Sometimes they do make them like they used to....except for the handle

[Chuck Tringo]

So in my never ending search for cheap but useful tools, I came across this handsaw on Amazon...
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Neck-N26S-26-Inch-Saw-Wood/dp/B00004Z2RQ/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_b
and decided for 18 and change I would give it a try. When the saw arrived, i hurried it away to the garage before SWMBO saw it, and stashed it for the weekend. Once I got a chance to put it to wood, I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.

This particular saw is 8 point ripper with resharpen-able teeth, and unlike every other 20 saw I have seen (save the back side of some Ryoba saws) have been hardened point crosscut saws. Now, it is neither as aggressive nor quite as balanced as my Wenzloff 6 point rip panel saw from Lee Valley, but it cut fairly smooth and quick, with well shaped and well set teeth. The listing says it is of chrome nickel steel, but the package that arrived says high carbon steel. Time will tell how good the steel is and whether it holds an edge for more than 15 feet of pine, but for less than $20, I have another saw in my arsenal, I have something cheap to practice sharpening saw teeth on, and I had an opportunity to practice handle shaping as the handle as it arrived was less than adequate. So i took my $5 rasp, some files and some sandpaper to the bad boy and the results are below. I know, I'm no Mike Wenzloff, Pete Taran or Mark Harrell, but for my first handle (re)shaping I was pleased...it certainly feels much better and I did what I could to make the horns look like, well, horns...which I prefer to the abnormal growths that it arrived with. I cant claim the wheat carving, that arrived with the saw. I believe the stripped handle is maple, and I am thinking of ebonizing it with steel wool/vinegar as some of the finish goes fairly deep into the handle and there are quite a few dark streaks that I am not a fan of.

Overall, for the price, I think that this saw beats anything out there as I am not too keen on ripping with a Ryoba, although I do have a few disposable cross cut japanese pull saws. I was so pleased that I also ordered the 10 point crosscut version which I will likely shorten by a few inches and make into a panel saw. I know many of you would say 'oh go buy a used old saw, their much better' but time prevents me from searching all over for good swap meets and antique shops...the few I do find are ridiculously overpriced...and I wouldn't buy a saw site unseen on the bay for fear of a warped plate, not too mention prices their have been elevated to the moderately ridiculous as well.

The picture from Amazon was included because I forgot to take a pic of the saw before I removed the handle and started to shape it.

[george wilson]

The steel still has to be high carbon regardless of other additives. How high,no one knows. There is quite a possible range from about .40% to .95% carbon.

[Jonathan McCullough]

I've wondered what those saws were like. There's an episode of the TV series "How It's Made" that shows how that very brand of saw is manufactured. What I didn't see in that episode was taper grinding or tensioning. My impression is that these and Stanley's saws have more set to overcome the lack of taper grinding like the old saws. Great Neck also makes little panel saws about 16 or 18 inches long--you might want to look into it before you cut down a 26-inch hand saw. I'd read somewhere that the rip saws weren't actually filed rip, but crosscut; the copy just sounds manlier to call something a "rip" saw, and 8 tpi seems pretty high for a rip saw. But if it works for you and you like it, who's to dispute?

One of the things I like about them is the fact that they are made here in the USA, like Buck Brothers (Mass), which Great Neck also owns, as well as the fact that they're putting wood handles on some of their models, all for $20. When someone says something like that can't be done here in the US economically, just remember these are still mass produced in New York State for under two sawbucks per.

[george wilson]

The 1095 spring steel I used in my crosscut saws was about $22.00 per blade,with a $250.00 minimum purchase per thickness,and a $75.00 cutoff fee. It came in 1500# coils.