I was recently looking for a replacement blade for my 15" Sawvivor takedown saw, it has seen a lot of use over the years and I wanted a replacement blade for it to have on hand when my current one got dull. For some reason, I couldn't find any online. I got mine originally from MEC, but they only offered the Sven Saw now. Online Trail Blazer's takedown and folding saws have gathered quite a good fanbase, as they are very light, efficient and easy to use. But just doing some research, I found that Trail Blazer Products Ltd. the family owned, Nova Scotia based company that produces them has gone out of business and was just being dissolved, not sold, unfortunately.
They produced a range of saw products, the Sawvivor 15" folding saw, 25" takedown buck saw and the xtend a saw were popular items. They also made shovels and some other saws. I have a small hand hatchet they made.
What a pity, I do t like the takedown saw that I have, I thought it is a great design. The really only one thing I didn't like about the 15" saw was when sawing very hard the arms would flex a bit and sometimes the blade would pop out of position, but this only happens periodically under agressive sawing. Other than that this tool has helped me create many a good campfires over the years. Perhaps now is the time for someone else to step in to the saw market. Many people love the Sven saw as well, but the design does not appeal to me that much, as it is a simpler triangle. The problem with that is the far tip has little room for larger diameter branches, so it is limited to small branches. With tthe small 15" sawvivor saw, I cut even 8" diameter logs and branches with ease. You can't do that with the Sven saw.The 15" saw was so popular even Browning sold it at one time under their name. I think I will scour the internet to find some p blades for this thing before they are all gone, since I don't see any other product on the market right now that appeals to me as a lightweight saw capable of handling medium sized pieces of wood.
I don't know what happened to the company, it seemed to be doing great in 2008/2009, and as I mentioned earlier, there was a loyal fan base that loved the saws. Perhaps some bad business decisions? In any case, it's too bad these good outdoor products are no longer available.
Links:
End of the Road for Trail Blazer
Trail Blazer Products Award
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJay
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled across this old posting of yours. I too own a 15" Sawvivor that I use mostly on motorcycle camping trips. Sad to hear Trailblazer Products went out of business. In the nearly four years since you posted this, have you found a source for replacement blades or been able to retrofit another manufacturers blade to work with your Sawvivor?
Dave in Northern California
I have been looking for a few years now and can not find them anywhere. I wrote to a company overseas that has 15" blades and I hope to get a answer soon.
ReplyDeleteThe company's name is G-Man out of Sweden. The blade is a G30SH 15"-380mm
ReplyDeleteTom - did you ever get a reply back from G-Man or purchase one of their blades to see if it might work with your Sawvivor?
ReplyDelete