LV dovetail saw

[Jeff Bartley]

More saw talk.....
Is there anyone near Harrisonburg, VA who owns a LV dovetail saw? And if so, would you be willing to let me try it? I'm trying to decide between the LV and the LN....
Thanks,
Jeff

[Andrew Teich]

Hi Jeff,

I'm not close to you, and I don't own any good saws yet. I took a class on hand cut joinery this past weekend, the focus was on the dovetail mostly and then we discussed Mortise and Tenon and the instructor started one. I started using my $10 Craftsman Dovetail saw, switched to the instructors Gent's saw, don't remember the brand, then a PAX Dovetail saw. After the PAX I tried a Dozuki pull saw and decided that the Western style was going to work for me the best. Then the instructor handed me the 14 tpi LV Dovetail saw, which he had just received in the mail the day before. It worked very well, better than the PAX, which he told me was just back from a resharpening a few weeks prior. He didn't have a LN saw, so I can't give you my opinion on the LV vs. LN. The instructor used the set of 3 LV saws ($159) to cut his example dovetails and tenon.

My only holdup on the LV saws is the resharpening. I don't know how to do it myself, wouldn't want to screw up my nice saw, and don't know where to take it locally for professional resharpening. I don't think LV will resharpen them like with LN you can have it resharpening for $15 to cover shipping. Because I am Chicago based, I'm also considering the Winsor saws. They come with free lifetime resharpening, all you pay is Shipping. I need to investigate them some more, maybe even see if I can visit the shop.

If you ordered all three they are not that expensive on a per saw level and they can be used for dovetails and small tenons. I just don't think you can go too wrong with the LV unless you really dislike the modernized look/materials.

[Mike Siemsen]

Quality western style saws today are made with the same, or very similar steel in them. Once you get past the way the handle feels and looks it boils down to who sharpened it last. I would advise you to learn how to sharpen and then sharpen the saws to perform the way you like them. Then you can buy old saws or new saws, sharp saws or dull saws, and make them work for you the way you like them. A skilled sawyer will file a saw in a more aggressive and for a beginner, hard to start, manner. So a saw you like today as a beginning sawyer, because it starts easily, will feel a bit dull to you later as a more skilled sawyer. good luck
Mike