Manual Pole Saws?

I have probably 100 limbs I need to cut down on over an acre of land. Some are way up there so gas or electric is not an option.
Option 1: hire it out – probably over 1k.
Option 2: rent a bucket. Doesn’t sound like a good option and probably $$$
Option 3: Buy a quality pole saw and have at it. The more I read the more people say don’t buy a cheap one. Sounds like a Notch with a Silky blade may be the way to go, but 300$ for a manual pole saw?? Holy crap. Someone convince me either way? Other options?

I bought one off face book and I love it. Blew my cheapo out of the water. I trimmed a ton the last 2 weeks with it and like it alot.

If I were in your shoes with the situation you described I’d buy the one for $300. Looks much cheaper than hiring or getting a rental and then you’ll have it to use again. Because Lord knows a week after you write that check for a service you’ll notice a dozen more limbs that need to be cut down.

I had a similar problem a few years ago and finally bought an extendable electric pole saw made by Sunjoe. For power I put my Honda generator on the back of my ATV where I could drive close enough to use and extension cord. Although I would not recommend it, I used a step ladder to reach the taller branches. Mine is the 10 inch model and extends to about ten feet so you could reach close to 15 ft. from the ground. Well worth the 65 dollars I spent. I have used it many times over the years and as I get older it’s so much easier than a manual saw. I even use it for clearing buckthorn around my property.

Last year with the heavy snow we had a lot of brushing to do on the snowmobile trails and I bought a cheap green works pole saw and it was actually awesome. Cut 6 different days. Only thing is you will need a couple of batteries if you want to cut all day. Very easy and light to use.

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supercat wrote:

Last year with the heavy snow we had a lot of brushing to do on the snowmobile trails and I bought a cheap green works pole saw and it was actually awesome. Cut 6 different days. Only thing is you will need a couple of batteries if you want to cut all day. Very easy and light to use.

Yeah, the only reason I’m strongly considering a manual is I’ve got to reach way up there, like 20+ feet

dirk-w. wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>supercat wrote:</div>
Last year with the heavy snow we had a lot of brushing to do on the snowmobile trails and I bought a cheap green works pole saw and it was actually awesome. Cut 6 different days. Only thing is you will need a couple of batteries if you want to cut all day. Very easy and light to use.

Yeah, the only reason I’m strongly considering a manual is I’ve got to reach way up there, like 20+ feet

The saw comes with an extension that makes the saw 11′ and is very light not like a traditional gas saw. If you had a step ladder you could easily reach them.

On top of a ladder with a tree limb coming at my head is not exactly where I would want to be. It’s going to hurt when it hits you and when you smash into the ground. The OP is almost 60 so he’s not going to recover as fast from doing something dumb as we would of when we were younger.

I’ve had a Fiskars telescoping trimmer with removable saw blade for many years. Works great but you do have to be careful cutting high limbs under full extension standing under them.

Onthewater wrote:

On top of a ladder with a tree limb coming at my head is not exactly where I would want to be. It’s going to hurt when it hits you and when you smash into the ground. The OP is almost 60 so he’s not going to recover as fast from doing something dumb as we would of when we were younger.

You got that right

Whatever you decide make sure it has a quality saw blade.
I use an extendable painters pole with a hand me down saw blade attachment.
I can reach 20’ and with the quality blade take off stuff up to 5” without much trouble.
Would I like to have a better pole? Don’t know this works well and it’s extremely light.

I use a Milwaukee 20v polesaw recently to trim a mess of black spruce in the cabin yard. I got tired of having to duck under limbs to mow so I cut everything that prevented about 8 feet of height to the nearest limb tip. I think this had about an 11 foot pole. Very easy to use. Very fast cutting. I used that saw for about three hours one afternoon and the 20v battery still had 90% left in it.

I use a Milwaukee 20v polesaw recently to trim a mess of black spruce in the cabin yard. I got tired of having to duck under limbs to mow so I cut everything that prevented about 8 feet of height to the nearest limb tip. I think this had about an 11 foot pole. Very easy to use. Very fast cutting. I used that saw for about three hours one afternoon and the 20v battery still had 90% left in it.

I’m 6 foot tall so I was cutting many of the limbs at around 15-16 feet. No ladder required.

My pole saw is probably 20 years old. I tore it apart today. First I recut the bevel on the chopper blade (the thing you pull with the rope). It was pretty dull and banged up. Next I straightened out the saw blade and touched up the teeth with a small file. Went out in the back yard to test it out and it seems to be working OK now.

SR

FWIW…I have a Stihl pole pruner that works well for what it is intended to do. I can cut branches/limbs up to about 16′ with it…I’m fairly tall so that helps. I also have a manual polesaw with 6 foot long wood extension poles…good quality stuff that I’ve had all my adult life…I’m 64 now. I have 5 or 6 poles for it but in reality, you can’t really expect to reach and cut 30′ high, it’s just too tall and all those poles connected together will bend and in some cases break…trust me, been there-done that. That said, the manual saw works very well within a resonable height and makes a much cleaner cut than the power “chainsaw” type. 20’up is not a problem. As with any tool though, I’d purchase a quality “head” with easily replaceable saw blades. Look online under “arborist supplies”. Forestry Suppliers, Bartlett, Sherrill etc all carry good brands like Jameson, Silky, Notch. Even Amazon carries Jameson…that’s where I buy my blades from.

I just bought the Milwaukee 18 volt pole saw kit with the power head and extension.

I only paid $299 for the whole kit and right now Northern tool offers a free 6-amp battery with the purchase. No way would I buy a manual pole saw when you can get a top quality electric for that price.

I just used it last week like others have said for clearing brush and branches that are bent into fence lines and trails. It is awesome. It’s not light but it’s fast.

A lot of people question how long the battery will last on these electric saws. My answer is about as long as your arms can hold up. I can easily do 2 to 3 hours of trimming work with the 6 amp battery. Now that’s not continuous cutting but just working along a fence line doing limb after limb as I go.

The thing that I didn’t consider with these electric units is if you take the extension out and just use the shortest version of the saw it is really great for cutting up limbs once they’re on the ground so they’re easier to handle. Another thing that is really awesome that I didn’t think about was it is so nice operating power equipment without having to be wearing ear protection.

You can still probably reach higher with a manual pole saw I believe with the Milwaukee I can reach limbs about 14 or 15 ft up.

I have 2 Silky saws. They are the best . Yet some jobs require a professional. This tree basswood is super dangerous! No place for this 66 year guy to attempt.

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My 3 section Fisker is much better than the 2 Craftsmens I had. 14″ if my brain is working.

you wont be disapointed with silky blades. i have a couple of there smaller hand saws and they are impressive. they make different size blades and different tooth sizes

I use this 36′ pole saw, obviously no extendable saw will work great when fully extended as it gets wobbly, but I was in the same boat and didn’t want to spend the $1,000 to have a professional do it. As long as you’re patient while sawing and don’t use alot of pressure it works great and fully retracts to only 7′ long…like everything, the price has gone up since I purchased in a few years ago…I think I paid $80

IDO not letting me insert a link, just search “DocaPole 7-30 Foot Telescoping Extension Pole + GoSaw Attachment Pruning Pole Saw” on amazon.com

I bought a 16′ Fiskars several years ago and have used it on white pine branches up to 6″ dia. It cuts great, but it does require a lot of effort to cut at max height.
As a bonus, it has a lop shear that really saves time on anything smaller than 1.25″ dia.

Update:

I decided on the 21ft Notch Sentei. I found it for 300$ with free shipping. Still – Yowza. Anyway, I’ve got about two hours on it and I can say it a quality piece of equipment. Cuts through the green stuff like butter. 4 inch stuff is still easy. 5-6 inches takes a little work if the branch is way up there. Gets a little wobbly at full extension. I was careful about binding. That could be a problem if you don’t watch it. Build quality seems really good. Time will tell.

You use the wabble to your mechanical advantage. I bought a cry once saw a few years ago. Watch a YouTube on how to use it. You can get tired, or you can do it right.

When the pole sags you pull (pole pushes into wood for more cutting) when it lifts you push (pole lifts on wood as you return the blade for anther cut for less Reisterstown resistance)… get into a motion and rip up some limbs.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

You use the wabble to your mechanical advantage. I bought a cry once saw a few years ago. Watch a YouTube on how to use it. You can get tired, or you can do it right.

When the pole sags you pull (pole pushes into wood for more cutting) when it lifts you push (pole lifts on wood as you return the blade for anther cut for less Reisterstown resistance)… get into a motion and rip up some limbs.

Ah ya. Definitely a rhythm thing. Good video. I’m getting there. Thanks.