Making a japanese hand saw handle

[Matt Day]

Hello,

I recieved a saw blade instead of a complete dozuki saw by mistake from Lee Valley. They are of course responding immediately and sending out my saw, and are letting me keep this blade - excellent CS, that's why I like buying from them.

So now I have this blade, and I'm not sure what exactly I have. Googling "Ice Bear" gives me mostly chisel and waterstone hits, and searching for "Ice Bear" on LV doesn't give any results. After measureing the blade length and looking through the LV catalog, it looks like it might be a replacement blade for the Japanese Dovetail Saw (item 60T22.02).

I had ordered the Steel Backed Dozuki saw, so this blade won't be compatible with what I'll be getting.

So, I'd like to build this blade into a working saw, maybe turn a handle for it and such, but I don't have the steel back or the grommets to hold the blade to the handle.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do?

If I can't make one, I suppose next time I have some extra cash I could buy the Japanese Dovetail Saw, but then I'd have 2 very similar saws on hand.

[Terry Beadle]

I note the knock and the hole in the tang of the blade. You can use the knock as a place where a small brass rod could fit. The hole could be the same brass rod or you could use a wood peg. With a brass rod in the knock and the pin in place the blade would be strongly mounted in the handle.

I'd turn a handle of suitable length and then cut a slit on one end to match the length of the tang. Then I'd press fit the brass pin where the knock could fit and then put a matching bore hole for the hole in the tang. Apply a handmade wooden pin. I suggest this wooden pin because it would be easy to drill out if you wanted to remove the blade for later use of the handle or to facilitate the sharpening of the blade ( remote possibility ).

You don't need to have a reenforcement cap on the blade as it will cut straight under it's normal pulling tension. Should you want to have one. I would make it out of some exotic hardwood with a small kurf cut dado that the top of the blade could fit in. I'd use epoxy to ad-hear the reenforcement cap. The reenforcement cap could accent the handle material or be made out of the same for a blended look. Round the top of the reenforcement cap so there'd be no slivers in use.

If you don't put on a reenforcement cap on the blade, then it would be like a one sided ryoba and allow for deep cuts.

[Jon Toebbe]

It looks like they sent you a Kumogoro brand blade. Joel at Tools for Working Wood sells two sizes of their dozukis:

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/indextool.mvc?prodid=MS-JSDOZU1.XX

If it's a dozuki blade (very thin and flexible), you're not likely to have much luck building a handle without a spine to support the blade. I'd email Lee Valley's customer service people and ask them exactly what they sent you. They may not stock the correct handle, but may be able to point you to a distributor who does.

[Matt Day]

I contacted LV and they don't sell the saw sans blade, and I've also shot an email to TFWW - thanks for the link Jon.

Once I get my new replacement saw, I'll at least be able to understand how it it constructed and see if I can fabricate my own, similar to what Terry suggested.

Worst case scenario, I'll turn a handle for it and see how it cuts without a reinforcing spine.

Thanks for the info so far.

[Jonathan McCullough]

Norse woodsmith and logan cabinet shop have tutorials on how to make spines for western style saws. The principle shouldn't be too different for Japanese style saws. As for the rivet hole, you can make one out of a common nail by "peining" or pounding the end over into a mushroom shape. Or you could try just a common dowel--how much stress would it really have to handle, anyway?

[Matt Day]

Jonathan, thanks for the links.

I ended up buying some 14ga angle from Lowes for the spine which I folded over with a vise and used a wire wheel on the grinder to buff it. I turned a handle from some scrap cherry, used my new saw from Lee Valley to make a thin cut in the handle, then pinned the blade with a wood dowel. I cut a small mortise in the end of the handle for the spine to recess, then used some glue to set it in place.

I think it turned out pretty good, and now I've got a nice little saw for less than $5!

Not the most well staged photos, but you get the point:

[Terry Beadle]

Great job !

Great buy !

[Jonathan McCullough]

Righteous! Is that aluminum angle?

[Matt Day]

Nope, it's steel. But with the flash and the finish it got with the wire wheel it does look like aluminum. The steel gives it a good balance.

Thanks for the comments :)

[Jon Toebbe]

Looks good, Matt! How does it perform?

[Matt Day]

The finish was still curing last night so I didn't get to give it a go yet, but I sure will next time I get a few minutes to spare at home.

Who cares how it performs, it looks good right? :p

[Tony Shea]

Well I see you figured a great way to make a decent handle for your blade. I was looking through a guys website, which is a great one btw, and noticed in his Veritas router plane review he shows making a japanese saw handle. Well I thought of this thread as soon as I saw it and thought I'd throw out the link. But seems I'm too late. Oh well here goes anyway if you need another one. Scroll down the page a bit and there is a small write up and pics about using the router for the mortise.

Link (http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/The%20Veritas%20Router%20Plane.html)