Best DIY Tools: ValueMax 8-in-1 Multi-Blade Hand Saw

The ValueMax 8-In-1 Multi-Blades Hand Saw ranks among the best DIY tools if you want one handle that covers drywall, metal, PVC and wood. It takes any standard hacksaw or reciprocating blade, not proprietary ones, and all 8 blades store in one case. For a toolbox staple, buy it.

How this review was made: written from my own video review of this product. Every opinion here is my own, from using it myself.

The Best DIY Tools: Why Levers Win

Push the little lever down and the hacksaw blade drops right out. That’s the whole mechanism. I keep this in my toolbox at all times because you never know when you’re going to need to cut something, and if one of the best DIY tools has a complicated blade swap, it never leaves the box. This one doesn’t. You can grab the current version on amazon here.

The 10-inch hacksaw blade rides in slots on the top of the handle. It goes right down the middle. If one side dulls out, you just flip it over and use the other edge. You can set it long when you want more surface area to cut with, or pull it short for a tighter space. Let go of the lever and it stays exactly where you put it.

You can also load it upside down if the cut demands it. It’s a plain hacksaw blade, so there’s nothing stopping you.

Where a Hand Tool Loses

No motor, no battery, no charging parts. That’s the trade-off, and it’s the limit of this tool. If you’re ripping through a stack of 2x4s, your shoulder is going to tell you about it long before the blade dulls.

But that limit is also the point. Sometimes it’s not appropriate to be using a reciprocating saw because you’re trying to get in somewhere tight, and you don’t need all that power. You pop the blade off the recip saw, pop it in here, and now you’ve got the mobility and accuracy of doing it by hand with the same blade. That’s perfect for those high precision jobs you want to control yourself.

Blades Dull. That’s Fine.

The blades are the wear part, and that’s why the non-proprietary clamp matters more than anything else on this tool. If the hacksaw blade ever dulls out, you just get another hacksaw blade from any hardware store. It doesn’t have to be specific to this set.

Compare that to a multi-tool with a custom blade mount. Two years in, the manufacturer drops the line and you’ve got a handle with nothing to feed it. Here the handle is the product and the blades are a commodity. The bi-metal and chrome vanadium blades in the box are decent, but what you’re really buying is a clamp that will accept standard blades for as long as you own it.

The case matters too. All the blades come in one slim case, so you’re not worrying about cutting anything or ripping anything in your toolbox. You pop them all in, close it up, and the whole kit goes in the box together. Loose blades in a toolbox drawer are how you lose a knuckle reaching for a tape measure.

Eight Blades Versus Four Separate Saws

One handle replaces a hacksaw, a jab saw, a pruning saw and a small metal saw, freeing up four toolbox slots. Buy those four tools individually and you’re spending more, and you’re giving up four slots in the toolbox. Here it’s one handle plus a blade case roughly the size of a paperback.

The 7-inch drywall blade alone covers most of what a dedicated jab saw does. The 6.5-inch pruning blade handles branches. The 10-inch hacksaw blade covers conduit and bolts. Then there are four smaller blades, two for metal and two for wood, for the short controlled cuts. Current pricing is on the product page, but on space saved alone, it replaces four separate tools in one case. The ongoing cost is a $5 hacksaw blade from any hardware store, the same blade you’d buy for a dedicated hacksaw, except this handle does seven other jobs with it.

Loading a Small Blade Is a Different Move

Small blades go in the side slot, not the top. That tripped me up the first time, because the hacksaw blade runs straight down the center of the handle and your hand expects every blade to do the same.

For the shorter blades, like the jigsaw-style and reciprocating blades, you push the button down and slide the blade into the side. The lockback mechanism grabs it and holds. It’s a two-second move once you know it, but nothing on the handle tells you there are two different loading paths. Worth knowing before you stand there wondering why a 4-inch blade won’t seat in the hacksaw channel.

The handle itself is TPR over PP plastic, and it’s shaped to actually hold while you’re cutting. That matters more on a manual saw than a powered one, because you’re the engine. Your grip is what’s pushing the blade. A hard plastic handle would blister a palm in ten minutes of drywall work. This one doesn’t.

The load time is two seconds once you know the side-slot trick. That speed is the whole case for this thing: a saw that stays in the box because the swap is annoying is just taking up space.

Why It Stays in My Toolbox

I’d pick this up again, and the reason isn’t the eight blades. It’s that the clamp accepts blades I already own. Every reciprocating blade in my shop just became a hand saw blade, which quietly doubles the usefulness of a drawer I already paid for.

It’s not going to out-cut a powered saw and it isn’t trying to. It’s the thing you grab when the job is small, tight, or precise, and dragging out the recip saw is overkill. Drywall, metal, PVC pipe, wood, branches. Whatever the job is, drywall, conduit, PVC, a branch in the way, you’ve already got the blade for it in that case.

If that sounds like the gap in your toolbox, it’s an easy one to try. You can check it out here on amazon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy replacement blades anywhere, or do I need the brand’s?

Anywhere. It takes standard hacksaw blades and standard reciprocating saw blades, so any hardware store works. That’s the single best thing about the tool and the reason it won’t become a paperweight.

Is there a warranty?

ValueMax lists a 2-year manufacturer warranty. Since there’s no motor or battery, the only realistic failure points are the lockback clamp and the lever, which is about as simple as a tool gets.

Will it cut PVC pipe and conduit cleanly?

Yes. The bi-metal blades handle metal and plastic, and PVC pipe is listed right in what it’s built for. For a cleaner cut, run the hacksaw blade long so you get more surface area per stroke.

Can my kid use this for a school or scout project?

With supervision, sure. There’s no motor, no trigger and no startup torque, so it’s about as controllable as a cutting tool gets. The blades are still sharp steel, so treat it like any saw.

Get it now

ValueMax 8-In-1 Multi-Blades Hand Saw

Check the price on amazon →

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🛍️ Hacksaw Blades (Compatible Replacement Blades): check price on Amazon →

🛍️ Jigsaw Blades (Included with Multi-Tool): check price on Amazon →

🛍️ Reciprocating Saw Blades (Compatible Blades): check price on Amazon →