BLACK+DECKER Powered Hand Saw Jigsaw Autoselect Scorpion 23mm Stroke Length and Prune 500W with Kitbox Includes 3 Blades RS890K-GB

For the price that I paid for it at the time (£35), this was an excellent buy. I've not got round to using the jig saw facility yet, but have used the straight cutting saw for quite a few different jobs, and found it performed well. None of them were large jobs, or particularly difficult, I cut about 10 thin wood off-cuts, cut through two or three 4 x 4s, and have made a lot of cuts, (upwards of 70) through 21.5 mm pvc (solvent weld) pipe, and have just had to change the blade the first time. It does sometimes vibrate a bit, but it's manageable, and I'm a not particularly strong woman. The only thing I don't like is the safety feature on the on/off switch: you've got to depress one button and flip the other switch at the same time, and both are quite stiff to operate, so I find it difficult to do this with one hand. Because I need to hold them with quite a lot of strength for my puny grip, I don't think it makes it very safe at all, as I've found, when needing to let go quickly that I'm holding the saw in such a death-grip that I don't instinctively let go, but need to consciously make myself let go. So if I needed to quickly stop the blade, say because I was accidentally sawing into my foot, I can see myself taking just that little bit too long. For me, it would be safer if it needed less of a grip to operate, but then it will probably still mostly be men using these, and who'll probably not have this problem unless their grip is as weak as mine. I find it easy to change the blades, and changing from straight cut to jig saw is also quite straight forward. There's a little location pin, which needs a flat-head screwdriver to adjust, if it's not in the correct position, but which normally only needs to be done once. The instructions are basic but sufficient, showing how to change the blade etc, and giving recommended depths for cutting different materials, which are: 100 mm for wood, 3 mm for steel and 50 mm for plastic or pruning branches. So this is not a heavy-duty saw, but good for general DIY jobs around the house and garden. The other drawback with this saw is that only B&D blades will fit, and only those for this particular saw model number. But based on my experience so far, they last a reasonable time, depending on what you're cutting. If you were cutting lots of really hard and/or thick wood, the blade will probably not last especially long, but you'll get a good few cuts. I don't know whether this saw would still be such good value at £15 more than I paid for it, though, so while I'd recommend it, not sure it's worth £50, compared to others on the market. Suppose it still works out cheaper than buying a reciprocating and a jig saw separately, though, if you need both but one or both only for occasional use - that's what really made this attractive for me: I will need the jig saw at some point for a job I've had planned for ages now, but after that, I might not need one again for a long time, so it didn't seem worth buying two separate saws for such occasional use. The other thing missing on this is a vacuum attachment for the dust. Otherwise, am really happy with this, and not sure how well those vacuum attachments work anyway, so have still given this 5 stars.

I bought this mainly for garden jobs like cutting up logs for firewood and pruning some large shrubs. It made light work of them. Saves so much time and effort. I have a section of laurel which had gone years without a chop. Last time I cut it back it took ages with a hand pruning saw and is very hard work. This scorpion saw saves all that time and effort, I got so much done in no time and cut what i could ready to burn. Ive used it on some very thick branches and with just a little pressure and sawing movement the tool does a great job. I think the key is not to be heavy handed and force it. Wish I got one years ago, brilliant little thing. I also like the kit box and alternative blades. Not sure if I will ever use the jigsaw function but clever that it has this option. Highly recommended.I have now owned this for 3 years and its had a lot of use but I broke it cutting a stump out. The blade clamp broke off inside. I found a part online for £5 and replaced it myself, a bit difficult getting the screws out as manufacturers don't like you to do your own fixes, I was happy to buy another saw but thought I would try and fix it as it was a cheap part and I now have a saw as good as new again. I really should replace the blade, its still the original one and still works well. To fix it you will need a new blade clamp which will come with 2 self tapping screws and a long thin torx security screw driver, or as in my case you tube and a have a go attitude. Its been a great buy and is ready for another year or 3.

This is a smaller saw than I had imagined it would be but it remains a versatile and good tool, it comes in a hard plastic mold carry case, the electric cable is only long enough for use in a workshop or at a work bench really, when using it out doors I used extention leads to provide more reach.The three blades, including the largest, which is pictured, all fit within the carry case too, in a purpose built slot. In addition to this main blade, there is a smaller wood and plastic jigsaw blade and a blade designed for cutting metal, such as sheet metal. The blades are easy to attach and detach from the unit, although can become hot from use (indicated by the manual).The user manual is clear, concise and easy to read, its instruction very easy to apply, quickly. Within five minutes of getting the power tool from the box with the manual read you can put it to use, although it is pretty intuitive, there are two buttons to depress together in order to make the saw function, another switch to adjust for cutting wood, plastics and metal. There is a plastic grip to assist with cutting branches, this requires a little push to adjust from one position to another as it clips or snaps into either affixed position. There is a rubberised grip to the front of the saw, which is a two handed saw despite being smaller, the instructions indicate how to hold the saw, two separate positions in order to use it as saw and jigsaw saw.The cuts are quite smooth, I used it cutting fairly robust/thick branches, which had been cut already from the tree, on plank, on plastic (sheet) and a small piece of plastic pipe, there was no splittering on any of the materials and it was a very smooth cross section remaining (as smooth as if I had used a sander on the same surface). On the branch the cross section was hot to the touch too. The saw did clunk or threatened to jam on some of the larger branch midsections and I dont think that it work as well on the larger or largest tree trunks or branches. I was a little disappointed as I had imagined it would work as effectively as a smaller chainsaw, however, as a workshop or work bench tool its second to none and does a good job on the smaller branches (though as a side note you would want to have a good vice or table with something to lock and hold the branches or wood in place due to the sometimes fierce vibration from the tool, though that being said this is not outside what I would expect from the same sort of tool).