Ryobi ERS800K: Discontinued — What to Buy Instead
A corded reciprocating saw kit from Ryobi's DIY range. Retired, and the cordless replacement is genuinely better for this tool.
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The ERS800K was a corded reciprocating saw kit in Ryobi’s DIY range, discontinued as the brand moved almost entirely to ONE+ cordless.
Why cordless suits this tool
Reciprocating saws are used in awkward places by definition — under a sink, up a ladder, halfway through a wall, in a hedge. A trailing cord in those places is not a minor inconvenience; it snags, it limits reach, and it is one more thing to manage while holding a saw that is trying to walk out of the cut.
They are also used in short bursts rather than continuously, which is exactly the duty cycle a battery suits.
Of all the corded tools that went cordless, this is the one where the change was most clearly an improvement.
The Ryobi ONE+ HP brushless reciprocating saw, linked below, replaces it on a platform whose batteries fit every ONE+ tool going back decades.
Blade choice does most of the work
A reciprocating saw is a blade holder. The saw matters less than what is in it.
Teeth per inch: 6 TPI for fast cuts in timber, 10 to 14 for nail-embedded wood, 18 to 24 for metal. Using a wood blade on metal strips the teeth in seconds.
Length: long enough to pass through the material and still have stroke left, and no longer — excess blade flexes and bends.
Bi-metal: for anything that might contain a nail. Carbon steel blades are cheaper and snap.
Technique
Press the shoe firmly against the work. The shoe is what stops the saw hammering itself and you; a saw held off the surface bucks violently and cuts slowly.
Let the saw come up to speed before the blade touches, and ease off at the end of the cut so the blade does not slam through into whatever is behind it.