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Swede-saw
[see note]
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
a type of saw having a bow-like tubular frame and a sharp blade with many cutting teeth, especially efficient in cutting pulpwood and any soft, green wood.
It has been suggested that this term may have received its name because the original blades were of Swedish steel. It is also possible that the name was applied derisively because the saw was associated with Swedish lumbermen, as may well be the case with Swedish fiddle, Swedish violin, etc. See also Swede.
Quotations
1950
It looked just like any other "Swede saw," with its tubular metal frame, painted blue, and a thin, keen blade which was kept taut by a clamp.
1956
Withdrawing my axe from its scabbard and taking the "Swede" saw from beneath the pack cover, I assembled it and surveyed my task.
1959
There were evenings when my neck was so bloody [from bulldog bites] it looked as if someone had been trying to hack off my head with a dull Swede-saw.