This month's topic is handsaws. This is one of the tool groups I seem to collect. They have a fascination for me in a way other hand tools don't. I sometimes get a glazed look in my eyes and think if I can find that one special saw my woodworking, in fact my life would be that much better, that much easier. I tend to snap out of it when remember a picture of a woodworker in Indonesia making beautiful furniture with one handsaw, one bit & brace, literally a handful of carving tools and using his stool as his workbench, his leg as his vise. His entire shop is wherever he sits down. Very humbling.

Here is a limited list, but it covers the basics handsaws. For simplicity's sake I'll group them into four categories; solid body saws, open body saws, Japanese saws, and pruning saws.

Cross cut saw. I'm sure 80% of the homes and garages in North America and Europe have one of these saws. Basic design is of a fairly thin, stiff, heat-treated, spring steel body and either a wooden or plastic handle. Lengths rage from 20" to about 30", the most common being 26". The tooth set and number per inch are the important part of the design. Saws for crosscutting or cutting against the grain have teeth set in a wide alternating bevel. This creates shearing action to slice through the wood fibers leaving a kerf wider than the saw body so there is no binding. The number of teeth per inch ranges from 8 to 12. These saws are normally used for quick, rougher cutting where tear out is not a concern. Cuts on the push stroke.

Rip cut saw. These saws are identical in shape to the crosscut saw except for the tooth design and number of teeth. They are designed to cut along or with the wood grain. The teeth are set slightly to the sides to prevent binding and although they have some alternating pattern they are more of a raking tooth to scoop away the wood fibers rather than cut them. Lengths are the same as cross cut saws, from 20" to about 30", the most common being 26". The number of teeth per inch is usually 5-1/2 to 7. A properly sharpened & set saw can rip a board lengthwise very fast, although practice is required to maintain a straight line. Cuts on the push stroke.

Toolbox saw. These are just shorter crosscut saws, designed to fit inside of a standard toolbox. Teeth per inch range from 8 to 12 and the length is usually 15". The handle is often designed with one edge at 90 and another at 45 degrees to the back of the blade so you can use it as a square. Cuts on the push stroke.		Back/Mitre/Dovetail/Tenon/Gentleman's saw. These saws all have the same basic design and differ only in size and number of teeth. They all have a very stiff body with a reinforced top edge or back usually made from steel or brass. The stiff body and backs prevent the saw from flexing thus insuring you cut in a straight line. The tooth design is for cross cutting but they can be used for short rip cuts in the case of dovetails. The teeth are smaller in size, with less set and the number per inch are slightly higher than cross cut saws in order to give cleaner, smoother cuts. Tooth numbers range from 8 to 17 teeth per inch. Because of the reinforced back they all have a limited depth of cut ranging from 1-1/2" in the case of a gentleman's saw up to 6" for a large mitre saw. These saws normally have a full size handle except for the gentleman's saw and the smaller dovetail saws, which can have a turned style handle. Normal saw lengths are 6" - 10" for Gentleman's saw, 8" - 12" for Dovetail/Tenon saw, 12" - 18" for a back saw and 18" - 30" for a Mitre saw. Cuts on the push stroke.
Keyhole/Compass saw. These saws usually have a pistol style handle in wood, plastic or metal. The blades are narrow going from a maximum of 1-1/2" at the handle down to a point with a blade length of about 12". They have a crosscut tooth pattern with usually 10 or 12 teeth per inch. They are meant for cutting curves or starting a cut from the middle of a board or sheet, from a drilled hole. Because the blades are thin and narrow they can be easily bent, so care must be taken while cutting hard or thick material. Some saws have replaceable blades and some even have metal cutting blades available. Cuts on the push stroke.

Drywall saw. Drywall saws have turned wood or plastic handle and a very thick, stiff blade. They are pointed like the keyhole saws for puncturing drywall or wallboard but have a very coarse tooth design, with only 4 to 6 teeth per inch and normally no set to the teeth. Cuts on the push stroke.

Flooring saw. This saw looks like a tool box saw but has the end of the blade cut in a radius with teeth. This allows you to start a cut in the middle of a sheet or as the name says in the middle of the floor if you need to replace a board. The rounded nose is used to start the cut and once through you turn the saw around and continue as a normal saw. They are usually about 15" long and have 12 to 15 teeth per inch on both the flat and radius. Cuts on the push stroke.

Open body saws
These are saws, which have a wooden or metal frame with a thin, flexible blade stretched and tensioned within the frame. They range in size from a jeweler's fret saw up to a large framed saw for bucking up logs.

Jeweler's/Fret saw. These saws have small metal frames with very thin blades and are meant for cutting intricate curves and shapes in wood or metal. The frame itself often has one fixed arm and one adjustable arm with a throat depth normally of about 2" and a blade length ranging from 1" to 5". Some specialized versions have throat depths of up to 18". Blades are held in place by a clamping system. This allows you to shorten the amount of blade being used lessening the chance of it breaking. It also means you can continue to use broken blades. The number of teeth per inch is usually very high for metal cutting, from 20 up to 46. For wood it would normally range from 7 to 33 teeth per inch. Cuts on the pull stroke.

Coping saw. These are similar to the fret saws but are slightly larger. They can be in wood or metal. Wooden coping saws use a twisted cord to tension the blade much like a turnicate, which is usually longer (12") than a steel coping saw blade (6-3/8"). The steel coping saw has a "C" shape with a small turned wood or plastic handle which when turned tightens the blade. Coping saws are meant for cutting intricate curves and shapes in wood. Often used in fitting baseboards and moldings. Throat depth ranges from 4" to 10". Blades normally range from 7 to 20 teeth per inch. Blades have a pin in either end, which fit into groves. Normally cuts on the pull. It can cut on push as well, but it is not recommended as you have less control and it's easier to bend or break the blade.

Hacksaw. Hacksaws usually have tubular steel frames, which hold an 8", 10" or 12" blade. Blades are held front and back by a pin in the frame and have a screw method to add tension to the blade. Designed to cut metal the blades are stiffer and harder than wood cutting blades. Common number of teeth per inch range from 18 to 32. Cuts on the push stroke. Specialized blades are available which have tungsten carbide cutting surfaces in a flat blade or rod stile for cutting tile, hardened steel, cast iron or masonry. Cuts on both the push and pull stroke.

Bow/Buck/Swede saw. These saws have either a wooden or tubular steel frame. The wooden framed ones are like large coping saws and tighten the blade with a twisted cord. The steel framed saws use a clamping lever to tension the blade. These saws have a throat depth ranging from 8" to 14" and blade lengths from 24" to 36". They were designed for cutting logs into lengths or cross cutting lumber. The larger versions of these saws were often used with two people. Blades can have a standard crosscut tooth pattern with 4 teeth per inch or a very aggressive rapid action blade with 2-3 teeth per inch. The standard blade cuts on the push, rapid action blades cut on both push and pull. Most of these saws are now sold with the more aggressive rapid action blade.

Mitre saw. This style of mitre saw is like a giant hacksaw but for wood, and they are usually part of a mitre box. They use a steel frame with about a 1-1/2" to 2" wide, wood cutting blade tensioned within it. Like their solid body counter parts they have small, finely set teeth with about 15 per inch. The blade is fairly stiff but there is some flex especially where the blades join the frame. Because of this you need to cut slower with less pressure so you don't flex the blade, which will of coarse change the angle of cut. This can be very aggravating when making miters for picture frames, etc. Cuts on the push stroke.

Japanese saws have much longer teeth and they are sharpened on three sides as opposed to traditional saws, which are sharpened only on one. They use much thinner blades and cut on the pull stroke. Because of the teeth, these saws cut incredibly fast and smooth. However, because of the thinness of the blade (as thin as 0.011".) they cannot be pushed hard and you must let the saw do the work, otherwise they will split & tear. Like the traditional solid body saws they have patterns for specific purposes; crosscutting, ripping, plywood, flooring, dovetail/back and flexible flush cut. Often these saws are designed for two-handed use, which tends to slow the process but adds to the accuracy and control of the cut. Speed is compensated by the faster cutting action of the tooth design.

The dovetail saws have steel or brass reinforced backs at least ¾ the blade length and shorter and finer teeth. They range from 15" to 23" long and have from 17 to 25 teeth per inch. The flush cut saws have no back and are extremely flexible. The teeth are set only on one side, which means the blade can be laid flat on the wood surface as it trims flush any protruding wood.

The crosscut, ripping and plywood saws all have short reinforcing backs to stiffen the blade close to the handle. These saws are usually 21" to 26" long with a tooth count of 9 teeth per inch for ripping up to 17 teeth per inch for crosscutting. The plywood saw has 17 teeth per inch as well but the blade thickness is twice that of the other saws but at 0.040" but still significantly less than a standard saw.

The flooring saws have a short (4") double radius blade, which has 9 teeth per inch for ripping on one side and 16 teeth per inch for cross cutting on the other. An added benefit of this saw is the narrow shaft provides some flexibility so this saw is often used in cramped or curved quarters like boat building.

Pruning Saws have traditionally had either a "D" handle or pistol grip handle and have either a straight or curved blade. Because they are usually cutting green wood, which is softer, they have a very aggressive tooth angle for quick cutting. "D" handle saws can have a straight or curved blade and are usually double sided with coarse teeth (6 teeth per inch) on one side and cleaner cutting teeth on the other (8 teeth per inch). They are usually about 18" long. The pistol handle saws are one sided and can be fixed or folding and range from 18" down to 10". Like standard wood saws, pruning saws have also been influenced by the Japanese tooth design. Now you can get the different handle styles with the three-sided tooth pattern, which tend to cut cleaner and with less strain. This is an added bonus while up on a ladder.