We’ve covered some impressive Stanley products lately, like the Stanley Fatmax Professional Grade Water Hose. We also covered construction hand tools from sister brands, including the Bostitch Anti-Vibe hammer tacker. Now, we’re turning our focus towards their line of Stanley bow saws. Originally found in China, the bow saw has a unique design and function. The shape is reminiscent of a bow, with the straight blade taking the place of the “string”. The Stanley bow saw has a 24-inch blade and features a metal frame and plastic handle. For additional strength, Stanley opted to go with welded steel tubing.
Stanley Bow Saw Design
Traditionally, Pros use a bow saw for straight-cutting wood. This might be for smaller trees or dry limbs and occasionally even dimensional lumber. The Stanley Fatmax bow saw maintains blade tension using a high torque tension lever located on the rear of the saw. It flips down, and then spins counter-clockwise to release tension to the blade. The natural shape of the handle and guard protects your fingers when changing out the blade (I tended to flip the saw upside down).
Notable Stanley FatMax Bow Saw Features
The Stanley bow saw blades are made well with a tubular frame that looks like it will hold up under regular use. The blade itself gives you 24-inches of cutting length—perfect for wood up to 6-inches in diameter or so. Larger than that and you may find yourself driving the tool a bit too hard and fast. Depending on the blade, you could use the Stanley FatMax bow saw for pruning, or as a quick general saw to take care of smaller cutting tasks without having to whip out the chainsaw or reciprocating saw. The blade has very aggressive teeth, and you can buy replacements for around $15 or less depending on the brand. Of course, we found the saw online art one retailer for under $20, so keep that in mind.
We’ll have to do some additional testing on this 24-inch bow saw, but it looks like a nice addition to the Stanley line of FatMax hand tools. For anyone with a need for a more robust bow saw that provides quick, easy blade changes, the Stanley Bow Saw should get you where you need to go.
For more information, check out the Stanley FatMax saws page on their website.
