Best Reciprocating Saws in Australia (2026)

On this ranking it is the Makita DJR189Z 18V LXT brushless compact, at around A$225 as a skin. It earns the top spot on a combination of verified specs and platform reach: a 22mm stroke, variable speed to 3,100 strokes per minute, 255mm capacity in timber and 130mm in pipe, 1.9kg bare, a counterweight to cut vibration, and Makita's XPT dust and moisture sealing. Just as important, LXT is one of the two deepest battery ranges in Australian vans and sheds, alongside Milwaukee M18, so a lot of buyers already own the packs. If you are on Milwaukee M18 instead, the M18 FUEL Hackzall is the equivalent pick.

Effectively yes, but Sawzall is Milwaukee's trademark rather than a generic term. Milwaukee coined it decades ago and it stuck as shorthand the way Esky and Texta did, so plenty of Australian tradies call any reciprocating saw a Sawzall regardless of brand. Every other manufacturer has its own name: Makita calls them Recipro saws, DeWalt just uses reciprocating saw, and Milwaukee's one-handed models are branded Hackzall rather than Sawzall. On this page we use reciprocating saw for the category. If you search Amazon Australia for Sawzall you will mostly surface Milwaukee tools and miss the rest of the field, so search the generic term.

For most people cordless is now enough. Modern brushless 18V saws cut hardwood and pipe all day, and the freedom to work on a roof or in a subfloor with no lead is worth a lot. Corded still makes sense in three cases: you do long continuous demolition and do not want to babysit charge levels, you want consistent power without a battery sag at the end of a pack, or you simply do not want to buy into a battery platform at all. That last one is why the corded Bosch PSA 700 E sits on this list at 710W, though it is Bosch's green DIY line rather than the blue Professional range, so treat it as an occasional-use saw. If you already own 18V batteries, go cordless.

A skin, also called a bare tool or body only, is the tool on its own with no battery and no charger in the box. Six of the seven saws on this page are skins. It is the cheapest way to add a tool if you already run that brand's batteries, and a trap if you do not, because a decent 4.0Ah or 5.0Ah pack and a charger can cost as much as the saw itself. Always read the listing title carefully: Amazon Australia lists skins and full kits under very similar names, and the price gap between them is exactly the battery.

Yes, and that is one of the main reasons to own one. With a bi-metal or carbide-tipped blade rated for metal, a reciprocating saw will cut copper, galvanised and steel pipe, threaded rod, conduit, and nail-embedded timber that would destroy a circular saw blade. The technique matters more than the tool: use a shorter blade with finer teeth for metal, keep the shoe pressed hard against the work, start slow on the variable-speed trigger so the blade bites instead of skating, and let the saw do the feeding. Metal cutting generates real heat, so expect blades to be a consumable.

Usually because it is an Amazon Global Store import rather than local Australian stock. Global Store listings are fulfilled from the UK, US, Germany or Japan, which cuts the price but adds roughly one to three weeks of transit time and means warranty may be handled by the seller rather than the local Australian service agent. Regional model codes can differ too, so parts and service through an Australian repairer are not guaranteed. Three picks on this page are imports and we flag each one. If you need the saw this week, or you want local warranty backing, pay the difference for AU-dispatched stock.