I need a tenon saw.

[Tom Norton]

So I have been a bit smitten while watch Peter Seller's ! So I would like to enter into some further hand tool work. But I am in need of a tenon saw and would appreciate some suggestions that would not break the bank!
Thanks!

[Robert Hazelwood]

I've come to really like a Gyokucho 240mm ryoba for tenon-saw tasks. It is the cheapest new option, I think, and cuts fast and cleanly. Plus, you get a crosscut/carcass saw at the same time.

For western saws, LN and LV are probably the best options available for reasonable money.

Used tenon saws are cheap and easy to find, usually. If they are nice and straight they are usually not difficult to restore, since they are rip teeth and fairly easy to file.

[Nathan Johnson]

I've come to really like a Gyokucho 240mm ryoba for tenon-saw tasks. It is the cheapest new option, I think, and cuts fast and cleanly. Plus, you get a crosscut/carcass saw at the same time.

For western saws, LN and LV are probably the best options available for reasonable money.

Used tenon saws are cheap and easy to find, usually. If they are nice and straight they are usually not difficult to restore, since they are rip teeth and fairly easy to file.

Agree. I am quite fond of my 240mm Gyokucho.

[Stewie Simpson]

I've come to really like a Gyokucho 240mm ryoba for tenon-saw tasks. It is the cheapest new option, I think, and cuts fast and cleanly. Plus, you get a crosscut/carcass saw at the same time.

For western saws, LN and LV are probably the best options available for reasonable money.

Used tenon saws are cheap and easy to find, usually. If they are nice and straight they are usually not difficult to restore, since they are rip teeth and fairly easy to file.

+1 on Roberts description. Tenon Saws are filed rip tooth. Carcass Saws are filed x cut. Of all the backsaw makers listed within this thread, Lie Nielsen is the only 1 that has a good understanding of this principle.. https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/...-rip?node=4150 https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/...saw-?node=4146

[Pete Taran]

Stewart,

While it is true that in the prehistory of saw making, in the early and mid 18th century the British did use arcane names for saws depending on the task they were used for (tenon saws were actually called tonond saws), by the time any saw was made that people on this list might run across, they were just called "Backsaws". What you used it for was your business. Attached is a snippet from the "Backsaw" page of each of the big three makers, Disston, Simonds and Atkins (in that order). You will notice that they are all called "Backsaws". Also notice the line in the Disston ad that "Backsaws" filed rip were available upon request, which is the main reason you rarely see them. It is inexplicable to me why, as there were as many reasons to have a rip filed backsaw back then as there are now, but after 20 years of collecting, I have only run across a few.

So, to say that only Lie Nielsen gets the carcass and tenon thing is not accurate. There was no such designation when the vast majority of backsaws were made. I'd further posit that the reason Lie Nielsen uses those names is because of me. When I sold him the saw works back in 1998, I made a Carcass saw, which was loosely modeled after those seen in the Seaton Chest. As it was a British replica, I thought it fitting to use the British designation. If I would have modeled it after an American Backsaw, I would have just called it a Backsaw.

backsaws.jpg

[Edward Miller]

So I have been a bit smitten while watch Peter Seller's ! So I would like to enter into some further hand tool work. But I am in need of a tenon saw and would appreciate some suggestions that would not break the bank!
Thanks!

The Veritas tenon saws (sold at leevalley.com) are probably your best value for a decent new western-style tenon saw. You can spend (and get) more (Bad Axe saws are wonderful), but the Veritas saws are certainly serviceable and quite friendly for a beginner. Their filing trades a bit of speed for ease in starting the saw, which I think is a good trade for someone who is just getting into hand tools.

[Pete Taran]

I've been collecting saws a long time, and in my experience, almost all tenon saws that are found have cross cut teeth, not rip teeth as Robert suggests above. What sort of work do you want to do with it? Clearly I'm biased, but hard to argue the value and comfort of a vintage tool.

Happy New Year,

Pete

[Jeff Heath]

I've been collecting saws a long time, and in my experience, almost all tenon saws that are found have cross cut teeth, not rip teeth as Robert suggests above. What sort of work do you want to do with it? Clearly I'm biased, but hard to argue the value and comfort of a vintage tool.

Happy New Year,

Pete

Well said.

I, too, have been using hand saws for a long time. Over the past 6 years, including very recently, I have treated myself to 3 saws from Mike Wenzloff, and just a few weeks ago, a pair of 16" back saws from Bad Axe. They are all absolutely awesome, but also cost about $1000 for the 5.

I also have a pre-1927 Disston 14" back saw that I bought for $25 and restored myself (with a lot of help from Pete's website....Thank You!), and the spring steel is excellent, and it now saws like a dream, just as well as it's expensive cousins.

If a couple hours of work doesn't shy you away, a vintage saw may be just the thing for you to get started and learning. You will need to learn how to file your saws, just like you have to sharpen your chisels and hand planes, so why not learn on a cheaper investment first.

A very well filed 1950 Disston back saw will cut just as straight as a $300 new saw. I personally don't care about things like plate thickness (blasphemy!!) because you're sawing away the waste, anyways. Who cares??????

If you have the money, you can invest in a super nice saw like the above mentioned, or a Bontz saw, too. I had a chance to use one of his recently, and Ron makes a beautiful saw, as well.

On a side note, my $10 Greenlee vintage chisels get just as sharp as a $100 Blue Spruce chisel. The rest is all vanity.

[Rush Paul]

Paul Sellers has in the past recommended the Veritas 14 tpi Standard Dovetail Saw as a good general purpose tenon saw. If you search his blog posts you can probably find his discussion of this saw.

Woops: Edit to "Paul" Sellers. Thanks. :-)

[lowell holmes]

I have Lie Nielsen saws that I bought about 25 years ago. I kept them in their boxes and they are still shiny with no corrosion.

I can't imagine any saw is better. I have sharpened them. They cut fast and straight. I also have a Ron Bontz saw that I made from a kit.
It is as good as the Lie Nielsen saws.

AS the old saying goes, "Buy an expensive tool and cry when you pay for it, buy a cheap tool and cry every time you use it."

[Pat Barry]

I liked Peter Sellers in Revenge of the Pink Panther but don't recall him using any saws.

[Patrick Chase]

I liked Peter Sellers in Revenge of the Pink Panther but don't recall him using any saws.

Dr Strangelove was a lot better (and still my favorite movie FWIW). Being There was also magnificent.

[Shawn Pixley]

Dr Strangelove was a lot better (and still my favorite movie FWIW). Being There was also magnificent.

Both are great choices. But how about The Party?

[Pat Barry]

Dr Strangelove was a lot better (and still my favorite movie FWIW). Being There was also magnificent.

I admit I have trouble staying awake with Dr Strangelove. The other movie you note I don't recall ever seeing but I'll look for it. This clip typifies what I love and most remember about Peter Sellers in Pink Panther series (RIP).

[Patrick Chase]

I admit I have trouble staying awake with Dr Strangelove. The other movie you note I don't recall ever seeing but I'll look for it. This clip typifies what I love and most remember about Peter Sellers in Pink Panther series (RIP).

By the time I first saw that scene I had already lived in France for a year, so I thought that the room/rheum/rhume thing was the funniest thing ever (also, I was 11).