Hi folks, I’m new to hand tools and the Neander forum. About two weeks ago I bought my first Western-style hand saw, a rip saw, 3 1/2 ppi. It’s a pleasure to use, easy to cut straight lines and leaves surprisingly smooth edges. Last last Friday I went to a Lie-Nielsen event in Philly and got to try their 5 1/2 ppi rip and 8 ppi cross-cut panel saws. Easy to cut a straight lines, both of them left smooth edges, and both a pleasure to use.
Here’s the thing that has me puzzled. I recently bought a Disston rip saw, 5 1/2 ppi, and a Disston cross-cut saw, 9 ppi, from a dealer who has a great reputation here at the Creek. The dealer sharpened both saws before shipping to me. Neither one is as easy for me to saw to a line as the other saws (both seem to drift right), and they leave deeper saw-marks in the stock, even compared to the 3 1/2 ppi rip saw. They are definitely sharp though—no splintering at the bottom edge of the stock. They also both look to be in really good shape, no rust.
Could it be that their teeth have a little burr left over after being sharpened, and they’ll improve with more use? Is it me? Some combination of both? If you were in my shoes, would you contact the dealer—if so, what would you ask? Thanks for any insight you can give.
—John