Why was the USFS mandating that all volunteer groups get saw use and safety training? I’ve been leading work trips to the BWCAW since 1996 without any problems regarding injuries or getting the projects done. Now they only want certified A & B Buckers using the big saws on volunteer work trips. They even want to bring in certified saw trainers to make sure we learn the correct skills.

After all these years of sawing logs under my belt what could they possibly teach me? Was there a rash of injuries from other organized groups that I hadn’t heard about? Maybe a bunch of broken or abused equipment had been returned to the USFS (they provide all of our tools for the trips). Or just another bureaucratic quagmire devised by some government agency to perpetuate itself? And to top it all off it would take 8 hours! What could possibly take that long to learn about handsaws? What an idiot I was for thinking this way and they still certified me to Class B Bucker.

The program came about because of clearing the July 4th, 1999 blow down mess in the BWCAW. The USFS were only allowed to hire professional certified crews to go in and clear out the portages, campsites and trails hit by the storm. I’m sure we all heard about the special exemption the USFS received to go into the wilderness area with chainsaws to get things cleared out fast. What we didn’t hear about, and was probably more news worthy, was that most of the remote area work was done with traditional hand tools by sawyers. Yep, the hand saw and the ax. The kind of news that would have made Cliff Jacobson and Uncle Wally proud to hear. We’re not talking about a camp ax like Cliff promotes, we’re talking double bladed, long handled and safety sharp. Saws, not bow saws like you and I have in the garage, I mean 5.5 to 6 feet, two person, sophisticatedly sharp crosscut saws.

I learned a lot more than I had expected. Safety sharp? Sophisticatedly sharp? I should say deadly sharp-right? Wrong. The better the tool is sharpened the safer it is to use. You have to use the correct techniques as well, but your chance of getting hurt with a properly sharpened tool is greatly diminished. That’s what the certification was really about—safety and efficiency. The USFS found that these crews working with traditional hand tools in the blow down area cleared the same distance, or more, than the crews using chainsaws-in the same amount of time. Hard to believe isn’t it? I know I was skeptical at this statement, but it’s true.

The course was put together by two USFS representatives from MN, Mike Manlove and Dan Peterson, both from Ely. It was taught by Mike, Dan and two professional sawyers from the Idaho USFS, Ian Barlow and Warren Miller. Mike and Dan are both great guys who did a wonderful job organizing a terrific class and getting the safety message across. Ian and Warren really won me over with their attitude. These two gentle giants, with a combined tenure of well over 45 years of experience in the use and maintenance of these traditional tools, were amazing in their matter-of-fact style of teaching.

Now these guys aren’t instructors, consultants or even motivational speakers of the type that I’ve been exposed to. Their passion for passing on the ways of the traditional sawyer came across clearly as they related their experience and knowledge to the class. I have never met two more congenial and supportive individuals. Every question was a good one-it showed you were thinking. "Your brain is the best tool you have," they would tell us again and again. They helped us see how you can figure your way out of any situation, if you first think about it rather than reacting to it without evaluation. They showed us how to pull a truck out of the ditch by yourself with the use of a long cable, a tree and your brain. What’s pulling a car out of the ditch got to do with clearing trails you ask? How many big logs have we had to grunt and groan over or had to use a come-along or a lever to move off the trail after it’s been cut? I know my tool pack will have a cable in it this year.

In a time when everyone is suing over intellectual property and patent infringement—here are two guys, Ian and Warren, that not only want you to copy them, they’re willing to teach you how to acquire their product line, right down to the basic elements. Warren (and the USFS) even has a manual on sharpening the crosscut saw. It was an honor to meet this craftsman of a disappearing breed and watch him ply his trade. He was never condescending about how to do this sharpening method—despite his having no competition for his expertise. He listened intently to every question and carefully pondered every suggestion before responding.

I think the most important message that Ian related to me was that if society loses the experience, knowledge and skills that it takes to operate these traditional tools the only alternative, when doing these kinds of projects, will be to use modern, mechanized and costly methods—costly in more than just monetary ways. Are modern methods what you want to hear and see the next time you go into the wilderness to revitalize your spirit? What kind of a cost to society would this incur? And when you think about that—when we go into the wilderness what are we really doing that’s different from a sojourner a hundred years ago? We travel with the same basic type of canoe, paddle and packs, and if we go hiking we still put one foot in front of the other with a pack on our back just like they did a century ago. But when most of us think about removing a fallen tree, our first thought is how easy a chainsaw would be. We should all be aware that if special exemptions continue to be granted for chainsaw work, because (we believe) it’s the only practical way to clear areas for our use, it won't be long before motorboat, snowmobile, ATV and jet-ski users parlay these exemptions to cover their status.

But where can we get these great tools? Just as Ian and Warren suggested, I looked into my Great Aunt’s garden shed up north, and there they were, a couple of old saws-right where they said we could find the good ones. I can still read the manufacturer’s etching on the blade. Henry Disston & Sons Philadelphia, Pa. U.S.A., spring steel, extra thin back, patent ground blade. I’m going to sharpen it and use it in the wilderness in honor of Ian and Warren.

What are you willing to do for your wilderness?