Total number of visits: 5328
Top Review

Corona QuickSaw – 7-inch Folding Hand Saw (QS 7800): Product Review

Corona kindly sent me their QuickSaw® (QS 7800) to use and review.

When it comes to portability, there’s nothing like a 7-inch (blade length) folding pruning saw. It’s light, fits in your pocket, and can cut large branches even better than a two-inch monster lopper.

SPECIFICATIONS

  • Adjustable Tightness of Blade to Handle: Yes (straight bladed screwdriver)
  • Special Features: Hole to attach a lanyard or hang on the wall
  • Cutting Direction: Pull stroke
  • Blade Locking Mechanism: Thumb lever
  • Overall Length (including blade): 15–¼ inches
  • Folded Length: 8–½ inches
  • Blade Material: High carbon steel (impulse-hardened)
  • Blade Plating: Chrome plated
  • Straight or Curved Blade: Straight
  • Blade Teeth Design: Triple grind geometry
  • Replaceable Blade: Yes
  • Weight: 5–3/4 oz.
  • Can Blade Be Sharpened: No. Impulse-hardened high carbon steel is too hard to sharpen.

VIDEO REVIEW

In this video, Jack goes over the features of the Corona QuickSaw®, including the locking mechanism, the unique dual-cutting positions, the handle, and the blade. You can also see the QuickSaw® in action as he cuts through a piece of dead mesquite wood.

PACKAGING

Corona Quick Saw packaging

The saw came in a plastic see-through front and a cardboard back package

The saw arrived with a clear plastic, see-through window on the front of the package and a cardboard back. A punch-out at the top of the packaging allows it to hang on a pegboard display. This type of packaging is pretty typical for most of the saws I test.

When Corona shipped the saw to me, it came in a standard cardboard box with some packaging material. The saw arrived without a scratch or dent.

SOFT RUBBERIZED HANDLE

I like the handle a lot. It is made from a single piece of rubberized material that runs almost the full length of the handle. A hook at the back of the handle prevents my hand slipping off while pulling the blade through wood. (The blade cuts on the pull stroke.) The handle provides a great gripping surface, one of the best I’ve found in all the saws I have reviewed. There’s also a hole at the back end of the handle to attach a lanyard or hang in a storage area on a hook or nail.

Corona Quick Saw handle

The rubberized handle provides superior grip

HANDLE TO BLADE TENSION ADJUSTMENT

The Corona QuickSaw® 7-inch Folding Hand Saw (QS 7800) has a large bolt that allows adjustment of the tension of the handle to blade interface (using a straight bladed screwdriver). I found it unnecessary to set the bolt differently, as the factory tension was perfect.

Corona Quick Saw adjustment screw

The large bolt is easily operated with a flathead screwdriver

TIGHT TOLERANCES

Of all the saws I reviewed, the QuickSaw® offers one of the tightest blade-to-handle tolerances. There is very little “play” when the blade is in the open position–no wiggle from side-to-side nor up-and-down. I like a well-engineered tool with quality built in, like the QuickSaw®.

METAL THUMB LEVER AND ALUMINUM FRONT END

Another quality feature of the saw is that both the front end of the saw and the thumb lever (to open and close the blade) are made from high grade aluminum. It gives the feeling of precision workmanship, and these parts work flawlessly together.

Corona Quick Saw aluminum front

The high-grade aluminum saw’s front and thumb lever speaks volumes about quality

DUAL CUTTING POSITION

The QuickSaw® also sports an over-center feature, which Corona calls its “dual cutting position.” Its design allows the saw blade to cut difficult-to-reach branches. The dual cutting concept is interesting, but it works best to undercut branches to make proper pruning cuts. The design can help in extremely brushy pruning situations, but I think that it’s more practical when used to make undercuts than to reach challenging places (as Corona touts this feature). Of all the folding pruning saws I reviewed, Fiskars also offers this “over-center” capability, but they marketed it as a way to more easily undercut branches to perform the proper pruning. I would use the Corona QuickSaw® for proper pruning rather than reaching difficult branches.

Corona QuickSaw over center

The “dual cutting position” is meant to enable the saw to reach hard to access places

IMPULSE HARDENED TEETH

Most of the saw blades that I test use a conventional high-carbon steel saw blade. High-carbon steel is the preferred blade material due to its hardness and ability to make many thousands of cuts before wearing out. The process of making high carbon steel strong involves a quenching (dipping in) bath of either oil or water when the blade is extremely hot. Impulse-hardened teeth, on the other hand, are manufactured differently. High carbon steel is still used, but the process “involves both the heating and cooling within several thousandths of a second using high impact energy created by high frequency current,” this according to ARS (a premium manufacturer of pruning and cutting tools).

The single biggest advantage of impulse-hardened teeth is that the blades last three times longer than conventionally manufactured high-carbon steel blades. However, this technology also results in a premium price tag for the product. In my opinion, the proportional increase in cost makes impulse-hardened blades preferable to standard ones. The only downside to impulse blades is their inability to be sharpened due to their hardness. But we also don’t recommend sharpening conventional high-carbon steel blades, because the triple grind tooth geometry is hard to sharpen correctly. You can sharpen high carbon steel, but one false move, and you’ve ruined your blade.

EASY TO CARRY

In its fully closed (and locked) position, the saw easily fit in my hip pocket. It was very comfortable to carry around as I walked from job site to job site. I tried it in my back pocket, which has a shallower depth. I found that I could still carry it here, but it didn’t feel quite as secure. It never fell out, but it did move around slightly as I walked. By keeping it in my front pocket, it also was more comfortable when sitting down.

CUTTING PERFORMANCE

  • Ease of Cutting: Very easy
  • How Clean is the Cut: Very clean
  • Cutting Speed: Fast

Although this is not my favorite saw of all that I reviewed, it is one of my most highly recommended.

It cut like a dream. The saw is easy to start the cut, makes smooth, clean cuts, and blasts its way through live and dead wood. The over-center feature allows undercuts for proper pruning.

CARE

I like to take care of my tools because they perform better and last longer. Folding hand saws are no exception. The QuickSaw® sports a chrome-plated blade that inhibits rust and helps prevent the buildup of saps and resins. It is a nice added bonus, but it is not bulletproof. Over time, the plating will start to wear off the blade, especially around the teeth. When this happens, rust is inevitable. I’ve found that a light coating of lubricant on the blade, the thumb lever, and the hinge point where the blade goes through the handle will keep your saw in tip-top shape. My favorite lubricant is Tri-Flow®

And one final note: don’t leave your saw outside overnight. The morning dew will take its toll. Also, avoid using your saw in the rain. If you have to, dry it off after use and make sure you lubricate it well before putting it away.

SAFETY

You’re dealing with a very sharp tool. We highly recommend using leather gloves when pruning or cutting up branches. One slip without gloves can send you to the hospital for a few stitches or worse. And finally, don’t forget to wear safety glasses. We recommend Wiley-X. These glasses help prevent sawdust in the eyes and flying metal if the saw blade breaks (and they can, if bent at extreme angles). Be safe.

WARRANTY

Corona offers a limited lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.

RECOMMENDATION

This is one of my favorite saws. Its aluminum frame and thumb lever show quality construction, and the fantastic rubberized grip provides great comfort. The impulse-hardened blade offers longevity and high-quality cuts. I like the over-center blade—not so much for reaching hard-to-access places but for undercutting branches with proper pruning cuts. Overall, it’s a quality product that prunes well. As a bonus, it has replaceable blades.

WHERE TO BUY

The QuickSaw is available on Amazon

You can also purchase it from the Corona website:  for $40.90 along with replacement blades + Shipping (no available rates were available at the time of this review).