Acquiring Hand Saws Game Plan

[Steve Mathews]

After taking an inventory of the old saws I have on hand and balancing that with what I would like to accomplish moving toward more hand tool work I've come up with this game plan. Since my existing saws range from almost junk to middle of the road quality I'm thinking of purchasing one Bad Axe crosscut saw. I would use this to compare the work I plan to do on the old saws, i.e sharpening, etc. This should give me plenty of practice and a better understanding about hand saws. Any comments or suggestions?

I already have a couple of saw vises. One is an old Disston. Bad Axe apparently has saw files for sale. Is this a good source for them? There are plenty of tutorials about saw sharpening on YouTube but I usually respond better by reading printed material. Are there any recommended books on the subject?

[Monte Milanuk]

While I do have a Bad Axe saw (or two) and like them a lot... if you're wanting something to compare your efforts to as you learn how to sharpen... you might be better off (money-wise) to just get one of your existing cheap saws sharpened. Even if you don't have anyone local, and have to ship it off to get the job done, it's still going to be way cheaper (and faster) than getting a saw from Bad Axe.

That said, if you *want* a Bad Axe, they are very, very nice saws and there's nothing wrong with wanting - or getting one, despite some of the bass-ackwards 'shaming' that goes on here and other online venues when people just want to buy nice tools rather than develop a tertiary hobby of rehabbing old rust.

[Steve Mathews]

Are there any new saws equal in quality to a Bad Axe?

[Jim Koepke]

There are plenty of tutorials about saw sharpening on YouTube but I usually respond better by reading printed material. Are there any recommended books on the subject?

Check out Pete Taran's site > http://www.vintagesaws.com < He used to make saws, he may be making or selling them again.

The library on his site has a good tutorial that you can print out on sharpening saws.

jtk

[Rob Luter]

I'd suggest you find an old Disston D8 or similar and sharpen it up. One of your existing saws may be a good candidate. A 26" crosscut saw is used for breaking down stock, not joinery. Save your money for good quality joinery saws. Bad Axe makes some good ones, as do a few others.

[Steve Mathews]

I'd suggest you find an old Disston D8 or similar and sharpen it up. One of your existing saws may be a good candidate. A 26" crosscut saw is used for breaking down stock, not joinery. Save your money for good quality joinery saws. Bad Axe makes some good ones, as do a few others.
Sounds like a good idea but I'm a little skeptical about using one of my existing saws. I would have more confidence sending a good condition Disston or something similar to Vintage Saws for sharpening. Otherwise it might be a waste of time and money. The other obvious benefit to an old saw is the long lead time for a Bad Axe saw. I just may send in an order to Bad Axe anyway to satisfy my itch. BTW, I already have a good selection of joinery saws from LN, Cosman, etc.

[Tom M King]

Are we talking handsaws. or backsaws?

If you're going to use a handsaw or backsaw to amount to anything, you might as well learn to sharpen it. It's not really hard, but all of us screw something up the first couple of tries, so I'd suggest getting a cheap saw that the tooth spacing hasn't been screwed up too badly on, and practice on that.

Many saws have been sharpened on those Disston vises, and I had one that I've used a number of times too. I gave it to someone after I found one I liked better than any I've seen before, but the vise never held me back from getting a saw sharp.

[steven c newman]

Careful.....old saws are like Mice....
499573
Both are D8s ( no hyphen era) one is an 8ppi, the other is an 11ppi....26" long, made before 1928...
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One one the right is a 28" long D8 ( no hypen) 5-1/2ppi Rip....the one on the left is a D-112, 26" , 7ppi cross cut....

[Tom M King]

Yeah. These are my newest ones. The other box has the old ones.

[steven c newman]

Anybody we know in this group
499585

Take a good look at the saws they had in their tool chests....

[Tom M King]

Those are the guys that I work to please every day. Not that the average person, or even today’s experts can’t tell the difference, but the guys who built it couldn’t tell the difference.

[Jim Koepke]

Sounds like a good idea but I'm a little skeptical about using one of my existing saws.

Steve, if you mentioned where you are located, I've forgotten.

Are their estate, garage, yard sales or second hand stores in your area?

If so you should be able to find a saw for a few bucks. Buy a junk saw. Look for one with 6 to 8 ppi. That range is most likely what most hardware store files can handle.

Don't worry if it is rusty, just make sure it isn't all bent up. It is likely any second hand saw you buy will have been over set. Many people who do not know about saws thing setting the teeth wider is sharpening the saw.

Give it a few test cuts on some scrap wood. Then take a shot at improving it with a triangular file. One of those can be bought in almost any hardware store.

If you do not have a saw vise, it can be clamped between two pieces of wood.

Most saws you buy at a yard sale are not going to be precious collector's items.

That will be your cost to learn how to sharpen a saw, an old saw or two, a few files and what ever other equipment you purchase to work on your saws.

In the long run you will be happy you did.

I have made a mess of a saw or two. Then i learned how to bring them back from the mess whether it was made by me or someone else.

jtk

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Where is that thread about removing the farm scene acrylic painting from a flea market saw and putting it back to work?. I inherited a collection of mostly not great saws that a gentleman collected just to keep people from painting farm scenes on them.

[Steve Mathews]

I'll make the rounds to the flea markets, garage sales, etc. again but I was told during my last trek that all were picked up by like minded buyers.

[Steve Mathews]

Where is that thread about removing the farm scene acrylic painting from a flea market saw and putting it back to work?. I inherited a collection of mostly not great saws that a gentleman collected just to keep people from painting farm scenes on them.

Well, at least they didn't rust away, on one side anyway.

[Jim Koepke]

Where is that thread about removing the farm scene acrylic painting from a flea market saw and putting it back to work?.

I actually purchased such a saw as a gift for my dad many years ago. It came back to me when he had to downsize to move into assisted living.

The saw was not a very good one, so it hangs on the wall in my shop now.

It can be seen at the top, left of center in this picture:

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For $10 it was okay art but not a great saw.

jtk

[Richard Coers]

You can wait 5-6 months and pay $395, or watch on Marketplace and pick up 66 saws for $100 less. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?301881-Bought-a-few-hand-saws&highlight=

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Tractor and steam engine shows & fairs in the mid west have a following of rust Gypsies who set up booths. Most of them know the value of what they have. Occasionally hidden gems show up with reasonable price tags.

[David Carroll]

I actually purchased such a saw as a gift for my dad many years ago...

I don't mind the painted saws as longs the artist doesn't modify the handle, if the painting is nice, and the saw isn't rare, but the artists do gravitate toward older saws with carved handles. I've seen a lot of them with paintings that were not especially well done. At least it's easy enough to scrape off the artistic rust preventative! The ones I do have a problem with are the laser-cut ones, where they cut the design through the saw plate, ruining it forever.

DC

[Kent A Bathurst]

Bad Axe apparently has saw files for sale. Is this a good source for them?

You covered a lot of yardage in your post. I'm not certain exactly what you are asking in this question.

If you are asking about the saw files themselves, then yes - I think the files they sell [F. Dick] are excellent. Same for Tools for Working Wood [Corradi].

When I got files from both of them, I laughed at what I had been using.

[Tom M King]

Thinking about the conversation in the other thread about taper grind in handsaws, it doesn't make sense to put a lot of effort, expense, and time in expensive handsaws if one is not going to make a finish cut off the saw. You might as well just buy the cheap hard toothed saws to shorten boards with.

[Mike Manning]

I actually purchased such a saw as a gift for my dad many years ago. It came back to me when he had to downsize to move into assisted living.

The saw was not a very good one, so it hangs on the wall in my shop now.

It can be seen at the top, left of center in this picture:

499604

For $10 it was okay art but not a great saw.

jtk

Jim,
I see what looks to be an Anchor Steam Beer sign next to your Route 66 sign. Reminded me how much I used to love that particular beverage. Even my wife who never drank beer enjoyed Anchor Steam especially on tap in San Francisco the several times we visited there. I also had a good friend who would almost drink nothing else. Good stuff!

Mike

[steven c newman]

The Dungeon Woodshop currently has about three dozen handsaws on hand....currently, I USE about 6 of those...this is not counting the 6 saws for the Mitreboxes....

Saws are out there...just keep your eyes open..

[Jim Koepke]

Jim,
I see what looks to be an Anchor Steam Beer sign next to your Route 66 sign. Reminded me how much I used to love that particular beverage. Even my wife who never drank beer enjoyed Anchor Steam especially on tap in San Francisco the several times we visited there. I also had a good friend who would almost drink nothing else. Good stuff!

Mike

I used to drink a lot of it and the Anchor Porter. I always enjoyed their seasonal (Christmas) ales. It is difficult to find up here.

Now I haven't had any beer, ale or any alcoholic beverage in a few months.

jtk

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Jim,
I see what looks to be an Anchor Steam Beer sign next to your Route 66 sign. Reminded me how much I used to love that particular beverage. Even my wife who never drank beer enjoyed Anchor Steam especially on tap in San Francisco the several times we visited there. I also had a good friend who would almost drink nothing else. Good stuff!

Mike

Living in San Francisco Anchor Steam is ubiquitous. I live about 2 miles from the brewery. However, it has been supplanted in my household by Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Boont Amber.

[Jim Koepke]

Living in San Francisco Anchor Steam is ubiquitous. I live about 2 miles from the brewery. However, it has been supplanted in my household by Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Boont Amber.

I like the Anderson Valley's Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, "It's not just shy sluggin gorms nemir." (it's not just for breakfast anymore)

jtk

[Tom M King]

I just checked ebay, and there are a bunch of the Sandvik saws on there. They're all up to four times as much as I paid for any of mine, but that just goes with the times. They're still much cheaper than good old Disston's and such. They are taper ground, but not as much taper as the much older saws, but still enough that it matters and the set doesn't have to be so wide.

The steel is a bit harder than old Disston's, but not much harder to sharpen. They do stay sharp a little longer. You have to get over the plywood handles, and stamp embossed dragons, but they feel fine in hand.

If money matters, and having something to use matters more than owning the highest priced things, you can do good work with them. The siding pictures I posted earlier was all cut with a 10 pt. 270. The 288's blades are about the same as the 270's with fancier looking everything else.

I forget when Sandvik stopped selling them, but I think late '80's or early 90's. After that, I bought as many as I ran across that hadn't been used, were still in the sleeve it came in, and were no more than 25 bucks. The ones in the box in sleeves are still unused. The one cutting the handrail post stays in my truck in it's sleeve and has been sharpened quite a number of times.