thanks all again for ideas re: saw sheaths,
the sheaths arrived, thanks Chris for sewing these up.
real nice & smartly done,
for those wondering this is a boreal21 saw.
cheers,

Far more elegant, and more functional, than my crude DIYs.

or my makeshift cardboard bubble wrap with a smiley face on flap lol
i actually like these so much i really would choose them over the store items,
even if these were as pricey,

Great to hear they worked out. Happy to do custom designs. I was just thinking that one idea might be to pigy back a sheath for a smaller saw like a Silky on to the front of the larger sheath.

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Or perhaps an interior pocket for a spare blade?

Just wanted to add another (ugly but functional) suggestion. After reading the suggestion to use a flexible cutting board from the dollar store, I thought that was a decent for my purposes. But I did better than spending the dollar(s); I was out for a walk and came across a discarded closed-cell foam mat piece on the ground (about 2 feet by 2 feet), the kind that people use on floors that interconnect. I brought it home, cut it smaller, folded it around the saw, put a bunch of duct tape around it, leaving the top open so I could slide the saw in and voila!, I had a good-enough sheath for my big saw that I carry in my 115 litre dry bag. Now there's no danger of the teeth or other parts of the saw accidentally cutting something in there (like my air mattress or tent or whatever).

My Silky Gomboy lives year round in my essentials bag, even on day trips to clear branchy strainers and sweepers, but the transparent plastic case is oversized/overweight design nonsense. It would be different if that case was waterproof, or floated, but no on both counts.

P8290032 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

The folding Gomboy, which I appreciate as an always-available saw, weighs an acceptable 1O ounces, and folds down to 10 ½” long by ¾” thick, but the oversized plastic case adds excessive bulk, and another 5oz in weight. That is half the saw’s weight. And twice the bulk, it’s not just the weight of the case, it’s the overkill size.

Silky Saws seem popular as back up (or primary) saws. I can see a lighter, less bulky Silky Saw case, piggy backed on a bow saw case or stand alone, having value.

Googling I see various Silky Saw case options, none as nice as what Chris made.

https://www.google.com/search?q=silky+s ... nt=gws-wiz

@brad nice, good stuff.
do you have a pic of the result?
is it just pure foam sleeve, or flexible cut board lining the inside/bottom?

@mike i agree on case points. i have pocketboy 130 and 170,
i tossed the cases wanting nothing to do with them on trip.

1, the metal clip (that attaches to your belt etc) is practically just a pivoting clip
(a certain movement of body will prompt it to rotate 90 and pocketboy = floorboy)
2, not wproof + bulky as you say
3, when opening top cap, i intentionally applied minor force where its opening was maxed out (to see if it can withstand it). snapped right off, broken joint.
4, and so (related to 3) i trust not the 'locking clip', made of same plastic, that holds the cap down.

intending to buy gomboy and was thinking of asking Chris for sheath for that one.
piggyback sounds interesting.
i'd be interested to see that design, as i prefer saw sheath to not have a belly (from silky).
it would not be conducive to smooth saw inserts/extracts, in times saw is placed into pack.

@molly, an inner tunnel for spare blade is nice idea,
A-prevents grabbing both saw+blade when flinging out saw quick time (or from awkward angle).
B-prevents spare sliding up with the saw when pulling out just the saw
(these folding saws have contours, catchy lips, etc)
for this case i'll slip in spare blade as is (duct tape folded over teeth), and that's about it.

another option to solve AB:
have a tiny upside down pocket made of stretchy webbing,
like 1" x 1" pocket, upside down.
located just behind the yellow handle in pic with saw inserted. top of spare blade can slip into that tiny stretchy pocket.

Here's some photos of the ugly result. The title of this thread is "Perfect Saw Sheath." I don't claim it's perfect, but it'll do for now... and it probably floats. This saw I leave in my 115L dry bag and only take out if I really need it. I carry a smaller saw that fits in a pocket on the outside of my day pack, where it won't do any damage to other gear.

your case is perfect if it satisfies you. that's what i would have done for boreal21,
just with boreal21, i'd have sharp + heavy bottom, so i'd add flex-cut-board there,
and line whole case with it, so saw drops in freely (for a tight tunnel, which i'd want).
you're case is extremely protective to saw blade and pack contents, while so light.
may seem bulky but this foam will compress (the issue away) when/if a space crunch.

The plastic Silky cases are not for me. The designer (and approvers) of those cheesy plastic cases did no one any favors; what junk to hold a decent little saw.

If belt worn they are oversized, overweight thigh slappers. Plus, worse, the Gomboy will only go into the plastic case in one orientation, and I continue to bat .500 on that initial effort, with a now routine muttering of profanities. I can’t even think of a re-use for them, and I save and reuse everything; that may be a sure sign of waste bin junk.

I’d much prefer a Chris-style case that was lighter, and less orientation finicky for the Gomboy. If piggy-backed on a bow saw case perhaps a Silky, or other smaller saw case, could be made detachable, maybe with the Silky case secured inside an outer pouch, so it could be removed and carried or belt-worn by itself.

So, by all means, buy a Gomboy and have Chris made a more thoughtful sheath. Even with the Canada to US shipping costs I may want one too.

I hate that freaking plastic case, but I’m still using it. I guess I could just max out bending the cheap plastic hinge, say “Oh dang, it’s broken”, and throw it in the trash where it belongs.

So tempted.

hey mike ya good point about one-way-orientation.
that is true also for 130 and 170.
i bought the gomboy (240) today from MEC.

case clip is miles better than pocketboy, but still i'm tossing this case.
if anyone wants it, its yours.

funny what you said about maxing out hinge.
because honestly i think that is what motivated me some, to crack it lol.
set it up for disaster so my decision becomes easy.

nice saw, added length will be welcome, compared to my 130 & 170.
feels light compared to 130. i mean:
'expectation-of-weight' (based on appearance) is surprised by gomboy moreso than by pocketboy.

this is as large as ill go for silky. i feel it's optimal length.
now time to think of a sleek, light, orientation-independent casing,
piggyback might be good, velcro attach is a cool idea too,

Ugh, Velcro. Velcro has its uses, but I’m not a fan for many outdoor applications. My all-time least favorite design on outdoor clothing is Velcro closure cuffs on a jacket and Velcro closure flaps on a pocket. Great, thanks, my cuff is now Velcroed inside my pocket. Or, crud, my cuff in now Velcroed to my saw case.

The hook and loop GRRZZKKKK separation noise is like fingernails on a blackboard to me, but the biggest Velcro default is that when not hooked and looped together Velcro accumulates gunk, the hook side especially. Sawdust might not be helpful on either Velcro side.

If the Gomboy case had a belt carrier loop maybe just a shortie webbing strap & buckle sewn onto the main saw case, fastened through the Gomboy case loop? Or an outer pouch on the main saw case, sized and positioned to simply slip the cased Gomboy case inside?

you mean an outer pouch on the main saw case which the plastic gomboy case slips into?
or that a fabric gomboy case slips into?
i do like pouch idea more than buckled on gomboy, because i don't like floppy/catchy things.
except fish lol.

I was thinking an outer pouch that a custom fabric no-orientation-issue Gomboy case would slip inside. Nix on the plastic case.

I agree about the floppy/catchy things aspect of a Gomboy case “belted” to the main saw case, busting through thick undergrowth stuff is going to get trapped between the two cases. Same for a Gomboy case that attached with Velcro, with the chance that oops, the Gomboy case detached and is somewhere back up the trail.

A sewn outer pouch would present a more flush contiguous case object.