Abuseable Saw

[Jeff Johnson]

I'm looking for a cheap, short, tough crosscut handsaw to throw in my carry-away box. Intended use is for odd small cuts on 2x4s, completing cuts on landscaping timbers, 6x6s that my portable power saw won't, etc. Expect abuse from elements and the site.

Suggestions? Is there any brand at the borg(s) that's remotely serviceable?

[John Coloccia]

I'm looking for a cheap, short, tough crosscut handsaw to throw in my carry-away box. Intended use is for odd small cuts on 2x4s, completing cuts on landscaping timbers, 6x6s that my portable power saw won't, etc. Expect abuse from elements and the site.

Suggestions? Is there any brand at the borg(s) that's remotely serviceable?

Pony makes a line of saws that may be just the ticket. I have one of their saws that I use to break down large planks before milling or storing (before I acquired a crosscut sled for my table saw). I'm actually pretty impressed considering how cheap it was. I don't own everything they make, but if they're similar to the one I have, I think it'll work for what you need.

Woodcraft carries them. I'm not sure who else.

[Jim Koepke]

If you are able to sharpen a saw, just buy one cheap at a yard sale or flea market.

jim

[Robert Rozaieski]

For a cheap, jobsite saw for construction and landscaping type beams that can be full of dirt, sand and other seriously tooth dulling substances, nothing beats the $10 saws with the impulse hardened Japanese style crosscut teeth on the thick Western style saw plate. I think Stanley makes several models in the SharP Tooth series.
http://www.stanleytools.com/catalog_images/mid_res/15-086_mid_res.jpg

Nothing dulls those saws. I've cut really dirty pallet wood, plywood, MDF, paricle board and laminate, pvc, PT fencing, tree limbs and roots, and all kinds of other stuff I wouldn't even show to my shop saws. The teeth are crosscut, but I've yet to have a situation where I needed a rip saw for that kind of work, so they work good enough. The handles will give you insane blisters if you use them for any length of time, so put on a good pair of leather work gloves, reshape the handle with a rasp to make it more comfortable, or make a new handle. But other than that, they're perfect for such rough tasks. I wouldn't waste my time tuning up a good saw for that type of work. The dirt and stuff will wreak havoc on the teeth. The impulse hardened Japanese style teeth in these cheap saws hold up very nicely. The down side is they can't be sharpened, but you can always cut up the parts that aren't impulse hardened to make scrapers when the saw does eventually dull out. It should be years before they dull too much for those rough tasks though.

[Tom Winship]

+1 on the Stanley Sharptooth.........

[Rob Fisher]

I have this saw, from Japan woodworker, and it is a great little saw. I have only used it for cutting tree limbs but it does that very well and fast. The blade is rather thick for a Japanese pull saw and it can take a bit of a beating. Also it folds pretty small.

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=02.124.2&dept_id=13304

Its probably a bit more expensive than the Stanley's (which are indeed good saws for this use) but it will fit in your tool pouch or back pocket.

Rob

[Mike Olson]

i also have a Stanley sharptooth saw that i use for cutting up pallets and 2x material. it leaves about the same finish as a circular saw with blowout on the bottom.

[Zach England]

That saw has a shark on the package. How could you possibly go wrong with a saw that has a shark on the package?

[Jeff Johnson]

That saw has a shark on the package. How could you possibly go wrong with a saw that has a shark on the package?

But it doesn't have a frickin' laser beam on it's head.

Or bacon.

:cool:

[harry strasil]

as long as you keep a tooth guard on it in your toolbox, any saw will work.

[Bob Strawn]

For a cheap, jobsite saw for construction and landscaping type beams that can be full of dirt, sand and other seriously tooth dulling substances, nothing beats the $10 saws with the impulse hardened Japanese style crosscut teeth on the thick Western style saw plate. I think Stanley makes several models in the SharP Tooth series.
http://www.stanleytools.com/catalog_images/mid_res/15-086_mid_res.jpg

Nothing dulls those saws. I've cut really dirty pallet wood, plywood, MDF, paricle board and laminate, pvc, PT fencing, tree limbs and roots, and all kinds of other stuff I wouldn't even show to my shop saws. The teeth are crosscut, but I've yet to have a situation where I needed a rip saw for that kind of work, so they work good enough. The handles will give you insane blisters if you use them for any length of time, so put on a good pair of leather work gloves, reshape the handle with a rasp to make it more comfortable, or make a new handle. But other than that, they're perfect for such rough tasks. I wouldn't waste my time tuning up a good saw for that type of work. The dirt and stuff will wreak havoc on the teeth. The impulse hardened Japanese style teeth in these cheap saws hold up very nicely. The down side is they can't be sharpened, but you can always cut up the parts that aren't impulse hardened to make scrapers when the saw does eventually dull out. It should be years before they dull too much for those rough tasks though.

They can be sharpened. Diamond dust can be rubbed into steel. After that happens, the steel will do fine as a sharpener. So get some fine diamond dust and a cheap but solid knife with a single bevel. if you take a steel plate, and then burnish the diamond into the knife, and the steel plate incidentally, you can make a nice knife edged sharpening tool. This in turn can be used to sharpen even impulse hardened steel. The steel plate will be good for sharpening too.


Bob

[Harlan Barnhart]

Nothing dulls those saws.

I had one in my work truck and a co-worker used it to cut 5/8" cement board. That dulled it. But in all fairness he made a lot of cuts before it became totally unusable.

I agree with Robert. For general hacking, you could do worse and it holds up extremely well. When it eventually dulls, so what. They are cheap.

I think Irwin makes a similar one.

[Jared McMahon]

+1 on the Stanley Shark saw.

I'm in the middle of installing 1800 sqft of click-lock laminate flooring. The stuff is miserable to work with, but my dang Stanley saw just keeps munching away at it with no problems.

[James Carmichael]

+1 on the Stanley Shark saw.

I'm in the middle of installing 1800 sqft of click-lock laminate flooring. The stuff is miserable to work with, but my dang Stanley saw just keeps munching away at it with no problems.

Yuck, that stuff is nasty!

[Jeff Wittrock]

I have one. It did real well until I used it to cut a fiberglass shower stall into small pieces. It's still usable, but that fiberglass is some rough stuff.

-Jeff