I’m talking handsaw here.
It came to my attention yesterday, while sawing some branches out of the Marshall’s ash out back, that my old Stanley handsaw isn’t sharp anymore (if it ever was).
Haven’t really used it for some time, so hadn’t really worried about it — for handsaws I primarily use a Japanese pull saw, and I recently got one of those shortie bidirectional handsaws to go with it.
So I’m wondering: Does anyone here still use a regular handsaw, and, if so, is there a good brand to look for? Or should I just toss the thing and stick with the small saws?
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. –Benjamin Franklin
Replies
Cutting green tree branches??? Best handsaw I've seen is the Sandvik (sp) bow saw. About $35 but for handsaw, it's fantastic. Amazon has it under Sandvik Bahco
In this case it was a 6" diameter branch that had been dead for several years and was plenty dry. Too thick for the typical bow saw, and a rick saw wouldn't have made the clearance.But my question was more generic -- does anyone still use the standard handsaw, and is there a good brand to look for?
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
The little stanley tool box handsaw with the shark on the sleeve. Very agressive, fits well and works everywhere for when you do need a handsaw. 12$
I've got one of those, but it stays in my shop. I'm a little embarrased to let people see it.
And the handles on my old Disstons are a heck of a lot more comfortable than the one on that thing.
Too young to know what an 'ol disston feels like... I see 'em at thrift stores all the time and wonder if they're valuable..
I couldn't care who sees me with my little shark saw. That thing cuts anything fast. I use it more like you would a hammer, hackin' away at something!
> Too young to know what an 'ol disston feels like... I see 'em at
> thrift stores all the time and wonder if they're valuable..Most of them are not particularly valuable. Henry Disston started making saws in the early 1800s. His sons came on board later. The markings on the blade will indicate the period. If you find one marked "Henry Disston" or similar markings, snap it up. These predate the War Between the States. "Disston & Son" dates from the 1860s. "Disston & Sons" also may be a good buy; they started marking them that way in 1871. If you see "Inc." in the name, it dates from after 1886.Regardless of the maker, the old saws had blades made from a springy type of steel. You can bend a good blade a fair amount and it will spring back. Some people can play tunes on them (Marlene Dietrich was famous for that). The blades will usually look dark, though that's just the surface. These blades are thinner than a modern western saw blade, which makes them less work to use. Unfortunately, the additional flexibility of the blade means that it takes more skill to get a straight cut with one. You have to check the cut more often and adjust the angle of the blade to correct for drift.My father inherited some Disston blades from his grandfather. They were made about 1880, as far as I can tell. I learned to saw with those.George Patterson
thank you for the history lesson--very interesting.
Pat
Is there available a practical, inexpensive sharpening setup for handsaws? (Keeping in mind that with my tremor et al I need a guide -- couldn't do it freehand.)
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Foley-Bellsaw makes a file holder that is mechanized, a ratchet advances the saw tooth by tooth. I'd think it would be expensive unless ya are doing a bizness.
Probaly could fashion something like a chainsaw file guide, if ya were so inclined. Freehanding is all I know how to do.
You might find that you really can do it without a guide. The method for sharpening the common handsaw is to 1) joint the teeth, 2) sharpen the teeth, and 3) adjust the set.Jointing the teeth is done by running a fine file along the length of the saw until there's a small flat spot on the tip of every tooth. All the teeth will be the same height after that.Sharpening the teeth is done with a standard triangular file. Place the saw blade in a vise with the teeth just sticking up past the vise. Place the file in one of the gullets between the teeth. You will find that the angle of the gullet is exactly the same as the angle of the file (60 degrees). When you push the file, it sharpens the front of one tooth and the back of the next one. The existing gullet guides the file, so your tremor may not be a problem. The only tricky thing is that half the teeth will be bent towards you and half the other way (some rip saws won't have this). That means that the file must be slanted to the right for half of the teeth and to the left for the other half. The amount of slant runs between 60 to 70 degrees and should be the same for every gullet. Most people file every other tooth and then turn the saw around to get the rest.There were jigs made to hold the saw and keep the file at the correct angle. If you want one, I would recommend that you haunt the antique tools section of Ebay - they come up occasionally and seem to sell for reasonable amounts. Resetting the teeth requires some sort of tool. The amount of set depends on the type of wood you intend to cut (hardwoods require very little, and ripsaws need less than crosscuts). The oldest method is basically to bend each tooth with a special hammer. The next oldest is something called a saw wrest, and finally, there's a tool that works sort of like pliers - squeeze the handles and the tooth is bent properly. Again, Ebay is your friend.For myself, I find that I don't want to sharpen my own when Ridge Carbide charges $7 to do the job.George Patterson
I often just use a small thin screwdriver to set the kerf. Place the tip in a gullet and give a gentle twist.
years ago i always kept a dull hand saw in my box, when a plumber or another guy asked to borrow a hand saw i always gave them that one, i kept my sharp ones hidden at all times, i know this sounds nasty but its only 2 days in purgatory so i figure its worth it
Me to Bobbys,
I've got loaner chisels and screwdrivers as well.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
years ago i always kept a dull hand saw in my box, when a plumber or another guy asked to borrow a hand saw i always gave them that one, i kept my sharp ones hidden at all times
I'm going to have to remember that one when it comes to skill saws. View Image View Image
Well, for that use I would get a japanese style pruning saw. It has a thicker blade with more set than a woodworking saw, and cuts very fast.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
Some log building schools require a handsaw in the equipment brought by students and recommend the Stanley sharktooth saws with the japanese teeth that are induction hardend. I bought one and they do cut fast in soft wood.
On the other hand, a coarse japanese pull saw will cut a hemfir 2x4 in two-three good pulls.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
I do, but couldn't tell you who made them. I inherited them. I'd imagine garage sales and the like would bring plenty of them up.
I also have a Stanley sharktooth (about 10 yrs old) that still works pretty well for me, and fits in a tool box.
I also have a Stanley sharktooth....
I thought I was the only one! Mine has gotta be closing in on twenty years. Rarely gets used, but I did break it out last week to flush trim a fascia board in place. Probably the first time its seen daylight in five years. Still has the carboard sleeve it came in, albeit duct-taped together.
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
I use it quite frequently( well, relatively). I also still have the cardboard sleeve, although it has seen better days (both the saw and the sleeve).
I also have a Stanley sharktooth....
I thought I was the only one!
I have one too! the short box saw that will fit in a tool box. And yes I also have the card board sleave that it came with. I'm amazed how long that piece of card board has hung in there.
I use mine a lot for cutting sona tubes instead of skill saw, although for larger tubes a bigger saw would actually work better. I also like it for finishing the cuts when cutting stringers. I keeping seeing the tip for drilling relief holes when cutting strigners to avoid over cuts. I honestly don't know what is so hard about not over cutting your stinger cuts. View Image View Image
Try these guys: http://www.silkystore.com/
Yes I use handsaws, almost on a daily basis. My primary finish saw is a Japanese dual purpose. My general saw for crosscutting is the Stanley shark tooth shortie that fits nicely in the tool tote. I thought I'd try it on a whim and have ended up loving it.
In my garage-shop I have probably a dozen very old handsaws, most of them are tuned and ready to go. Some of them are real antiques. I seldom use the rip saws anymore, but do use the old Dissiton crosscuts, and back saws when I need to. I have a Dozuki fine tooth for hand cutting dovetails, and though I haven't done that in a while, I fully intend to in the coming years.
A good well tuned hand saw is more useful than folks nowadays may think. Some carps don't even carry them anymore.
We gotta get together and compare tools sometime.
It seems we think alike on hand tools.
I've got 3 hand (panel) saws in my van, along with a dozuki-style trim saw, and a backless Japanese saw. Both are Silky saws.
I'm not sure how many saws I have in my shop, but 6-8 old-style handsaws is close, plus several backsaws, and a Lie-Nielson dovetail saw. Plus there's others I'm forgetting.
Using a hand tool not only makes me feel like I'm a real carpenter, it connects me to some of the original craftsmen who owned to tools, and kind of freaks out the guys who only know how to use power tools.
I still own and use hand saws. They're the original 'cordless' saw! A Stanley sharktooth in the old wood toolbox (about as old as the saw) in a sheath on the side that I made to hold it. There's still a need for hand saws for fine work too. I have a double-sided Japanese pattern that sees daylight at least a couple times a week, plus a little flush cut saw that often comes out of the finishing toolbox for something or other.
I use my hand saws at least a couple of times a week. I buy old saws at yard and estate sales. I have a couple of very old ones I use, from the early 1900's. My primary saw is also a sharktooth. My brother turned me on to it in '97. My first one got tweeked at some point. I've had this one for several years and it works great. I live in the woods and cut a lot of branches. When I don't use the chainsaw, I use a bow saw for that kind of work around here. By-the-way I love your topic heading.
For quick rough cuts (branches, 2x, whatever), I like the stanley fat max. Its short and stout and has a thick blade that doesnt bind up easily
I have and keep sharp a few Distons and Simmonds...both are great old brands. My Diston Rip at 4.5 TPI, is a blast to use. A few Japanese saws round out my stash.
Bench type saws, I have a Craftsman ( yeah, I know, but it is from around 1920) Dovetail saw..but I sharpen it like a rip tooth Vs. A Crosscut, cuz in my way of thinking, a dove tail tail cut is mostly ripping. Also an older Diston Backsaw, or gent's saw I think they called it...just enough kerf to sweeten a tenon shoulder to fit where it meets the morticed piece..kerfing in.
For lutherie, I rely on a .020 kerf pull saw, that allows frets to press fit in the resulting slot in a Maple fingerboard, in Ebony or rosewood, a .023 is used, cuz it adds just enough room for the nibs on the fret tang to not create a bowed neck from the harder wood being displaced.
Yeah, I still use them. My favorites are all antiques, and those are pretty easy to find. Hit Ebay.
The best new ones will run you around $100 - check garrettwade.com . Disston is also still decent, though it's not top of the line. Stanly is mediocre at best.
Bear in mind that just one western-style handsaw isn't really adequate. My usual saw is a 9 point antique, but I also have a 7 point rip saw (which gets very little use), and a short little 10 point saw. Those are for general work. I have a 30 year old Disston 12 point for fine cutting and a variety of other small saws for very fine work.
After a local hardware store butchered the teeth on the Disston, I got real picky about where I send mine to be sharpened. I last sent them to Ridge Carbide, which did a fine job.
One of the things about new western saws that's problematical is the fact that they coat the blade with some sort of clear finish to keep them from rusting in the store. This stuff binds in the kerf and must be stripped before the saw will do a good job. I don't know what the finish is, but the toughest paint remover I have takes a long time to dent it. Yet another vote for the antiques.
That's a pretty fine rip saw.
I 'm pretty sure mine's 4-1/2 points. But I was using it for a lot of rough ripping years ago.And I bought it that way.
Come to think of it, I haven't ripped anything with a handsaw in years. I guess I could take that particular tool out of my van.
Yeah. Mine was ground as a crosscut when I picked it up, but it's longer than usual and bounced out of the kerf pretty easily. I could never get anything done with it as a crosscut, so I had it reground as a rip saw. I haven't had occasion to use it since then, though.George Patterson
when i started we always had a 8 point and 10 point disston in our box, then i bought a sandvik, then at garage sales any old ones i must have 25, however i use that little stanly one cause its small but keep a disston in the truck to, sometimes i cut ceder and one by just for fun and to feel the saw again, i always cut the facia too with a handsaw, a lotta times rather then dig out a jigsaw i use the handsaw like finishing a birdsmouth or stair thread
I carry a folding Silky Gomboy in my pouch just for things like that....and handy to have when setting up scaffold or pump-poles in the heavy overgrown landscapeing. Or, just taking out that ONE freaking branch, that keeps grabbing at you everytime you walk within 20' of it.
I taped that saw to a 1x4 once to make a nicer cut up high on one of those stealth branches...LOL
I too have a japanese pull saw. I love it. There's nothing better. Although, I do keep a crappy hand saw in the bottom of my tool box for just in case. Believe it or not I actually pull it out from time to time.
Dave
I have one that I really like. The blade has a black coating for pressure treated wood, orange plastic handle. I thought it would be a cheap back up for my tried a true but has been the go to saw since it stayed sharper longer. But, c'mon. You should get that old boy of yours sharpened.
Best to you and yours, Chris.
Building as thou art paranoid never harmed anyone.