Bow saw vs pruning saw: which Fiskars for the cut
Updated: 21 October 2026
You have room for one orange handle, and the wood in the garden is not one thing. A damp log for the stove is a different cut from a live branch in a fork you want to leave tidy. In this set the bow is the Fiskars SW31. The pruning saws are the open blades, above all the SW-240 and the 15 inch saw that states its stroke. Use the SW31 when the wood is a log or a small trunk you can support. Use a pruning saw when the branch is still on a tree you want to keep neat. Folding saws stay on the [Fiskars pruning saw buying guide](/hub/power-saws/fiskars-saw/sub/fiskars-saw-buying-guide). Prices sit on the [Fiskars saw comparison](/hub/power-saws/fiskars-saw). Peter F. compared those amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026, not in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have room for one orange handle, and the wood in the garden is not one thing. A damp log for the stove is a different cut from a live branch in a fork you want to leave tidy. In this set the bow is the Fiskars SW31.
You have room for one orange handle, and the wood in the garden is not one thing. A damp log for the stove is a different cut from a live branch in a fork you want to leave tidy. In this set the bow is the Fiskars SW31. The pruning saws are the open blades, above all the SW-240 and the 15 inch saw that states its stroke. Use the SW31 when the wood is a log or a small trunk you can support. Use a pruning saw when the branch is still on a tree you want to keep neat. Folding saws stay on the Fiskars pruning saw buying guide. Prices sit on the Fiskars saw comparison. Peter F. compared those amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026, not in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Shape | Stroke | Job | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Fiskars Fiskars SW-240 pruning saw | Open blade | Pull | Fresh wood | 7.0 | about £76.72 | View offer |
| Best value |  Fiskars Fiskars 15 inch PowerTooth saw | Open blade | Pull and push | Large branches | 7.6 | about £49.53 | View offer |
 Fiskars Fiskars SW31 bow saw | Bow frame | Both ways on trade pages | Damp logs | 8.4 | about £20.35 | View offer |
On this page
What each saw is built to reach
A bow saw is a blade in a frame. The SW31 is that shape: 24 inches in the blade-length row, 625 mm in the bullets, 595 g, article 1000615, £20.35. The frame holds the blade in tension, which is why this pattern can cut on the push and the pull. The amazon.co.uk bullets do not say that. UK trade pages do, for this 24 inch saw. The frame is also what hits bark and stems in a narrow fork. The English Garden's pruning guidance makes the general point: a bow frame can scar bark you meant to keep, while an open blade reaches a tighter space. A pruning saw is a blade and a handle, with no frame around the tip. The SW-240 is curved, coarse and listed for fresh wood, with a case, at £76.72 and 200 g. Model 393440-1001 is £49.53 and states a pull-and-push PowerTooth blade. B&Q's general guide says bow saws suit larger shrubs and cut on push and pull, while pruning saws are lighter in confined spaces. Do not copy a shop TPI figure onto the SW31, whose bullets do not state one. Named picks are on the best Fiskars garden saw page.
Logs and small trunks
The SW31 title says damp wood, and the bullets talk about heavier stems. UK reviewers, 41 texts inside a 4.3 from 1,019, used it on logs, apple wood and a small hardwood, often instead of a chainsaw. Support the log. A saw horse that stops the kerf pinching is part of using this bow. Reviewers who forced the SW31 got a banana cut, and one bent the blade on a thick laurel trunk. A highlight mentions a guard the box line does not list. You buck wood you can hold at a comfortable height, not from a ladder. A US line that a bow saw should never touch green wood is too neat here. The title says damp wood, and UK reviews include a small hardwood and apple logs. What this bow does poorly is the tidy living branch. The light stroke, once you are at the horse, is on the how to use a Fiskars pruning saw page.
Branches you want to leave a clean collar
A branch you are taking off a tree you will keep needs an open blade and the collar left intact. The SW-240 bullets say fresh wood, branches, hedges and bushes, a pulling cut, coarse teeth, and either hand. The case is in the title and the box field. It is 4.8 from 127, with no UK review text. Other reviews describe a fast fresh cut if you do not push the return, and slower dry wood. One reviewer talks about 10 to 15 cm. That is one comment. The contents line says 24 cm and the attribute row says 22 cm. Either way it is short beside a 24 inch bow, and you will not buck a log with it in any reasonable time. Model 393440-1001 is the option when the branch is larger and a two-way stroke is written down. Non-UK reviews mention limbs around 4 to 6 inches. That is not a UK measurement and not a Fiskars capacity. The 23.8 g weight is nonsense. Model 393440, at £54.09, does not state the stroke, and its box field says tree pruner, so it is a weaker exhibit. On a living branch, undercut first so the bark does not tear, then take the stub outside the collar, not flush. The SW31 frame gets in the way in that fork. If your afternoons are mostly that work, the bow is the saw you will fight.
If you only buy one
Buy the SW31 if most of what you cut is damp logs and small trunks you can support, and if you can accept a frame that will not make a pretty collar. At £20.35, with the only large UK review file in the set, it is the conditional pick for that week. Buy a pruning saw if most of what you cut is live branches and hedges in reach. The SW-240 is the one whose bullets say fresh wood and whose box includes a case, at a much higher price and without UK review text. Model 393440-1001 is the one whose bullets say pull and push, at £49.53, with written reviews that are not British. Do not buy the bow and then force it into every fork, and do not spend a winter bucking trunks with a 24 cm blade. If the year really is half logs and half fruit wood, the prices say the honest answer is both, with the bow as the cheaper one. One saw is a compromise, and the cheaper compromise with UK evidence is the SW31, with the pruning cut done less neatly. Neither saw is enough off the ground, under the branch, near a line, or on a protected tree.
Common questions
Can I prune a fruit tree with the bow saw?
You can remove wood with it, and UK reviewers used the SW31 on apple logs and a small hardwood. You should not expect a tidy collar in a tight fork. The frame can scar bark you meant to keep. For live fruit-wood you want left neat, a pruning saw in this set matches better. The bow remains the log tool once the branch is on the ground and supported.
Can I buck logs with the SW-240?
It is the wrong length. The contents line is 24 cm, the attribute row says 22 cm, and the bullets say branches, hedges and bushes, not trunks. One review already treats it as a smaller-branch saw. Use the SW31 for stove rounds you can support, and keep the SW-240 for the living tree.
Which one cuts on the pull only?
The SW-240 bullets say a pulling cut. The 15 inch saw 393440-1001 says pull and push, so not every pruning saw here is pull-only. The SW31 bullets do not name a stroke. UK trade pages say that bow cuts both ways. Follow the file for the saw you are holding, and do not push the SW-240 because the bow can take a push.
Which one fits in a fork?
The open pruning blade. The SW-240's curve is built for that reach, and the bow's frame collides with the stems beside the cut. B&Q's general guide says the same about confined spaces, without naming these ASINs. If the fork is above your head, neither saw belongs on a ladder.
Is the bow saw only for dry wood?
The SW31 title says damp wood, not seasoned timber only. UK reviews include logs and a small hardwood, and one buyer bent the blade on a thick laurel. A US line that reserves every bow saw for dead firewood is tidier than this listing. Use the bow on wood you can support. Use the pruning saw when the branch is still on a tree you care about.
What if I only buy one?
Match the majority of the year. Mostly stove rounds: the SW31 at £20.35. Mostly live branches you can reach: the SW-240 if you want fresh wood and a case, or 393440-1001 if you want a stated two-way stroke at £49.53. One tool will be second-best at the other job. The frame and the open blade are not interchangeable.
When is neither saw enough?
When you cannot support the wood, when you would stand under the branch, when the cut is off the ground or near a line, or when the tree needs consent you do not have. A longer bow does not replace a tree surgeon. Lopping is often outside a felling licence and still inside other rules, which the green-wood page covers. This page is only frame versus open blade.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the Fiskars UK Xtract page, plus the amazon.co.uk listings compared here. Listings captured on 19 October 2026.
- Forestry Act 1967, section 9 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Forestry Commission: when you do not need a felling licence (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areas (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Wild birds, protection, surveys and licences (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Countryside hedgerows, regulation and management (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE: Arboriculture (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, what statutory rights are there under a goods contract (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Fiskars UK: Xtract garden saw L SW75 (retrieved 19 October 2026)