General purpos handsaw?

[Al Killian]

I am looking at buying a decent hand saw for general use. Being fairly new to this hobby I am confused over the many different types, eastern vs. western, and companies that make them. Then you have the prices, anywhere from $15 thru $100:eek: . I dont want a debate started over which beter for whatever reason, just want to know what style is most common for general use. I also dont want to spend more then say $35 on the saw.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Why don't you look at buying an older saw. You can certainly get something for $35 (you might be able to get more than one if you look carefully). It will require some cleaning and sharpening, but as a bonus the saw will be of good quality and with proper care will last you a life time.
I can't comment on the types. Personally I only have three, which seem to be able to do everything I need to do. A small 10" rip filed dovetail saw, a 16" rip filed back saw, and a crosscut Disston D-8.

[Wilbur Pan]

I'm making some assumptions as to what you want to do with a handsaw, because "general purpose" covers a lot of ground. But at the minimum you probably want to be able to do rip cuts and crosscutting.

I would suggest getting a 240 mm (9 1/2") ryoba. It's a Japanese saw, with rip teeth on one side, and crosscut teeth on the other. It cuts on the pull stroke, which I think is much better overall than push saws. They are available for $30-35 dollars, and have replaceable blades, so you don't have to worry about sharpening.

You can find them at Hida Tool (http://www.hidatool.com/woodpage/saws/gryoba.html) and The Japan Woodworker (http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=19%2E611%2E0&dept_id=13088). If you are working in hardwoods, you'll want the 651 model.

[ralph cox]

For $35 at the local FM, I found a small 10tpi backsaw$5,a 26"Pexto 7tpi crosscut$12.50 and a 5tpi Diston rip D8 for $15. They were all a little rusty but not pitted ;I really only had to sharpen the 28",90 year old D8. It ripped right through some green oak like butter!:DPoint is for the same money IMHO
you could have the right saws for the particular task,develop your skills,and slip a little further down the slope:D:D:D.

Regards, Ralph

[Glenn Madsen]

It's been in my toolbox for thirty years, and even resharpened, it's slow and a little hard to steer. It came from the hardware store, and was, at the time, one of their better ones. The old ones that came from my dad and my uncles are a lot better, but are set to either rip or crosscut. My uncles, now passed on, were finish carpenters by trade, and these tools were what they used early, before power tools became ubiquitous.

I have power tools, and they do they job, but, for a lot of quick, one cut tasks, I grab a hand saw. Of course, the ones from Lie Nielsen do the best, but they break your budget pretty hard.

Most old handsaws are still pretty cheap to acquire. The professional sharpening often is more costly than the acquisition price. Buy a couple of well-cared for garage sale gems, and enjoy!

[Steve Hamlin]

Hi Al
As has been said, it really does depend on what scale you're working at. Here's my take:

1. If you need to make long cuts (rip) the length of a piece of wood you will either need access to power saws (preferably bandsaw) or a 26" (or longer) rip saw with few teeth per inch (4 1/2 or 5 is great). These are filed straight across, so easy (I've only sharpened two so far and each is at least better than before I touched it :) ) They're also readily available for little money.
If you're buying dimensioned stock, you can get away without this for now.

2. Next is cutting the wood to length. It's good to have a crosscut panel saw for quickly sectioning stock to length - 11tpi 22" is my favourite. Filing crosscut is more technical. I'm not there yet. Again, these aren't expensive on the old tools market.
If you haven't got to cut through wide boards with any precision, but maybe want something for rough cutting sheet material to size, I'd grab a cheap hardpoint to start (heresy, I know) - only a couple of quid each in the UK (but back to accuracy - just think why)
If your putting in studding, this'll do the trick.

3. Joinery saws. Bewildering array of options. I prefer traditional western back saws that cut on the push stroke. But whether western or Japanese, in essence, these are all saws that cut accurate, (mostly) shallow and (mostly) short cuts. It is nice to have cross cut and rip - the speed and finish difference is noticable side by side, but the smaller the teeth, the more able is a rip cut saw working across the grain. So think how deep a cut the joints you are making need. I'd suggest starting with rip cut 13tpi-ish, 12"-ish. Again, because its rip cut, relatively easy to file, so go old again. This blade size will also typically be a little more robust than 10" or 8" carcass and dovetail saws - good until your arm is used to tracking in a straight line (damhik - but it was only a cheapy)

So if you are using wood which is roughly the right width, I'd say a tenon saw is probably closest to 'general purpose'

Cheers
Steve

[Al Killian]

Thanks all for the reply's. I have dicided to go with a ryoba saw that Wilbur suggeted. As for what I meant for a general saw was, a saw that will get used mostley for coss cuts on boards form1" thru 3,1/2" thick or to trim a board that is a little to long. I have a Gent saw, which is fine for thins boards. It is a real pain to have to drag a board to my RAS whenever I need a nice staight cut. Other wise I grab my crappy hacksaw.:rolleyes: I have looked at getting a few used saws, but the are far and few around that are worth the effort.

[Bob Smalser]

I... just want to know what style is most common for general use. I also dont want to spend more then say $35 on the saw.

If you're gonna saw by hand, you need both rip and crosscut saws.

Within your budget, your only choice in new is to go to to Amazon and buy a Shark saw for 20 bucks. Has rip teeth on one side and crosscut on the other. They also have replacement blades because of them being too Rockwell hard to file. Same as Wilbur's probably. I use them for flushcutting and woven cedar siding.

But beginning Monday, I know of two D-23 panel saws, both crosscut and matching rip I and a student rehabbed that the owner is putting up on eBay as a matching pair. They should go for under 40 bucks, and they have been freshly sharpened.

D-23's are the same quality as D-8's with the same taper...from around .037 inches at the back handle to .027 at the back tip and from .040 to .037 at the cutting edge. Both models are tensioned saws, and can be refiled, unlike a lot of plate saws being sold today. When just starting out, the thicker #7, #8's and #23's are a beter choice than thin, top-of-the-line #12's and #16's because they are much less likely to kink on you.

[Wilbur Pan]

As for what I meant for a general saw was, a saw that will get used mostly for cross cuts on boards from 1" thru 3 1/2" thick or to trim a board that is a little to long. I have a Gent saw, which is fine for thins board.
Hi Al,

If you are looking to cut mainly thicker stock, you should consider getting a 270 mm or 300 mm ryoba. With ryobas, the tpi goes down as the blade length goes up, with the result that shorter blades work best with thinner stock, and longer blades working best with thicker stock.

I have a 270 mm Japanese saw that I use for crosscutting 8/4 material (about 2"). For 1" material I use a 240 mm ryoba.

Not that this sort of cutting can't be done with a 240 mm ryoba, but it will be more work for you. DAMHIKT.

Wilbur