Hacksaws

Hacksaws
Information
Appearances	Saw, II, III, 3D, Jigsaw, Spiral
Purpose	Means for Jigsaw's victims to cut off the body part they are shackled to
Used by	Lawrence Gordon Adam Stanheight Daniel Matthews Eric Matthews Ezekiel Banks
Status	Inanimate

“	He doesn't want us to cut through our chains. He wants us to cut through our feet.	”
	— Gordon realizes the true purpose of the saws

The Hacksaws are important items in the Saw franchise, primarily appearing in the first Saw film.

History

Adam Stanheight and Dr. Lawrence Gordon's Test

At one point during his series of murders, John Kramer, better known as the Jigsaw Killer, and his apprentice, Amanda Young, targeted the freelance photographer Adam Stanheight and the renowned oncologist Dr. Lawrence Gordon for one of their deadly games, which was set up in a dilapidated bathroom. When the men woke up, they realized that they were shackled by their ankles to metal pipes in the opposite corners of the room. Between them, in the middle of the room, lay John in a pool of blood, posing as the corpse of a man who shot himself in the head, still holding the gun in one hand and a tape recorder in the other. Both Adam and Lawrence had an envelope in their pockets, each one containing a microcassette tape. Adam eventually managed to obtain the dead man's tape recorder and play the tapes. (Saw, III)

The tapes recorded by Jigsaw gave them the instructions they had to follow in order to win their game. Lawrence had to kill Adam by 6:00. Otherwise, his wife, Alison, and his daughter, Diana, would be killed by Zep Hindle, who held them hostage as part of his own test and was told to kill them and Gordon afterwards if Lawrence didn't kill Adam in time. Adam, however, was merely told to survive until the end of the game.

Following the clues from the tapes, Adam found a plastic bag in the toilet tank, containing a pair of hacksaws. He gave one of the saws to Gordon. However, when they tried to cut through their chains, Adam's saw eventually broke, causing him to angrily throw it against the mirror which broke a piece of glass out of it. After unsuccessfully trying to cut through his chain as well, Dr. Gordon soon realized that the saws were not strong enough to cut through their chains and were actually meant to cut off their feet.

Lawrence severs his foot

However, when the game eventually came to an end and Gordon still hadn't killed Adam, he was called on a cellphone which he had found earlier. He heard shots and the frightened screams of his family, causing him to panic until he was electrocuted, which rendered him unconscious for some mere seconds. Adam desperately tried to wake him up and finally even managed to do so. However, this caused Lawrence to further panic as he didn't know that his family actually managed to escape from Zep and despite Adam's frequent attempts to calm him down, he started to cut of his foot while a screaming and horrified Adam was forced to watch. When Lawrence grabbed the dead man's gun and aimed at Adam the latter begged for his life, but Lawrence shot him in the shoulder, intending to kill him, which caused Adam to collapse. (Saw)

The Nerve Gas House

Several months later, Amanda Young and Daniel Matthews stumbled upon the bathroom in the underground tunnels beneath the Nerve Gas House as they were trying to escape from Xavier Chavez, another victim who was trapped in another game just like Daniel and Amanda, who merely pretended to be a victim as well. When fleeing from him, Amanda and Daniel tried to hide in the bathroom where they discovered the decaying remains of Adam, Zep, and Dr. Gordon's severed foot.

Xavier's death

Shortly after, Xavier entered the bathroom and demanded Amanda to show them the numbers on her and Daniel's neck, which were part of a combination to a safe that contained an antidote for a poison that was going to kill them. Amanda reminded Xavier that he still needed them to tell him his own number, and after some brief hesitation, Xavier cut the flesh from the back of his neck. He then approached Amanda, but was killed by Daniel, who had been playing dead, and slashed Xavier's throat with the same hacksaw Lawrence used to cut off his foot several months ago. Daniel and Amanda then left the bathroom. (Saw II)

Eric Matthews' Test

The day after the game, Amanda returned to the bathroom and hid inside the bathtub, waiting for Daniel's father, Detective Eric Matthews, to arrive. When Eric found the bathroom and searched for his son, thinking he was still trapped, he was ambushed and sedated by Amanda, who chained him by the ankle to a pipe, leaving only a spotlight, an empty gun, and a tape recorder with a message for Eric. When Eric woke up and played the tape, he realized that Amanda, who he thought to be another victim, was actually Jigsaw's accomplice. Seconds later, Amanda showed up outside the bathroom and closed the door, leaving Matthews inside to die. (Saw II)

Eric tries to cut off his foot

Desperately looking for a way to escape, Eric soon found the hacksaw. At first, he attempted to saw through his chains, but when he saw Lawrence Gordon's severed foot, he realized that he had to cut off his chained foot in order to escape. Eric tried to saw his foot off with the hacksaw but couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he took the lid of the toilet tank and used it to smash and break his foot. This allowed Eric to slip his foot out of the shackle and escape the bathroom. (Saw III)

Mark Hoffman's Execution

Lawrence takes the saw

Sometime later, Lawrence Gordon, who had survived his test and became another apprentice of Jigsaw, captured and sedated Detective Mark Hoffman, Jigsaw's successor, after the latter murdered John Kramer's ex-wife, Jill Tuck. Following John's final instructions, he chained Hoffman up in the bathroom along with Adam, Zep, and Xavier's remains. When Gordon entered the room and Hoffman woke up, he started to panic and tried to grab the hacksaw to free himself from his shackle. However, Lawrence took the saw and threw it out of the room. Ignoring Hoffman's angry and desperate yells, Lawrence turned off the light and closed the door, leaving Hoffman to die with the words "Game Over." (Saw 3D)

Ezekiel Banks Test

This trap is set up by William Emmerson as a way to recruit Ezekiel Banks, William Schenk devised a trial for him to traverse through. Ezekiel Banks's first test was to get out of handcuffs that were attached to a metal pipe by using the hacksaw on the floor near him. Ezekiel initially is about to cut his trapped arm with it. However, a bobby pin was conveniently placed near him, so he was able to escape the trap without harm. (Spiral)

Trivia

• In Jigsaw, Detective Brad Halloran finds a hacksaw inside a hidden closet in Eleanor Bonneville's replica lair, which may suggest that the bathroom has been discovered by the police at some point between Saw 3D and Jigsaw. However, this is unlikely if Gordon disposed of the hacksaw he threw out of the bathroom at the end of Saw 3D.
• Although Adam throws his hacksaw at the bathroom mirrors in Saw, it appears next to his corpse's right in Saw II.
  • While not visible due to the short scene and camera angle, Adam's hacksaw is also in this same position as visible in images from Saw X's production.
    • Visually (and incorrectly), the hacksaw is a more modern one due to its shape, and not of the vintage famous design previously seen throughout the films.

Appearances and References

Films
Saw	Saw II	Saw III	Saw IV	Saw V	Saw VI	Saw 3D	Jigsaw	Spiral	Saw X
Appears	Appears	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Appears	Appears	Absent