I have been working on rehabbing some handsaws recently and a question that has been on my mind has resurfaced. Why are most, if not all. saw handles made from quarter sawn boards ? While it looks very nice, the short grain in some areas seems to be a potential weakness, especially with open-handled joinery saws. Why would one not want to use flat sawn boards for saw handles as the long grain running the whole length of the handle continuously would seem to be stronger ? Kind of like those cheesy plywood handles. The back saw I built in a class with Matt Cianci a few years ago has a birdseye Maple handle which is flat sawn and shows the eyes nicely. (I shaped the handle myself in the class-great fun!) Just a thought that has me curious.

BTW-a bit of a gloat-I finally treated myself to a Gramercy saw vise and just had to throw in the 2 curved saw handle rasps. YAY! Should be here in a few days.