Japanese Hand Saws

[Bob Moyer]

We are invited to a friends birthday party, another friend informed me that he is taking up woodworking as a hobby after inheriting a lot of stuff from his father-in-law. Somewhere in conversation, this mutual friend mentioned they were going to buy him a couple of Japanese hand saws, but were not sure of which is the best.

Any suggestions.

[Roger Savatteri]

Fine woodworking did a review on japanese dovetail saws in issue #188.
(http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/FWNPDF/011188080.pdf)

[David Tiell]

I'm kind of partial to the ones sold by Bridge City Tool Works, but they are kind of expensive. On the plus side, they cut a very fine kerf, and the blades are replaceable. But again, replacement blades are along the lines of $40 each, whereas you can buy other saws with replaceable blades to $40 and blades for them for $20.

[Mark Singer]

Tashiro are reasonable and really good! The Queen dovetail is very good.

http://www.tashirohardware.com/

[Ed Garrett]

I've had two cheap ones from Lowe's (Shark brand I think) and both have been fantastic tools over the last 13 years.

[Jon Toebbe]

Tashiro are reasonable and really good! The Queen dovetail is very good.
Here, here! Though I'd make sure you pick up a blade that is rip filed, too. I bought the King, Joint, Fine Joint, and Queen Dovetail -- great saws all. But you need a ripping blade if you plan to do rip cuts. Ripping with a crosscut blade is sloooow.

I'd recommend:
(1) King Blade (crosscut)
(2) King Rip Blade
(3) a handle for these two, or a blade holder and make your own handle ala Mr. Singer's previosu posts.
(4) Queen dovetail blade (and holder or handle)
to get you started. The joint and fine joint blades can wait for a general purpose user, imo.

[John Schreiber]

Tashiro are reasonable and really good! The Queen dovetail is very good.

http://www.tashirohardware.com/
I've seen that website and wondered if it was still active. The copyright date is 1995.

[Mark Singer]

The Tashiro blades are cross cut and it is a bit slower....for dovetails and joinery speed is not a big concern, accuracy is and they work quite well. I have many rip Japanese saws and western as well...it is good to use them both and know the differences...the starting techniques and just try some joints.

My rip saws include the Mitsukawa Set....but they are hand made and pricey and really I save them for special work
http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/mSinger/z_art/japTools/img/IMG_1272[1].jpg

[Wilbur Pan]

I think that more important than "which is the best" is what your friend wants to use the saws for. Does he want to cut dovetails? Mortise and tenons? Do more general cutting?

Assuming that most of his planned projects revolve around 4/4 hardwood stock, a good basic set of Japanese saws would consist of a 240 mm ryoba for general cutting, a rip dozuki and a crosscut dozuki. With Japanese saws, the shorter the blade the finer the teeth, and the longer the blade, the coarser the teeth. If he wants to use thicker stock, I would get a saw with a 270-300 mm blade. A flush cut saw would be nice as well.

Most Japanese saws are optimized for cutting softwoods. There are Japanese saws that have a tooth configuration more optimized for hardwoods.

As far as the "best" brand, there are fully handmade Japanese saws that cost a few hundred dollars apiece. But excellent results can be gotten from a disposable blade model. I like the Gyokuchos. Many very experienced Japanese woodworkers will use these on a regular basis.

[Dan Clark]

Question about Tashiro saws aimed at Tashiro users...

Have you used the Tashiro saws to cut hardwoods? How well has it worked out?

Regards,

Dan.

p.s., I have several Japanese (mostly Gyokuchos) saws and am quite happy with them. I'm looking for options.

[Jon Toebbe]

Have you used the Tashiro saws to cut hardwoods? How well has it worked out?
I've used mine on oak, maple, and some miscellaneous "hardwoods" of unknown type salvaged from pallets used to ship marble. They do a very nice job on crosscuts -- even the "coarse" king blade. Ripping would take *forever* with the crosscut teeth, if that's in your plans.

I've been very satisfied, though my experience with expensive handsaws is nil, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing. Tashiro saws seem like a good bargain to me.

[Dan Clark]

Jon,

Thanks for the feedback. I've been aware of Tashiro Hardware for awhile. Here's a pic of the store in 1925: http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/viewer.exe?CISOROOT=/seattle&CISOPTR=607. I was initially going to go there and buy my saws, but found that they no longer exist as a physical store. I can't find the item, but I believe the owner finally closed the store several years ago to take care of his ailing wife.

When I went to the website, I got a little nervous at seeing what appeared to be a stale website. I bought my Japanese saws from Hardwick's Hardware in the UW U district. Hardwick's has an excellent selection of Japanese saws.

Based on the posts here, it looks like Tashiro is still selling saws. I think I'll buy a King and King Rip blade + a King handle.

Thanks for posting,

Dan.

[Samuel Mill]

Jon,

Thanks for the feedback. I've been aware of Tashiro Hardware for awhile. Here's a pic of the store in 1925: http://content.lib.washington.edu/cgi-bin/viewer.exe?CISOROOT=/seattle&CISOPTR=607. I was initially going to go there and buy my saws, but found that they no longer exist as a physical store. I can't find the item, but I believe the owner finally closed the store several years ago to take care of his ailing wife.

When I went to the website, I got a little nervous at seeing what appeared to be a stale website. I bought my Japanese saws from Hardwick's Hardware in the UW U district. Hardwick's has an excellent selection of Japanese saws.

Based on the posts here, it looks like Tashiro is still selling saws. I think I'll buy a King and King Rip blade + a King handle.

Thanks for posting,

Dan.

Well, according to the Wayback Machine, the site changed as recently as Spring of 2006, when the Air Jet handle was discontinued. The email address appears to still be valid, too. If you are really interested, why not drop the guy an email to see what's what?

-Sam

[Dan Clark]

Sam,

Good point. I decided to get off the dime and contact him. I just sent an e-mail. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks,

Dan.

[Dan Clark]

I sent an e-mail off to Mr Tashiro and received an answer today. It turns out that he is still in business and that he has a small showroom in his house where I can pick up the saws. It is by appointement only.

Since I live in the Seattle area, I'll set up an appointment sometime in the next couple of weeks and buy some saws. I'll post an update after that.

If Mr Tashiro allows it, I'll take pics and post them here.

Regards,

Dan.

[Charlie Mastro]

Frank is alive and well. I just ordered some blades from him a few months ago. He's 85 now and I've been buying my saws from him since 1980 when Tashiro's Hardware was still there. They were just around the block from our shop "The Woodjoint" on 2nd Ave. I believe the man in the picture behind the counter is Frank. I'm going to try and send him the photo and see if it's him.
You can also contact him @:
Frank Tashiro
PO Box 3409
Seattle, WA 98114
(206) 328-7641

[Zahid Naqvi]

Bob, as your friend is just starting woodworking it might be helpful if you guys buy him one of each, a Japanese and a western saw. Most people have a strong preference for one or the other due to the grip. I started off with the Japanese saws but after a couple of years gave up on it as I just couldn't get used to the grip.

[Charlie Mastro]

Bob, as your friend is just starting woodworking it might be helpful if you guys buy him one of each, a Japanese and a western saw. Most people have a strong preference for one or the other due to the grip. I started off with the Japanese saws but after a couple of years gave up on it as I just couldn't get used to the grip.

Funny thing is I can't get used to a western style saw to save me. I can use the Japanese saw in so many different ways and can cut from so many angles that I wonder how I could do some of the cuts I've made with a western saw.:rolleyes: