Do you sharpen saws from one side or both?

[Chris Griggs]

This is one of those things in woodworking that people are probably split 50/50 on, but I am curious. Most saw sharpening tutorials tell you to flip the saw after sharpening every other tooth so that you are always sharpening the fronts of the teeth leaning away from you. However, I've seen Andrew Lunn, Klaus and Pedder, as well as Ed from Medalian Toolsworks all say they often or always sharpen from only one side (except for setting of course)

I've started learning to sharpen saws a couple months ago, and here's what I've found works for me.

Reshaping - all from one side (most people seem to agree on this)

Rip Saws - all from one side

Filing Fleam into crosscut saws - UNDECIDED

For crosscuts saws I started off by flipping the saw and struggled, but got decent results. I then tried doing it all from one side on a 12 point 10" backsaw and a 9 point 20" panel saw. This was much easier and I got very good results.

However, this week I was rehabbing a 26" 8 point crosscut saw and found that when sharpening the saw from one side I was having trouble putting fleam into the fronts of the teeth that were facing me. In Pete Taren's Saw Filing Treatise (http://www.vintagesaws.com/library/primer/sharp.html) Mr. Taren says that files cut better on the teeth facing away from you, but until now I had never really noticed this to be the case.

Anyway, I've rambled on enough. So what I am curious to know is....

DO YOU FILE FROM ONE SIDE OR BOTH. IF YOU FILE FROM BOTH SIDES IS THIS IN ALL FILING OPERATIONS OR ONLY SOMETIMES (e.g. filing fleam or slope).

[David Weaver]

Generally all from one side unless the saw makes it really undesirable (like lots of set and large teeth - I don't have any of those left, though), but...

....from time to time I will do crosscut saws from both sides if I don't feel like thinking about using more pressure on the teeth toward you. Have to pay attention and make sure pressure on the front of one tooth and the back of the one behind it is the same regardless of how the saw is oriented (i.e., i'm in agreement with pete taren, they cut more evenly stroke for stroke that way).

If you get teeth unevenly sized on a crosscut file filing all from the same side is easier to regulate tooth size, but less pleasant from the standpoint of getting an even amount of metal removal for each file stroke.

[Mike Davis NC]

I cut every other tooth (leaning away from me) then turn the saw and cut the remaining teeth. The finish on the front of the teeth is better this way and the chatter (noise) is lees. Plus I think it is easier to correct uneven teeth by filing till the flats on adjoining teeth are equal then filing the flat away from the other side.

[Jim Koepke]

Add Thom Lie-Nielsen to the file all from the same side on a rip type saw.

If the teeth have set, then I will flip the saw.

On a rip saw that I just cut all the teeth, they were all done from the same side and then given some set.

It is conceivable that crosscut teeth could all be filed from the same side, but it seems more mind numbing than I would want just to avoid flipping the saw.

jtk

[Andrew Gibson]

I will say that I am still learning... but I will also most likely be saying that about saw sharpening when I am 80... time will tell.
I file everything from one side. I tried to file and flip but I really messed up the teath on my tenon saw and ended up filing all the teath off and recutting them. The result is a saw that cuts very nicely from both sides.

The thing that always seemed to be the reason to file from both sides is to avoid a burr on the wrong side of the tooth... I always take a stone and give each side of the saw a stroke, thus eliminating any burr issue.

[Zahid Naqvi]

I have always filed from one side. That way I can keep track of the teeth I am skipping. So far I have not noticed any drift due to all the burs on the same side. I think Andrews idea of passing a sharpening stone on each side makes a lot of sense for the "same siders"

[Jim Koepke]

With the saw that most recently got new teeth, I didn't bother to stone the teeth before trying the cut.

It worked so well, I didn't bother to stone them.

jtk

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

When y'all are stoning the teeth of a saw, for whatever reason it may be, what are you using for stones? Seems like this obviously be a great way to mess up a softer waterstone, but do you need something fancy for this job? Coarse, fine? Would a little diamond pocket hone be good enough? We're not talking about removing a lot of material here, any time I hear it mentioned. I've got some Naniwa superstones, and a hardware store Norton combo stone I use one side of for course removal of material.

[David Weaver]

whatever i have around that's in the range of a 1000 grit stone. Light pressure with an eye toward uniformity of the pressure on the teeth against the stone front to back. It always takes fewer strokes than you'd guess to affect the handling of the saw, probably because saws are fairly soft compared to what modern stones are designed to cut and you are working only a tiny bit of metal on the stone surface.

[Chris Griggs]

When y'all are stoning the teeth of a saw, for whatever reason it may be, what are you using for stones? Seems like this obviously be a great way to mess up a softer waterstone, but do you need something fancy for this job? Coarse, fine? Would a little diamond pocket hone be good enough? We're not talking about removing a lot of material here, any time I hear it mentioned. I've got some Naniwa superstones, and a hardware store Norton combo stone I use one side of for course removal of material.

I was using a DMT Diasharp stone. However, last week I watched the new saw sharpening video with Ron Herman. He used a mill file to stone his saw and/or reduce the set. I tried this and it seems to work really well.

[Andrew Gibson]

i ha have an old arkansas slip stone that i use to stone my saws. I would think one of those little dmt pocket stones would work quite well. I have a friend that uses them to sharpen scrapers. he sais half the time he dosnt even bother turning a burr.

[Daryl Weir]

I just use a dull 8" mill file to side dress the teeth, like the old Disston Handbook On Saws talks about.

I reshape the teeth from one side on both rips and cross cuts. Then set and apply Dykem. The Dykem will tell you where you are removing the material and help you keep track of which teeth you've filed. I've always filed every other tooth and flipped on both cross cuts & rips. Even when filing a cross cut conventionally.

If you are going to try and file the gullet with a slope that's going to be the only way to do it unless you want to try and file down hill on the back side. ;) That's if the saw plate is held in a vertical position to file it. I tip the vise so it would make it impossible to file all the teeth from one side.

Take care,
Daryl

[john brenton]

I have some 1k grit auto body sandpaper (walmart has it) and I just dip it in wax and run it down the saw with it pinched between my fingers. I don't put pressure on the points and one swipe gets both sides. Its amazing what a difference it makes.


When y'all are stoning the teeth of a saw, for whatever reason it may be, what are you using for stones? Seems like this obviously be a great way to mess up a softer waterstone, but do you need something fancy for this job? Coarse, fine? Would a little diamond pocket hone be good enough? We're not talking about removing a lot of material here, any time I hear it mentioned. I've got some Naniwa superstones, and a hardware store Norton combo stone I use one side of for course removal of material.

[Chris Griggs]

Hmmmmm, the poll is coming out interesting. The largest single group seems to alternate teeth and flip, even when reshaping. I was expecting the largest group to be the second choice. Which is reshaping from one side and alternating teeth/sides for all other operations.

I will say, as David also mentioned, that I think Pete Taren is correct when he says that it is easier and smoother to file teeth pointing away from you. However, for the most part I don't think the difference in how the file cuts teeth facing in different directions is all that significant in most operations.

We can probably all agree that one should file saws in whatever way gives them the best most consistent results.

I will continue to do most my operations from one side, but for crosscuts, especially larger ones I may go back to alternating sides. Only when filing fleam into larger saws have I noticed a significant differnce in how teeth facing away vs. toward cut. This difference also becomes more noticeable as the file dulls.

Anyway, I appreciate everyone's responses. Since I started filing my own saws a few months ago, I've really come to enjoy rehabing old saws about as much as I enjoy using them (just rehabbed 4 saw in the past week and a half).

It's great that different folks have different ways to successfully file a saw, as I believe that having different ways to do something encourages more people to try it for themselves.