Sometimes instead of carrying a full saw I find it easier to carry just the blade. With about ten minutes worth of work at the site it's possible to fashion a simple bow saw to process firewood. Add another 15 or 20 minutes for a longer trip and a buck saw would be more useful.
I really believe in the philosophy of "more with less" and this is a perfect example.
Required tools:
Saw blade only (can be a wire saw instead)
Bow saw from Hickory (shown being used to make the buck saw parts):
Close up showing how to secure the blade in place with smaller twigs:
Final buck saw picture:
Did another set out of Willow a few weeks ago, these were much more stout and I used jute twine to secure the joints better. The saws were used to saw, then split wood.
Here is a bowsaw made using only the saw blade, no knife or other tools.
This bucksaw was made with the help of a knife.
To split the wood you just saw halfway into it then whack the log into a tree, it splits perfectly along the grain.
This is a fun project that can be done at home on a Saturday afternoon and can save you money as well as weight and pack space. The thing to watch is that the splits where the saw blade goes will want to split if not secured.
Improvising tools in the woods 
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