Sabre saw is hand held, where a jig saw is a table top saw. The first you guide the saw through the work, the other you guide the material through the saw. If your doing scroll work (another name for a jig saw), then the jig saw is what you need. Get a good one, I recomend Delta models. They have several different models including variable speed. What you want to look for are the ones that have a quick change setup for the blades. The ones that you need to use a wrench on are a pain the the behooveya when it comes time to change them out and get them straight so you can tension the blade properly. DO NOT get a pinless type unless it is a quick change.