Author: Raff

We get it, meandering through the hand saw aisle at your local hardware store can sometimes prove a bit daunting. After all, there seems to be a lot of different types of hand saws of all shapes and sizes. The ever-changing advertising and terminology can leave even the experienced woodworker’s head spinning.  So, today, we are going to cut through some of that confusion, (and yes, that pun was very much intended) by giving you a rundown on 6 of the common hand saws you might come across while perusing the aisles.

Back Saw: The Accuracy King

The term “back saw” generally refers to any type of saw that has a thick reinforced backing along the blade. This backing helps to prevent the blade from bending or bowing during the cut, which ensures a more accurate cut along with better control compared to the saws without this backing.

While back saws can be used for general cross cut purposes, they are better used for detail work and joinery – such as dovetails, mitres, box joints etc, because of their added degree of stability. The extra steel along the spine places an even pressure along the entire length of the blade which makes precise cuts much easier than with a carpenter’s saw.

Unlike the carpenter’s saws that most of us picture when we think of saws, the back saw has a rectangular blade and is shorter, usually around  35.5 centimeters (14 inches). Because the back saw has a spine that is thicker than the kerf of the blade, it is limited to material that’s thickness is less than the height of the blade – eliminating this saw for through cuts on thicker wood. The back saw’s teeth are closely spaced which allows for a smooth finish and clean cut – ideal for intricate work.

Best for:
Joinery
Accurate cuts

Coping Saw: The scroll saw of hand tools

The scroll saw of hand saws.  The coping saw has a very thin metal blade stretched between two points on a thin, malleable, c-shaped frame with handle. Because the blade is so thin and the teeth are relatively small and closely spaced, the coping saw excels at making curved and intricately designed cuts with a fine finish – but the downside to the thin blade and closely spaced teeth is that these cuts take much longer to complete.

The blade of the coping saw can be reversed and removed which adds to the versatility of the saw – different blades can be purchased for different materials such as metal. In addition, because the blade is removable, the saw can be used to perform interior cut-outs from the centre of the material by detaching, inserting the blade in a drill hole, and then reattaching to the saw frame.

The thinness of the blade causes it to be relatively fragile and as the thickness of the material being cut increases, the accuracy of the coping saw decreases. Thicker material tends to cause the thin blade of the coping saw to wander and create wavy cuts – this restricts the coping saw to more delicate work on thin materials.

Best for:
Intricate designs on thinner materials
Curved cuts
Interior cut-outs

Bow Saw: The lumberjack

While there are a few different versions of the bow saw, including some specifically designed for the shop woodworker, I’m going to focus on the common bow saw which we currently see most often in the hardware store.

The common bow saw we see in hardware stores is a versatile saw with a similar design to the coping saw but vastly different cutting ability. The bow saw gets its name from its design, which is shaped like…. you guessed it – an archer’s bow. It is comprised of a long, stiff blade held between two points on a D-shaped frame. Unlike the coping saw, the pistol grip handle of the bow saw is situated directly on the D-shaped frame. This location allows for more power to be directed into the cut – which gives an indication of what the common bow saw is mostly used for these days – quick, rough cuts.

The tooth layout on bow saws is unique in that they are not all angled in the same direction, which allows for cutting action on both the push and pull stroke of the cut. This, along with the low tooth count and deep gullets, results in demonstrably faster cuts than other saws. However, these factors also make for a choppy cut with a rough finish – good for quickly removing material, but not for work that needs a delicate, finished edge.

The bow saw is commonly used outside. Its tough metal blade, and rigid handle design make it ideal for cutting logs and green wood. Throwing back to its outdoor uses, the bow saw generally has two different blade styles to accommodate for the different wood you’ll be attacking outside –
the peg tooth: designed for dry wood
and the peg and raker toothed blade: designed specifically for wet wood.

The design of these blades is beyond the scope of this article, but I encourage you to pick the right one, or even one of each if you do a lot of outdoor work.

Best for:
Outdoor work on logs/green wood
Fast, rough cutting
Large curves

Hacksaw: The grinder

The hacksaw has a similar design to the coping saw and the bow saw and is primarily used for plastic or metal. It has a thin, wide blade, with a very high tooth count, which makes for exceptionally clean cuts. The blade is situated in a metal frame with a pistol grip handle, and varies in length depending on the model, though the standard is roughly 30cm. The blades are removable and there are a wide variety of types that can be purchased for use with different materials.

Best for:
Metal and plastic cutting
Pipes

Carpenter’s Saw: The Utility Saw

Often referred to as the carpenter’s saw or panel saw the utility saw, is a versatile saw that can be used for a wide variety of applications and can come in several sizes. In the past, this traditional handsaw with its angular, triangle shaped blade and pistol grip handle situated at the back, came either with crosscut or rip cut angled teeth on the blade. This meant that you would often need two saws, a crosscut and ripcut, in your arsenal. However, in recent times most of these saws come with a design that holds both types of teeth, allowing the saw to cut both rip and crosscuts when necessary. These saws are often referred to as “universal” or “utility” saws – also look for saws branded as those with “hybrid” blades if looking for the utility saw.

The blades vary in length but are generally longer than a back saw and have a lower tooth count. Much like the blade technology, which has changed with time, the cutting action on these saws has also changed. While most still cut on the pull stroke, as was the traditional design, there are models now that cut both on the pull and push, which allows for a much faster cut. The length of the blade results in a long cutting stroke, which also increases the speed, but at a detriment to accuracy and fine finish. Because the blade is a singular thickness throughout, unlike the back saw, the utility saw is not limited in the thickness of material it can cut.

Best for:
Dimensioning lumber
Thick material
Both crosscut and ripcutting

Keyhole Saw: The versatile handyman’s dream

Keyhole saws have a narrow, rigid blade attached to a handle. Think of this saw as the manually powered jigsaw.

The thin design of the blade allows for tight, curved cuts or interior cuts on panels, such as drywall or plywood – most often for outlets or switches. While the cuts won’t have as clean of a finish as a coping saw, the keyhole saw gets curves and odd cuts done fast.

However, this little guy shouldn’t be relegated to only these odd cuts as it is a workhorse around the shop. For instance, the narrow design and sharp teeth make it ideal for cutting out quick mortises after drilling (especially if you aren’t keen on chisel work.)

Many keyhole saws come with a removable blade which opens up the possibility of using varied blades for different materials, and the saw’s relatively small design means it is easy to attach to a tool belt to be used for quick offcuts and utility purposes.

Here’s an example of an awesome use for a keyhole saw that we mentioned: Mortises!

Best for:
Interior cuts
Cuts in cramped, tight corners
Curves
Multipurpose

So, there we have it…

We hope these explanations on the common saws you see in the hardware store will help you feel less overwhelmed the next time you stand in front of the display and wonder, “Which of these saws is the right fit for my job?”

If you’ve found this article helpful we encourage you to share it with someone else who might need the info! Thanks for reading and get out there and cut your teeth on some hand saw projects! (That pun was intended as well)

As I’ve said before, I love old tools, and there is nothing better than coming across some quality vintage woodworking tools.

But what’s all the hype?

Are they really better than the tools of today?

Where can I look for, and what do I look for in vintage tools?

Beyond the nostalgic value of each vintage woodworking tool being used to create perhaps countless beautiful things by the craftsmen/women who owned them, are they really worth getting up early on your Sunday off to scour the local swap meet?

The answer according to Raff? Yes.

Tools from before the era of CNC machining didn’t have the option of having shortcuts. They were expensive, large, and heavy, simply because they had to be, and the by-product of these qualities? Well, they have inherent longevity. This means you can pick one up for a couple of dollars at a swap meet, clean it up, and likely have it working as well as the day it was produced.

Where to find Vintage Woodworking Tools:

So, you’ve decided to try to augment or perhaps fill your toolbox with some vintage tools. Where do you look?

Swap Meets

In Australia, I have found the best luck for vintage tool hunting at local swap meets or Sunday markets. A simple Google search will have you finding dozens of these in any major city, often one in every suburb. Where I reside in Perth there are no less than three Sunday markets within a fifteen-minute drive of my home. The added bonus is that these are fun, and you really never know what you might find. It’s the ultimate treasure hunt!

Ebay

If you are looking for a specific vintage tool and want to do it from the comfort of your home – eBay is the place to do it. Unfortunately, for those of us on the other side of the world, the .au eBay doesn’t have nearly as large a selection as Ebay.com. Many of the vintage tools you will find on Ebay will be coming from the US, so watch for those sneaky shipping fees that can quickly add up.

Estate sales

I’ve picked up some amazing quality tools from estate sales, with the added bonus of often getting to learn a bit about the history of the tool and the previous owner. It gives me a good deal of pride to know that the tools that were used lovingly in the past will continue to be used lovingly in my own collection.

Gumtree (Craigslist, Kijiji, Facebook marketplace etc)

Gumtree can be hit and miss, but I have found some good deals. Most recently, I purchased an early era Australian made Stanley Bailey No. 5 for $20 dollars. A good tip is to ask if they have anything else to sell as well. The older gentleman who sold me the no. 5 also had some brace and bits for sale that he was willing to part with at a good price given that I was already there. While I wasn’t interested in any more bits, you just might have been!

Is this rusty, dinged up thing a diamond in the rough?  

You’ve crawled out of bed well before dawn to get to the local swap meet bright and early, but as you find yourself perusing the various stalls and Ute beds, you realize that you have no idea what you are looking for!

So how do you tell what’s a good buy and what’s a waste of your hard-earned cash?

My biggest advice here is to know what you want and research it beforehand. If you’re reading this, it is likely you have already started that process. Good for you! When I go to a swap meet I usually have a list of tools that I would be interested in picking up in mind. Beforehand, I’ve done a good deal of research on what the ideal brands and models are for each tool – if I’m lucky, one of those models will be lurking in one of the boxes of old, rusty tools, but more often than not they aren’t.

Don’t get too caught up in the brands, after all, we are looking for useability and not collectibility, and many old brands that aren’t as popular today put out surprisingly good quality tools.

I found the above Acorn No. 4 for 25 dollars at a swap meet. While it isn’t a collectible item and the Acorn brand isn’t nearly as popular as Stanley, once cleaned up I’ve found it in fantastic workable condition and much better quality than anything I could have purchased for $25 brand new. You can read about my find and the history of this plane here: Vintage Acorn No. 4 History.

That’s why knowing what to look for in a general tool is so helpful – it means you don’t have to be tied to a specific brand.

In terms of age, pre-war (WWII) is a good rule of thumb for quality, but pre 1970 is generally well thought of as well.  It’s oftentimes hard to tell the age when you are looking through a box of tools that all look pretty old, though. After all, it’s amazing how a few years in a damp shed can age a tool. A severely neglected hand plane can look fifty years old and turn out to be five! That’s why I advocate doing your research on what models of a particular age looked like/what features to look out for in order to date a specific tool.

In more general terms here are a few things I look out for:

Rust:

For vintage tools, many people get hung up on rust, but the reality is that rust can often hide a beautiful, quality tool beneath that many people not knowing any better would have avoided – that means it’s probably cheap for you!

There are two types of corrosion to look for: Surface and pitting

Surface rust is the orange, dusty rust that is easily removed with a good amount of white vinegar and steel wool to get back to bare metal.

Pitting is an aggressive, localized form of rust that leaves small holes in the metal. I generally advise that tools with pitting should be avoided. There are loads of vintage tools to pick and choose from and I find it not worth the effort to pick up a tool with mid to heavy pitting.

Blade Quality:

Keep an eye out for  my specific second-hand buy guides for tools such as the hand plane and chisels,  that I will be coming out with, but for now, here is a general guide:

For tools with blades, such as saws, hand planes, and chisels – what you go for depends on how much work you will want to put into your vintage tool before it is usable. However, there are a few things I will generally stay away from.

Check the blade on handsaws to ensure that it isn’t missing several teeth and that the teeth have enough life in them for continued sharpening.

For chisels and hand planes, avoid blades that appear to have been excessively sharpened/ground, this can appear as blades that are significantly shorter than usually seen. In the same vein, but perhaps slightly less common sense is to avoid blades that look like they’ve been machine polished.   Both of these aspects (excessive sharpening and machine polish) mean you have a higher risk of getting a blade that has been overheated.

If you find anything marked “cast steel” I would snatch it up.

Body quality:

When looking at the body of the tool look for thick metal casting where rigidity is needed: Ie, on the sole of a hand plane. No cracks should be visible, or obvious repairs. There shouldn’t be any severely misshapen areas – such as bowls on a hand plane sole or bends in a chisel blade. Use your judgment here, because if it looks off, it probably is.

Wooden parts:

Generally speaking, if I find a good brand of cast steel the condition of the handles/wooden parts won’t be the reason I walk away- as they can generally be replaced for cheaper than a brand new quality steel tool. However, it’s worth mentioning that anything rotted or cracked is going to cost you more money/time in repair – so factor that into the cost to ensure it’s worth it to you.

Are Vintage tools really better than their modern-day counterparts?

We live in the day and age of excessive consumerism.

Products are easy to buy, and just as easy to replace, which ofttimes has me wistful for a time that I never really got to see, a day when things were created to last.

However, this isn’t to say that tools of the past are inherently better than the tools of present-day, it just means that you might not have to pay as much to buy the same quality vintage tool as a new, high-quality tool of today.

For instance, if you are willing to put a lot of money down, the tools of today will run circles around the tools of the past in terms of weight, ergonomics, metal quality and ease of use. However, in the current era of mass production, CNC machining, and big box stores, more people are purchasing a $20 set of cheap chisels, a set which will end up in the garbage in a few years, than those who are purchasing an individual Lie-Nielson chisel ($100+) which will last a lifetime. This inevitably creates an incentive for companies to cut corners with quality in order to produce cheap tools that the average person will buy.

So, if you are like me and don’t want to spend another $500 for a Veritas smoothing plane, but you also don’t want to spend $70 on a new Stanley plane with plastic totes –  you can purchase an old Stanley for $100 (often less) which will perform arguably just as well as the Veritas once properly tuned.  If that sounds like a good deal, then vintage tools may be your saving grace.

Happy hunting!