Dick Swenson, the man responsible for developing the Sven Saw, died October 28 in his home in Duluth.
RIP Dick Swenson, Sven Saw "inventor"

Nice article honoring Mr. Swenson. Like many on this forum, I have used and appreciated his saw on several canoe trips.

I have one of his saws and it is great and good looking.

I carried our Sven saw in my pack (my job was to carry food and kitchen stuff mainly) for many years on Quetico, BWCA and other canoe trips. A good, useful saw.

Love my Sven Saw.
RIP.

I echo the sentiments above. Our crew has carried a Sven Saw on trips for 40(?) years. If not 40, it's darn close to that. Great product. RIP Mr. Swenson.

Great article. I for one am glad he followed through on the thought that there had to be something better than a hatchet.
39 years ago we started going to the bw with a sierra saw, and were not very happy with it ( the tip broke off). Soon after my husband discovered the Sven saw. I remember him showing me how to set it up- he was thrilled with the design, and we still use the same saw today.

This brings two threads of my canoe life together. I actually ordered my Sven from REI which I learned about from my college roommate, who was a member of Mountaineers, the coop that started REI. That was in the 1960s. Someone at REI once told me I had one of the earliest REI numbers in Minnesota. That Sven and some other REI equipment are still with me.

Before the Sven, we used to carry the old Swedish wooden bow saws with a custom-designed piece of wood to cover the blade. They were heavy and bulky but did the job. The Sven was a game changer for tripping along with down bags, stuff sacks, lightweight tents.

Some day I need to write about what tripping was like before the BWCA and equipment like the Sven.

Seems he had a good run and condolences to his friends and family.

Literally wore out my SVEN Saw after +40 years, not just the blade(s), but I repaired it.
Always gave it an 8 out of 10, great design but certainly not perfect. Perhaps user error, always found it was a fine line between efficiency and that blade flexing.

Sad to hear this. I own and love a sven saw as well. Wonderful invention.