons, New Mexico Black Range [NMBR] has utilized the AEV EditionSilky BIGBOY folding handsaw for tree and brush clearing duties. For nearly a century, Silky has been producing high-quality saw and blades in Ono Japan—a community renowned for its steel-forging artisans and ancestry. Today, Silky’s product line remain modest and true to their heritage with a variety of specialty hand saws and limb choppers for landscaping, forestry, and carpentry applications. Silky’s handsaws provide a safe, simple and effective alternative to cutting tools/methods that require gas, electric, or excessive brute force. 

The BIGBOY features a low angle curved 14-1/5-inch (chrome plated and impulse hardened) alloy steel blade with 5.5 serrated teeth per inch. The rubber coated handle provides an easy to grip surface while still ensuring a firm and comfortable hand-feel. The unique arched handle and blade, paired with the saw’s patented laser cut serrated tooth pattern, makes fast and low-effort work of trees trunks and branches up to 12-inches in diameter. Weighing in at less than a pound (450 grams) and measuring less than 15-inches in total length when closed, the saw is ideal for including in an overlanding field kit. The saw has one minor flaw that should be noted for safe operation. Wear leather gloves wile opening the BIGBOY. When closed, the blade’s center teeth are slightly exposed where the blade does not fully seat into the handle stock. The exposed teeth could cause injury if the blade is opened with bare hands. Overall, the Silky BIGBOY provides a well-built and easy to use tool for those adventurists willing to clear the trail ahead. 

Notes from the Guide: Handsaw use should go [hand-in-hand] with personal protective gear (including leather gloves, eye protection, and long-sleeves clothing), two or more felling wedges, a rubber mallet, and a pry-bar (for wedge/cut manipulation). Open or unsheathe a saw only once you have arrived at your work area. Keep your fist aid kit a stone’s throw away and ready for [possible] injury management. Consider what a tree will do during and after cutting such as where it may roll or how it will spring if bound pressure suddenly released. Saw responsibly.