BLACK+DECKER Electric Hand Saw with Storage Bag, 3.4-Amp (PHS550B)

Thank you Amazon and Black & Decker!(and I am sure my neighbors would thank you if they could).When this came up as a recommendation (I had been looking at chain saws) I said "yeah, right, like that's going to do anything". I have an acre with a woody hedge, some branches 6-8 inches in diameter. I have been working on it with a pruning saw, a slow laborious process. Needless to say it has not been coming along too quickly. There are places where it is 20 feet tall.My saw arrived yesterday, and thanks to great instructions on installing the blade from another reviewer. Since I have not been able to link that review, I will note that if you are having difficulty installing the blade, lay it on it's sideand look into the opening. Make sure that the button which the blade slips on to is oriented correctly (the manual does say to check the orientation and adjust with a screwdriver if necessary. that is, by prodding it a bit to align it). Place the blade in the slot and drop it so that the opening on the blade slips over the oval knob, and then gently pull down until it snaps into place. this should only take a minute or so (less, actually) I was up and running in a couple of minutes, and so surprised at how easy it was: light, maneuverable, powerful (well, more so than I had been expecting). My son came out to check out the new saw, saying "it cuts just like a light saber) lol, well we all have our own points of reference.I cleared 25 linear feet in less than an hour (more level and cleaner than I could get by hand).... only another 980 or so to go :p The only limitation I have is the length of my extension cords (bet I know what my next recommendation is going to be). I am thinking of tiptoeing over to the other listing and getting that little LI chain saw while it's on sale (and my husband is out of the house.... I got this because he doesn't trust me with a chain saw) :DHaving done that so easily, I attempted to take out a dead orange tree (hardwood) which my husband said he could not get with the (18" gas) chainsaw. I had an avocado tree becoming bonsaied while I waited for the orange tree to come out...and finally did it myself with this little saw! The trunk is over 12" in diameter. The limbs 6"-8". I took it slowly, and had no trouble at all (though the saw is rated for half the diameter). (The trick is to hold it steady without putting much pressure on the blade and let the saw do the work.) A week or so later we used a chipper/ shredder to mulch hat I had taken out. I would guess it produced between 50-100 gallons of wood chips from what i took out in just a few hours with this saw!Then my husband borrowed the saw to trim some of the bigger limbs to fit in the shredder, and in no time flat, broke the shaft :( (how that happened when I'd used the same saw to take down the tree cutting through larger parts than he was cutting i will never know) BUT: I took it into the local Black & Decker service center & they replaced it, sent me a brand new one no questions asked! In fact It got here in just 1 week (and that is to the most geographically remote land mass on earth.I am very happy with the tool and amazed at Black & Decker's customer service. When I need another tool (and I do to reach the parts of the yard I can't get to with an extension cord) I will absolutely be going back to Black & Decker. I have never experienced customer service like this before! (Very happy customer!)This is a great little tool for the price; a great little tool period.

This product is PERFECT for me!!! Got the jobs done! I am a 48.5 year young woman, and I needed to trim a tree. I didn't want to call my regular professional tree-trimmer for just a couple of limbs. Once I used the Black & Decker Handsaw and saw how easy it was to use, I ended up trimming more than just a couple of limbs and branches -- three to four inches in diameter -- on other trees. And I used the Handsaw to make the branches smaller so they could fit into my garbage bins. I used gloves, as advised by another reviewer. Sure beats using a manual hand saw! I would still be sawing away and becoming exhausted in the process! The product also comes with a second blade for cutting metal, which I have not used, yet. I had no problems putting in the blade, as a few other reviewers mentioned; I was concerned about that when I placed my order. The written instructions and diagram explain how to put in the blade, about 30 seconds to a minute of reading, and then I put in the blade as instructed. Fortunately, it assembled easily in seconds and on my first try. True, it's not speedy like a chainsaw, but it's safe, relatively lightweight, and easy to use. It still does all the sawing for me, and it sure beats the manual way! It's much MUCH faster than the manual way and less strenuous/exhausting. My neighbor, who is an amazing Mr. Construction Guy, came over, saw it and used it. He commented it was a great buy (I didn't ask him for his opinion, and he's a super brutally honest, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may type of person). I like the electric cord -- no need for gas or to recharge; always ready for use! Bottom line: this Black & Decker Handsaw is a safe, easy to use, and effective time saver (as well as a wallet saver for do-it-yourselfers), and it's enjoyable and fun! I'm looking forward to sawing something else!

I bought this saw primarily to cut up medium-sized branches trimmed off the trees hanging over my fence from the neighbor's yard. Up to about 1" in diameter, I use a Siskars lopper, but I needed something to cut larger branches to 18" long or shorter, so they'd fit in my green waste recycling bin. This saw is basically a powered hacksaw. It feels hefty and well-made. Even using the wood blade, it takes patience to cut through a 2" branch or larger. It is variable speed, but even so it sometimes grabs the wood and sets up some severe vibration, much like a Sawzall, and darn near scrambles your brain if you don't let go of the trigger. It seems to work better if I cut halfway thru and then flip the wood over and cut from the other side. It might help to put the wood in a vise or clamp it to something so you can keep both hands on the saw like the instructions recommend. It arrived at my house fairly promptly and in good condition, but I was upset to see it advertised on Amazon for $39 (I paid $44 a week earlier). Oh well, guess you can't win them all. Can't wait to see how the metal-cutting blade works. Overall, I'd say it's worth buying, especially if you're into power tools like I am. Good luck!Just an additional comment: Since my 1st review, I used this saw to cut thru the nails they used to secure the roof sheathing to the facia boards, when I was replacing some rotting facia. In this instance, this saw was invaluable. With the metal cutting blade attached, it cut the nails like a hot knife thru butter. I actually couldn't think of an easier way to do this job, because prying on that thin sheathing was damaging the old plywood. Because of this job alone, the purchase of this saw was well worth it. Buy it if the price is right (Amazon prices flucuate like the stock market.)