Hot take: pole saw vs handsaw for deadwood removal on mature oaks

I did a big deadwood removal job on a 60 foot red oak in Portland last week. Started with my 12 foot Silky pole saw because I thought it would save time, but branches kept getting hung up and the reach was awkward. Swapped to climbing with a manual handsaw and finished in half the time with way cleaner cuts. The pole saw is gathering dust now unless the ground is flat and clear. Anybody else find pole saws overrated for production work?

2 comments

2 Comments

stone.lisa1mo ago

Funny how the fancy tool never beats plain old skill and patience.

betty_kelly91mo ago

Plain old skill and patience" beat the tool? That's a bold claim right there. Sure, the fancy stuff can't fix a shaky eye or sloppy hands, but I've seen it save people hours of guesswork. Does that mean you're ditching your power tools for a hand saw now?