Japanese Saws vs Western Saws

The distinction is extra than simply pushing or pulling.

It’s been over 20 years because the Western handsaw, a instrument that cuts on the push stroke and was the delight of the English-speaking world, was surpassed because the instrument most woodworkers reached for once they want a handsaw.

It has been changed by the Japanese noticed, which cuts on the pull stroke and as soon as was mocked by Westerners as “backwards.”

What precipitated this shift to Japanese saws? Whereas some say it’s as a result of sawing on the pull stroke is superior to sawing on the push stroke, the difficulty really is extra complicated.

And which noticed is greatest? The prevailing knowledge says Japanese saws are superior and simpler for rookies to study. However when you’ve ever labored with a pointy, well-tuned Western noticed, this will’t be fully true.

To reply these questions, we determined to scrutinize the 2 sorts of saws to study their true variations, past the data in catalogs. Armed with this data, you’ll be able to select a noticed that’s proper in your woodworking and your price range. Our journey begins in historic Egypt.

Egyptian handsaw

Editor’s be aware: This text was initially revealed within the October 2003 difficulty of Widespread Woodworking Journal, and has been frivolously up to date by the editorial workers for on-line publication. A number of the sources talked about within the article are now not out there or present.

The First Handsaws

Trendy woodworkers would virtually instantly acknowledge the primary recognized steel saws, which have been excavated in Egypt.

That they had a protracted, knife-like blade, a straight grip and reduce on the pull stroke, like a Japanese noticed. Why the pull stroke?

Early Egyptian saws have been made with a skinny sheet of copper (as skinny as 0.03″) and had no inflexible backbone like the fashionable backsaw.

“(If they’d been used) on the push stroke, the noticed would have buckled and bent,” in response to Geoffrey Killen, creator of quite a few books and articles on Egyptian woodworking and the pinnacle of college on the Design and Know-how Division of the Stratton Higher College and Group Faculty in England.

What’s uncommon about these saws is that every one the enamel have been set (which means they have been bent) to at least one aspect of the blade. This makes the noticed troublesome to steer, and the Egyptians needed to give you ingenious methods of wedging the noticed kerf open throughout every reduce, in response to Killen.

The appearance of bronze instruments introduced some refinements, as did the iron saws developed by the Romans. However the fundamental kind was nonetheless a pull noticed with a skinny blade.

It was the invention of the body noticed (plus enamel set to either side of the blade) that allowed these skinny steel blades for use on both the push stroke or the pull stroke – very similar to a contemporary coping noticed or bowsaw, in response to “The Historical past of Woodworking Instruments” (G. Bell & Sons) by W.L. Goodman.

The body noticed won’t have been invented by the Romans, however they definitely refined it and produced all kinds of them.

This is a vital fork within the highway in noticed historical past that impacts us to this present day. The Japanese developed pull saws just like the Egyptians, however they by no means appear to have developed body saws, in response to a number of college students of Japanese historical past (although a Chinese language body noticed did come into use in fifteenth century Japan).

So the Japanese, with their scarce steel sources and their traditions of working low to the bottom, caught with the pull noticed and refined it to a excessive artwork.

Within the West, a lot of the European continent caught with the bowsaw. However the Dutch and English took a unique path. Within the mid-Seventeenth century, wider metal blades turned potential because of water-driven mills, and the fashionable handsaw that cuts on the push stroke was born.

The Western handsaw, proven right here being utilized by Don McConnell with an overhand rip grip, cuts on the push stroke.

The West Stumbles

The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have been the golden age of Western handsaws. There have been tons of of noticed producers, fierce competitors, high-quality instruments and a really hungry market.

However because the demand for high quality hand instruments declined, so did the variety of producers. And high quality slipped dramatically.

“Western producers thought it was OK to ship a noticed that was poorly set, uninteresting and had a deal with that appeared prefer it was made by a third-grade artwork pupil,” says Thomas Lie-Nielsen, proprietor of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. “You couldn’t use the saws proper out of the field. It’s no marvel the Japanese ate their lunch.”

When Western saws appropriate for cabinetmaking disappeared off the cabinets, the Japanese saws picked up the slack.

“In Japan, the product traces haven’t been cheapened,” says Rob Lee of Lee Valley Instruments. “Even merchandise which have been mass produced haven’t been cheapened.”

So whereas it was robust to discover a respectable new Western noticed at virtually any worth, the Japanese exported saws to the West that have been sharp, straight, completely set and cheap. A great Japanese backsaw nonetheless prices solely about $40. So it’s little marvel that the Japanese noticed now could be in lots of North American workshops. It was, in some ways, a easy matter of economics.

As a substitute of benches, Japanese craftsmen usually use low trestles. Sawing a tenon with a Japanese noticed this fashion is environment friendly and requires sawing at a much less awkward angle than at a excessive Western bench. Nonetheless, you could be in fine condition to work this fashion.

Info About Japanese Saws

Japanese craftsmen can be fairly interested by the way in which Westerners use their saws. For one, we work on a excessive bench and clamp our work when sawing. The Japanese furnishings maker works on a low sawhorse (6″ excessive or so) and doesn’t usually have a vise.

“(Westerners) are likely to clamp every thing,” says Harrelson Stanley of JapaneseTools.com. “The Japanese don’t clamp until they must. They do some wedging. Principally they noticed in towards a strong object,” such because the work, which is secured by their foot, he says.

A second distinction is that many Westerners use the crosscut dozuki noticed (a noticed with a inflexible backbone) for reducing dovetails, which is primarily a ripping operation.

For crosscutting in joinery,the Japanese will use a dozuki (which implies “shoulder of a tenon”).There are numerous methods to grip the noticed.

The Japanese woodworker as a substitute makes use of a rip-tooth dozuki (which is rare within the West) or a rip noticed with out a again, says Damsen of Japan Woodworker. That’s as a result of the Japanese philosophy on dovetails and tenons is, at instances, completely different than the Western method.

“Once they reduce dovetails they don’t need the reduce too easy,” he says. “They compress the joint earlier than meeting and let it develop and lock the joint.”

Westerners desire a smoother reduce and are keen to sacrifice the velocity of a rip tooth. Many Japanese dovetail saws for the Western market have some type of mixture tooth, in some circumstances a tooth that was designed to chop plywood that additionally works fairly nicely for dovetails, Damsen says.

Kinds of Japanese Saws

However one factor Japanese and Western craftsmen share is having to decide on what sort of Japanese noticed to purchase: a machine-made noticed or a craftsman-made noticed. There are vital variations:

• A great-quality machinemade noticed prices about $20-$50. The worth of a craftsman-made noticed averages $150, and the premium instruments are about $250.
• Usually, craftsman-made saws have softer enamel than the machine-made saws, that are usually impulse-hardened. Impulse hardening is a quick, highvoltage course of that hardens solely the enamel. Whereas the machinemade saws keep sharp longer, they can’t be resharpened.

Craftsman-made saws could be resharpened and even personalized to the way in which you’re employed. However that is meaningless to Western woodworkers, says Frank Tashiro, proprietor of Tashiro {Hardware}, which sells the road of ZETA Saws.

“(The sharpener) doesn’t know your work so he does the most effective he can, so it doesn’t work out,” says Tashiro, who provides that the most effective worth and efficiency come from a Japanese noticed with replaceable impulse-hardened blades.

However replaceable blades rankle woodworkers who don’t consider in disposable instruments.

To counter that, Japanese noticed producers say that when your impulse-hardened noticed turns into too uninteresting for woodworking, it’s nonetheless a lot sharp for work within the backyard as a pruning noticed.

“You can also make a pleasant scraper out of the blade, too,” Damsen says of the saws.

• One other distinction is that many craftsman-made saws are extra delicate due to their thinner blades. Even probably the most strong craftsman-made noticed shouldn’t fall into the fingers of a starting woodworker.

“Simply because you’ve a $200 noticed doesn’t imply you’ll noticed higher,” says Stanley. “It’s vital to observe the approach. Begin with impulse-hardened saws. Don’t get a $250 noticed and break it. As your expertise enhance you should use thinner saws.”

When utilizing Japanese joinery saws, most everybody agrees that you simply shouldn’t be aggressive or noticed at a radical angle. Only a little bit of downward stress on the pull stroke is all it takes, and also you shouldn’t apply any downward stress on the return push.

Japanese Rip Enamel • The size of the rip enamel are graduated on Japanese saws.They begin small close to the deal with and get bigger.

Western Rip Enamel • Rip enamel work like chisels, levering out the grain. Crosscut enamel work like knives, severing the fibers on both aspect.

Benefits of Japanese Saws:

• Thinner kerf removes much less wooden, which implies much less effort.
• The cheap saws are of top quality and work very nicely proper out of the field.
• The enamel are usually more durable and may go longer between sharpenings.One of the best Western saws are 52-54 on the Rockwell “C” scale. Japanese saws are 51-58 for the handmade saws, and 61 and better for the machine-made impulse-hardened saws. Whereas the more durable enamel keep sharp longer, in addition they are extra brittle and inclined to interrupt.
• There are a lot of producers who promote all kinds of saws with completely different enamel configurations (greater than 100 varieties, by Harrelson Stanley’s rely) for each woodworking job and each sort of wooden.

Disadvantages of Japanese Saws:

• It’s virtually unimaginable for a woodworker to sharpen a Japanese noticed. The enamel are too complicated on handmade saws and too exhausting on the impulse-hardened ones. Handmade saws normally go to Japan for sharpening. Impulse-hardened saws grow to be scrapers or go within the rubbish.
• The crosscut enamel are extra delicate. In case you hit a knot or reduce shortly into notably robust wooden, you could possibly lose a tooth or two.
• The saws are simpler to break. As a result of the blade is skinny, you’ll be able to bend it on the return stroke when you push too exhausting and the noticed isn’t aligned correctly within the kerf.
• Japanese saws pull sawdust towards you, obscuring your line.
• Japanese saws made for dimensioning lumber (not joinery) have shorter blades than full-size Western handsaws. Relying on the noticed, the pull noticed may require extra strokes to do the identical work.
• Japanese saws are designed for use in conventional Japanese trend on low benches. When utilized in Western trend, some Japanese saws usually are not all the time as efficient as they need to be.

Some college students of woodworking historical past suppose the push stroke was developed within the West as a result of we work on excessive benches, not like Japanese craftsmen who work close to the ground on low trestles or beams.

Info About Western Saws

Nobody can deny that Japanese saws reduce very nicely, however so do Western saws which might be sharp and correctly set. The issue is discovering Western saws appropriate for woodworking. There are growing variety of producers of full-size Western saws that do a good job for woodworking. A few of them additionally make joinery saws backsaws with a inflexible backbone on the blade. And firms akin to Lie-Nielsen and Vertitas now make premium joinery saws which might be the equal of the excellent saws of the nineteenth century.

However by far, the most important sources of high quality Western saws are flea markets and auctions. High-of-the-line Disston, Simonds and E.C. Atkins saws could be bought for $5-$25. These, nonetheless, could be rusty, uninteresting and bent. You’ll both must study to restore them or discover somebody who is aware of how.

Sharpening a Western noticed might be one of many greatest obstacles for woodworkers.

“Nobody is aware of sharpen Western saws,” says Graham Blackburn, creator of “Conventional Woodworking Handtools” (out there at blackburnbooks.com) and an teacher at Marc Adams Woodworking College. “I ask the scholars to usher in their worst airplane and their worst noticed. As soon as they sharpen their saws they by no means return to Japanese saws.”

However when you don’t wish to study to sharpen, you continue to can get a fleamarket noticed professionally tuned. Test together with your native woodworkers guild for suggestions, and don’t be afraid to ship your noticed out of state for a high quality job.

This cheap Disston #4 backsaw cuts extremely nicely now that it has been correctly sharpened. The deal with on classic Western saws will suit your hand like a glove. Later handles are uncomfortable to make use of and look crude by comparability.

Western Noticed Ideas

As soon as sharpened, a Western noticed is simpler to make use of than you may suppose. Listed here are a number of ideas:

• Although it sounds apparent, use a rip noticed for rip cuts, akin to dovetailing. Some dovetail saws are filed for crosscut. They work OK, however not in addition to a rip noticed.
• Let the noticed do the work. Don’t use lots of downward stress on the kerf – that is certainly the No. 1 drawback confronted by rookies. The noticed will wander and also you’ll by no means reduce straight.
• Don’t clench the deal with tightly. Maintain the noticed with simply sufficient stress to maintain it below management. And use solely three fingers – your index finger ought to level down the blade.

Japanese Crosscut Enamel • Word the lengthy slender enamel and three bevels filed on every tooth. The guidelines are discolored from impulse-hardening.

Western Crosscut Enamel • You may see the less complicated secondary bevels (known as the “fleam”) filed on each different tooth.

Benefits of Western Saws:

• The enamel are extra sturdy than these on Japanese saws and are extremely unlikely to interrupt, even below the worst situations. The blades themselves are thicker and fewer prone to buckle in use.
• They’ll final you a lifetime. The enamel could be resharpened many instances. Saws may even be refiled by the consumer to a unique tooth configuration if their wants change. • With slightly observe, you’ll be able to sharpen a Western noticed with cheap and easy-to-obtain instruments.
• Western dovetail saws which might be correctly filed for a rip reduce will reduce extra aggressively than the crosscut-filed dozuki that’s generally used for dovetails in the USA.
• They push the sawdust away out of your reduce line.
• Excessive-quality secondhand Western saws are each plentiful and cheap in most elements.

Disadvantages of Western Saws:

• Excessive-quality new or restored Western saws are dearer than their Japanese counterparts. Japanese joinery saws common about $45; the equal high quality Western noticed prices at the least $125.
• Cheap new Western saws are – on the whole – uninteresting and poorly set in comparison with equally priced Japanese saws. Studying to noticed with these less-expensive instruments frustrates many rookies, swearing them off Western saws.
• Whereas classic Western saws are plentiful in most elements of the USA, you could first study to revive them earlier than placing them to work: straightening the blades, fixing the enamel, and sharpening.
• The enamel are softer and require extra frequent sharpening, although it’s a job you are able to do your self after slightly training and observe.
• On the whole, the saws are heavier and have a thicker kerf, so that they require extra effort to make use of.

Worst of Each Worlds?

All this has to make you marvel why somebody hasn’t constructed a noticed that merges the most effective qualities of each traditions. Effectively, a number of firms have tried, although nothing has been capable of problem the dominance of the pure Japanese-style noticed.

And the rationale is likely to be illustrated by the expertise of 1 veteran woodworker.

A number of years in the past, Blackburn was poking round a flea market and found a phenomenal previous Spear & Jackson backsaw.

The noticed had a superbly formed deal with, very similar to the one on the excellent Lie-Nielsen dovetail noticed. However the blade of this Spear & Jackson was horribly bent. So Blackburn hung it on his wall.

Sooner or later a good friend seen the noticed and supplied to ship it to Japan to see if they may straighten it out. Blackburn agreed. The noticed got here again a number of months later straight as an arrow however with one main and surprising change.

That they had filed Japanese-style enamel on the blade. Making an attempt to maintain an open thoughts, Blackburn gave it a attempt. “It cuts nicely,” he says, “nevertheless it feels fallacious to me. So it nonetheless hangs on the wall.”

Chalk it as much as this: In relation to conventional hand-tool expertise, it’s exhausting to defy custom. Now you simply must determine which custom is greatest for you.