Mark at Bad Axe knows how to tickle my AmEx

[ken hatch]

Received an email from Bad Axe with this in the subject line...."Introducing the new Bad Axe D8, aka 'The Henry Disston'", how can you help but reach for the AmEx.

ken

[Patrick Chase]

Received an email from Bad Axe with this in the subject line...."Introducing the new Bad Axe D8, aka 'The Henry Disston'", how can you help but reach for the AmEx.

ken

Probably good timing on Mark's part. Even Pete seems to be down to a few D8s in stock (http://www.vintagesaws.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_4), so there may be a window to profit by selling a new-build D8 clone. Mark's asking about 2X the market value of a good-condition Disston, which doesn't seem outrageous given the sort of quality he delivers.

It'll be interesting to see what Pete Taran has to say (if he can at all, given that he's somewhat in the same market).

[Noah Magnuson]

Yeah, I got this email as well. I think I already have too many good hand saws, but it is refreshing to see some modern full sized hand saws made by quality craftsman. Looks like he is doing the proper thumbhole rip version as well. They will surely be nice saws. My favorite and most-used saw is Mark's Bayonet. I feel like a saw-handed cyborg when I use it.

[Pete Taran]

I guess the proof will be in how it cuts. $375 for a new production saw is not out of line is it is truly taper ground and tensioned properly. I'm not a fan of the nitre blued hardware and hickory handle. Most of the folks I sell to want old tools and not new tools, so I don't think there will be a lot of overlap in the markets. There will always be fanboys that want the new cool stuff just because. Probably the same people that would spend $1200 for a set of peat bog buried chisels!

More saws coming soon...just got back from a nice vacation to Yellowstone. Managed to avoid getting blasted into space by the caldera eruption, so now it's time to list the saws I got at the MWTCA meet. :)

[Stewie Simpson]

Did anyone else notice the design weakness within the Bad Axe Thumb Hole saw handle. http://www.badaxetoolworks.com/pdf/20170730_BadAxeD8_Newsletter.pdf

[Derek Cohen]

Did anyone else notice the design weakness within the Bad Axe Thumb Hole saw handle. http://www.badaxetoolworks.com/pdf/20170730_BadAxeD8_Newsletter.pdf

Please explain Stewie.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Other/DisstonD8_zpsvuagayyp.jpg http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Other/BadaxeD8_zps6iqcswzc.jpg

I cannot see any issue ... sawnuts are in the same position, the thumb hole looks essentially the same (I do not see the lowered entry on the side to be an issue of weakness as one pushes from the palm/rear of handle), the hang looks the same ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Archie England]

I'm curious what I'm missing, too.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I have had a pair of Wenzloff plates- one rip, and one crosscut- with intention of making a pair of panel saws for some 4 years now. I shall remind you I have a child and a 180-year-old home, the two of which consume my project time.

[Pat Barry]

I don't have one of these thumb hole saws and I can't visualize how you stick your thumb in there in any useful way while trying to rip or crosscut. Maybe it should be called a finger hole saw instead? Can someone post a picture of the proper grip to use with this thing?

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I don't have one of these thumb hole saws and I can't visualize how you stick your thumb in there in any useful way while trying to rip or crosscut. Maybe it should be called a finger hole saw instead? Can someone post a picture of the proper grip to use with this thing?

It read somewhere it is for an overhand grip. I have never gotten the hang of it.

[Pete Taran]

It's not that complicated. You put the thumb of your non-dominant hand in there to help power through the cuts. The earlier version of the D8 handle had a more kidney shaped hole in the handle to accomplish the same purpose.

[Brian Loran]

yup! I got to have one (or 2) :O

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I don't have one of these thumb hole saws and I can't visualize how you stick your thumb in there in any useful way while trying to rip or crosscut. Maybe it should be called a finger hole saw instead? Can someone post a picture of the proper grip to use with this thing?


The thumb hole is for you left hand with a right hand grip on the tote. Since I don't have three hands, I held the phone with one hand and took two pics to show left and right hand placement.

[Pete Taran]

Exactly! Most may not know that there were several other efforts to accomplish this same thing before Disston got the idea for this handle. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.

[Hasin Haroon]

I have a Bad Axe Sash saw, and it is a very good crosscut saw. I can justify the cost of a Bad Axe back saw over a Lie Nielsen, due to the folded rather than slotted back, that allows kinks in the blades to be fixed easily and therefore is more likely to be a lifetime tool (though I'm not sure why they cost so much more than Wenzloff saws).
I don't understand the price premium over a Lie Nielsen panel saw however - $325 vs $225. Can someone with more knowledge of these matters explain?

[Brian Holcombe]

They're taper ground, and that is very very important.

[Hasin Haroon]

Thanks Brian. I believe the LN panel saws are taper ground too, so is there any other difference?

[steven c newman]

Lutheran Thrift Store find from a few years ago..
.365047
$1.....

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Thanks Brian. I believe the LN panel saws are taper ground too, so is there any other difference?


The Lie-Nielsen panel saws are only 20" at the toothline. The Bad Axe is a much larger saw at 24" with optional 26". Other than having multiple options for handle and saw nut material, I suppose the rest is supply and demand, and who sharpened and set the teeth.

*Not arguing for or against either party- just addressing the differences.

[Hasin Haroon]

True, other than the size I suppose it's the sharpening and setting being done in a small shop vs a larger facility. The Bad Axe Panel saws look beautiful and I'm sure they perform admirably, but I'd find it hard to shell out that much for one over a LN. Ah, if only money was not an issue....I'd have both!

[Archie England]

Lutheran Thrift Store find from a few years ago..
.365047
$1.....

I've got a few of those super deals, too; but as for a repeatable, regular buying experience--it's not one. OTOH, it's taken me nearly a decade to be able to spend hard earned cash on expensive new tools. I've dumpster dived for so long that it's all that I thought was workable. After picking up a few used LNs and then buying some LV plane blades, the slope got slippery much more quickly.

(But I still love to see my oldies perform flawlessly, too.)

[Pat Barry]

The thumb hole is for you left hand with a right hand grip on the tote. Since I don't have three hands, I held the phone with one hand and took two pics to show left and right hand placement.
Thanks Malcolm!

[glenn bradley]

Lutheran Thrift Store find from a few years ago..
.365047
$1.....

Way to wrangle in the envious ;-)