Hand Saws
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Communication & Entertainment · CPSC Code 830
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Hand Saws carry a danger score of 34/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 3,523 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 34/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 3,523
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 2.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 55-64
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 830 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 34/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for hand saws - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume3,523 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)2.2%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-5%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Hand Saws (CPSC product code 830, in the Home Communication & Entertainment category) generate an estimated 3,523 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 70,460 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 34/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2006 (4,559 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2023 (2,279 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for hand saws is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 33,662 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (14,096 cases). The 55-64 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 12,604 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 2.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 3 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how hand saws fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 115 | 67 | |
| 5-14 | 4,456 | 334 | |
| 15-24 | 7,825 | 514 | |
| 25-34 | 10,062 | 1,009 | |
| 35-44 | 9,726 | 748 | |
| 45-54 | 10,650 | 1,325 | |
| 55-64 | 11,440 | 1,164 | |
| 65-74 | 7,225 | 740 | |
| 75+ | 2,748 | 300 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Finger | Amputation | |
| Eyeball | Foreign Body | |
| Upper Leg | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Knee | Laceration | |
| Finger | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
52YOM PRESENTS WITH A LACERATION TO THE LEFT THUMB ON THE PALMER SURFACE. HE CUT IT ON A HAND SAW. NO ACTIVE BLEEDING. DX: LACERATION WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY LEFT THUMB WITHOUT DAMAGE TO NAIL.
64YOM WITH LACERATION TO LEFT HAND FROM HAND SAW. ACCIDENTALLY CUT HIMSELF. DX: LACERATION OF LEFT HAND
10 YOM C/O INJ TO FINGER WHEN HE CUT IT ON A SERRATED SAW AT CAMP DX LAC FINGER
83YOM WAS CUTTING A BRANCH WITH A HAND SAW WHEN IT SLIPPED AND CUT HIM ON HIS LEFT INDEX FINGER. DX: LACERATION WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY LEFT INDEX FINGER WITHOUT DAMAGE TO NAIL
34YOF AT HOME RENOVATING THE KITCHEN USING A HAND SAW THAT SLIPPED AND CUT L ARM DX ANXIETY FOREARM LACERATION
49 YOM WITH LEFT HAND LACERATION. USING A HAND SAW TO CUT TILES WHEN THE TILE SLIPPED AND CUT HIS LEFT HAND BEFORE THE LEFT THUMB. DX LACERATION LEFT HAND WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY
33YOM WAS CUTTING SOME TREE BRANCHES WITH A HAND SAW AND SUFFERED A LACERATION TO THE DORSUM OF THE LEFT HAND. DX: LACERATION OF LEFT HAND
10YOM USING A HAND SAW TO CUT A STICK AND CUT FINGERS. DX: LACERATION
44YOM WAS USING A HAND SAW WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY STRUCK HIS LEFT THUMB WITH THE SAW WHILE CUTTING WOOD AND THE SAW KICKED BACK AND STRUCK HIS FACE DX: LACERATION OF LEFT HAND; LACERATION TO CHIN
64YOM WAS USING A HAND SAW AT HOME WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY CUT HIS LEFT RING FINGER DX:LAC TO FINGER
54 YOM CUT HIS FINGERS WITH A HAND SAW. HE WAS USING IT WHEN IT SLIPPED. DX OPEN LEFT 2ND FINGER FX, LACERATIONS TO 1ST AND 3RD FINGERS
65YOM WAS USING HAND SAW TO CUT WOOD AND CUT HIS FINGERS DX: LAC OF LEFT HAND WITHOUT FB
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
3rd Occurrence of a broken blade safety lock on a Florian, FC-07 Folding Saw
I recently purchased a Stanley coping hand saw. The blade that came pre-installed seemed lose and I was trying to tighten it and the blade shot out like a metal sling shot, shooting a saw blade. It barely missed my face. I examined the bottom part where the blade is meant to go in and see that it is not made properly, there is excess metal (from a mould I'm guessing) so there is literally no way in which the saw blade can be installed securely. It is blocked from being able to be put in correctly. Someone could be seriously injured if there are other saws with the same problem. It's a bit hard to explain without seeing it.
During transport of item from store to destination, my 8 year old picked up the item off the floor of my vehicle to look at it. When looking at the item he pinched his finger in the blade tensioner device integrated into the handle causing a severe skin tear resulting in the need for 3 sutures to close the wound and stop the bleeding. A smaller finger could have easily been partially severed by this product. Most concerning to me is the product was still in all original packaging and had not been opened. I feel very strongly this product is dangerous as packaged and will result in future injuries to others. While a blade guard is put in place during manufacture, no such safety device is attached to the tensioner device on the handle to prevent pinching. The tensioner handle is under great pressure and snaps closed with significant force if partially opened and allowed to close on it's own. I assert the current packaging creates a false sense of security and feeling the device is rendered safe as packaged. Sadly, I feel the device would be safer if it had no blade guard at all, as it would signal a reasonable person to handle the item with extreme care and treat it as a dangerous tool. While I think the overall design is dangerous; it's current "safety" packaging makes it even more dangerous by instilling a false sense of security on the part of the purchaser.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to hand saws on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are hand saws?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, hand saws have a danger score of 34/100 (low risk). An estimated 3,523 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from hand saws?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 33,662 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from hand saws increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for hand saws injuries?
The 55-64 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 12,604 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by hand saws?
Of all ER visits involving hand saws, approximately 2.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with hand saws?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Communication & Entertainment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 34/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 55-64 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
