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How to use a wire saw

Updated: 16.10.2026

You have a cable or a short chain in your hand, the branch or the pipe is in reach, and the first pull is where these tools kink, jam or open at the crimp. This is how to use a wire saw without wrapping it around the wood and hauling it into your body. Overhead drop zones stay on [rope saw for high branches](/hub/power-saws/wire-saw/sub/wire-saw-high-branches). Which mechanism you should have bought is on the [wire saw comparison](/hub/power-saws/wire-saw). Products Compared used amazon.co.uk review notes stored on 16 October 2026 and public instructions. There was no timed cut. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a cable or a short chain in your hand, the branch or the pipe is in reach, and the first pull is where these tools kink, jam or open at the crimp.

Our top picks

Skyocean Skyocean 36 inch pocket chain

Best overall

Skyocean Skyocean 36 inch pocket chain
7.4/10about £17.99
View offer
Tweruna Tweruna 3-pack wire saw

Best value

Tweruna Tweruna 3-pack wire saw
6.5/10about £5.29
View offer
Unbranded Red and black wire saw pair

Rank 3

Unbranded Red and black wire saw pair
5.4/10about £3.39
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On this page
  1. 1.Set the tool up before you pull
  2. 2.The stroke that does not wrap the wire
  3. 3.When it jams, snaps, or only cuts one way
  4. 4.Where this method stops

Set the tool up before you pull

A wire saw cuts by rubbing a tensioned strand across the material. Spyral Saw’s instructions say to keep the blade straight and not to wrap it and pull towards your body. If you must use your arms, they want the hands far apart. The red and black pair lists 5 cm rings; both UK reviews pushed a stick through the loops. FamilyMall buyers wrapped tape around rings that bit fingers. Stand clear of the offcut. If the wood is above your head, stop. The wire saw or pocket chainsaw page separates the mechanisms. The wire saw buying guide is the length check if you have not bought yet.

The stroke that does not wrap the wire

Seat the cutting section on the far side of a small branch, or around a pipe you can see, with your hands wider than your shoulders. Take up the slack and pull one hand, then the other, in long strokes. Welkinbird, a UK shop page for a 70 cm stainless cable, describes a stick with V notches so you stroke as you would a bow saw. Two people on a pocket chain can keep a steadier angle, if you agree who steps back. Do not wrap the wire and pull both handles towards your chest. On PVC, keep the strand in the cut you can see.
Skyocean Skyocean 36 inch pocket chain

Testsieger

Skyocean Skyocean 36 inch pocket chain
7.4/10about £17.99
View offer

When it jams, snaps, or only cuts one way

One Homirty buyer got through four 25 mm softwood branches and then the wire broke. That is not evidence the next cheap cable will do a larger stem. If a crimp opens, as one Tweruna reviewer found on plastic drainpipe, drop the tool and do not grab the strand. The wrench on that included line is not a repair method. On a chain, ease the tension and check which face is against the wood. The 4,500 RPM row is not a speed you can feel. If the wire is too hot to guide, or it has a sharp kink, that strand is finished. Do not practise this stroke on OTOTEC’s 0.25 mm diamond wire and expect a branch to fall.

Where this method stops

This stroke is for wood, pipe or bone you can see, with both hands in front of you. The Health and Safety Executive’s chainsaw pages are about powered saws, training and protective equipment. They are not a certificate for a hand chain in your garden. PUWER 1998 can apply when the tool is work equipment. If you are being paid, or the wood is large, decayed, hung up, or over a road, a building or a line, a competent person should take the job. A protected tree is a separate question.

Common questions

Do you wrap the wire around the branch?
No. Seat a straight section against the wood and pull with your hands apart, or use a green stick as a bow so the wire stays in a frame. Spyral’s instructions say not to wrap the blade and pull it towards your body. A wrap loads the crimp and, if the wire parts, the free end is coming at you.
How hard should you pull?
Hard enough to keep the strand straight, and light enough that it does not kink or jump. Skyocean reviews that got on with a chain talk about light pressure. Long strokes beat a short scrub. There is no seconds-per-cut figure on this page.
What if it only cuts one way?
Reset the wire and pull only in the direction that bites, as one Homirty reviewer did, and stop if the return jam folds the strand. On a pocket chain, check that the toothed face is against the wood. Several Skyocean reviews say the teeth are on one side.
What if the rings are too small?
Put a stick, a dowel or a spoon handle through the loops, which is what both reviewers of the 5 cm red and black rings did. Tape is the other review fix, used on FamilyMall rings that cut fingers. If the ring still will not take a bar, that cable is the wrong handle for your hand.
How do you know the wire is getting too hot or kinked?
If you cannot pinch the strand near the cut, or you can see a sharp fold, stop. Heat and a kink are the end of that piece for this job. Bending a kink flat and carrying on is how the next stroke snaps it.
Should you wear gloves?
Gloves are a sensible minimum, because a failed crimp leaves sharp wire, as the Tweruna drainpipe review described. They are not a lab-tested guard, and they will not hold a chain that jumps out of the cut. Eye protection is reasonable for the same reason: a parting wire moves.
When do you stop and use another page, or stop altogether?
Stop the basic stroke when the wood is above you, when you would climb or use a ladder, or when the cable has kinked or the crimp has opened. Hire someone competent when the wood is large, decayed, hung up, or over a building, a road or a line, or when you are doing the work for a customer.

Related pages

Power saws

Wire saw

Best wire saw: reachable branches, or a spare cable

Wire saw buying guide: cable, chain or diamond wire

Rope saw for high branches you can cut from the ground

Wire saw or pocket chainsaw: branch, stick or pipe

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings for this set. Last checked on 16 October 2026.

  1. HSE, PUWER overview (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  2. legislation.gov.uk, PUWER 1998 (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  3. HSE, chainsaw operators (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  4. HSE, aerial tree work (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  6. Advnture, camping saw guide (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  7. Spyral Saw, wire saw instructions (retrieved 16.10.2026)
  8. KS Tools 123.0005 via Mister Worker (retrieved 16.10.2026)