I bought one of these saws. The guy at the store said “that’s a metal saw”. I said “yeh duh what else would saws be made out of.” I took it home and struggled immensely with sawing the wood trim I was using it on. It took me a solid SIX MONTHS to click in to what he meant when he said “it’s a metal saw.”
Could a hacksaw cut through carbide steel or some other super strong alloy? Maybe the chain was made of some such material and it's not that the saw sucked but that the chain was special.
Like, I have tools made to cut metal, but they don't work on every metal.
My dad saw a picture of that scene and immediately said "He could cut that pipe he's chained to." "But what if the blade is dull?" I said. "That pipe is cast iron. All he'd have to do is score it really good and then crack it with handle of the saw, or kick it lose."
Dad knowledge. It must be something we get when we become a dad.
If you made a custom alloy blade that was harder than calcium carbonate but softer than steel, it would work.
Same idea with those dental tools you can get in the drug store, hard enough to chip plaque but soft enough to deform against enamel. Hypothetically can't damage your teeth unless you get stupid and use it as a lever or something.