BLACK+DECKER 400W Scorpion Powered Handsaw, KS890ECN-GB

I bought this to replace the same model that I bought over 30 years ago. The other one is still repairable. Just the heads of two tiny screws sheared off after all that time ! I could only find one tiny difference in the plastic case. Obviously the internals could be difference, but why change anything when you got it dead right three decades ago ! The blades are good quality and are super easy to change, and it cuts a nice straight line, better than a hand saw. I think it was a few pounds cheaper than 30 years ago, pound for pound, which makes it an incredible bargain in today's money!

Unsure at first if this was the right tool for the job. I looked at mini chainsaws but didn’t feel comfortable using one. I then stumbled across the DIY friendly Black & Decker Scorpion saw and ordered blindly. The provided Instructions aren’t great as I struggled at first to insert the blade. However, a quick google and it all became clear as there are lots of YouTube tutorials online. Once up and running the blade seemed solid enough for me to cut down an overgrown tree / shrub. The trunks weren’t overly thick and it cut through them pretty easily and quickly as the blade was obviously new and sharp. There’s a nice safety feature on the saw too which is great. Once you release, the blade will stop. Overall I’d definitely recommend this if the job isn’t too difficult or demanding. For the average DIY’er / gardener, I would say this is a safe and effective tool to tackle overgrown small trees and shrubs.

This is a very useful saw which can get in many places many replicating saws cannot, the saw stroke is quite short and the blade is robust. Not used but it can be a basic jigsaw as well.

Very pleased with this product, good value for money and does the job perfectly.

Excellent wished I had this years ago so easy to use cuts straight lines highly recommended thank you cheers

Great for the price,great little saw

When I first used this saw, I was amazed that it was actually slower than using a handsaw (and an old one at that). But that seems to be because I was using it for a heavy duty task it's not designed for - sawing with the grain on a piece of 10-10 cm timber (the handsaw was slow, but this was even slower). Against the grain it's more successful, but still not noticeably faster than a handsaw. It seems to work best on small jobs where there is a lot of repetitive work, or where hand sawing would get tiring and tedious. Or, for example, pruning small branches on trees where you need to reach up all the time, or where there is not enough room for the arm action needed for a handsaw. But the noise is phenomenal! I really recommend ear defenders if you plan on using this for any length of time - i. e., for more than a few seconds. Not only that, but it's very clumsy to hold one-handed. Using the other hand on the front of the housing helps (obviously if the wood is otherwise secured). But even where I found it a little faster than the handsaw, the noise and clumsiness of this saw meant I went back to the handsaw periodically. Lastly - perhaps worst of all - the method of loading and removing the blades is extremely awkward. Fitting the blade is easy to begin with, but it's extremely stiff to rotate it into position - and you are having to push on the cutting edge, so you need heavy duty gloves (which you should wear anyway of course). But then it's hard to tell when it actually is in position - there is no reassuring click, you just find that you can no longer rotate it back down. Then, to remove it you need to press a sprung button to allow the blade to rotate back down - but that needs an insane amount of pressure (at least it does on my model), and it seems hit or miss whether it actually releases the blade - again, there seems to be no helpful click. Every time I fitted a blade and removed it was a ridiculous struggle. The manual is also not the most helpful. 95% of it is safety warnings - as if one couldn't guess that an electric saw is dangerous! - before you get to one or two brief paragraphs on how to actually use the thing - and some of that is cryptic pictures which are hard to make sense of. So: full marks for safety features - the safest feature being that it's so annoying to use that one is persuaded to never actually use it at all! Still - I am giving it 3 and 2 stars for those other categories. It's not quite bad enough for single stars. it's cheap, after all. You get what you pay for.

I bought this for one job only, to help remove the ivy from the walls & roof of my garage/workshop. When I say ivy I mean IVY: about 10 yards long with a wall about 12 feet high, then onto the roof...The thicker limbs were about 3 inches thick, then there's the fact that it's ivy, there was no room to work on most of it, so a reciprocating saw blade with a short throw was essential. Using a handsaw was hard work & frankly impossible from 6 feet up a ladder, at arm's length. For 35 quid the Scorpion looked ideal, which it was. I bought a spare blade, but the original's got loads of life left. Reading the reviews, I think most unfavourable ones are expecting too much, if you want a professional quality reciprocating saw, De Walt will happily separate you from several times the cost of one of these. If you don't want mains power, for site work, again go pro-quality. If you want light weight, my OH has no problem using it, one handed up the ladder, the Scorpion's for you. The biggest weakness appears to be the pin that locates the blade. Following the links that other reviewers have posted took me to a discount spares seller; the pin costs 1.99, the spring & e-clip that locate it cost the same, although they should be reusable...I've ordered them as spares. Just be a bit sympathetic when using it & it'll be fine: if what you really need is a pro-tool or a chainsaw [I've got a couple] get one. Lastly, the only other tools we used on the ivy were a bit of rope & a pair of Draper Expert ratchet loppers with extending handles, both of which were as essential as the Scorpion. UPDATE, 10th July 2021: Same tool, same blade[!] we've just used this to reduce our front hedge, mostly super tough Pyracanths, It's gone through about 4metres in length, by 2 metres in depth [seriously over grown , in other words] cutting dozens of stems from 2.5 to 5cms plus, classic 'overgrown hedge' wood. We've taken about 1 metre off the height. We used a hedge trimmer to remove the greenery, on one side, then got into the big branches within, with the Scorpion. It took about an hour. Just one hour. We'd been quoted £100's to get it done professionally. Two OAPs and the Scorpion, like a knife through butter, thanks B&D, couldn't have done it without you!. I'.ve got a chainsaw, but this is precision cutting, exactly what we needed.

Malheureusement prise américaine qu'il faut changer ...

Heavy-Duty and durable. I'm so happy.

El enchufe que incorpora no es el europeo sino americano pero tengo en casa adaptador así que no hubo problema. La herramienta es de muy fácil uso y ha superado incluso mis expectativas. He podido realizar todo el trabajo en el tiempo que me había marcado, sin ningún tipo de contratiempo.

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A mio avviso ottimo attrezzo per tagli veloci e piu' precisi rispetto ad un segaccio a mano