Resharpenable saws or throw away saws?

[BigDougal]

Hi all

I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on whether it’s worth investing in resharpenable saws when you’re reasonably need to woodworking.

Some of my current ones (general purpose and tenon) need replaced and debating investing in better quality ones and files. If you recommend that way, any suggestions of decent ones that won’t brake the bank.
Thanks!

 

[Nigel Burden]

I have one hard point saw, a tenon saw. It cuts ok but leaves a rough edge, so I'd only use it for rough work. All of my other saws are a couple of my fathers tenon saws, a Sandvick with a horrrible plastic handle which I have replaced with one that I made. The other is a 1960s Spear and Jackson. Both cut well and I sharpen them myself, as I do with my hand saws. None of my old saws have cost me more than £5 from car boot sales and markets. Paul Sellers did a comparison between a £25 Spear and Jackson and a high end saw costing a lot more, I can't remember the maker, but his opinion was that for the money, the Spear and Jackson was a very good saw.

This is the link to the video.
https://paulsellers.com/paul-sellers-videos/?v=79cba1185463
Nigel.

 

[D_W]

my only hard point saws are two panel/carpenter saws intended to break down boards (they have aggressive teeth and are hard on the back side of a cut, but they double as a saw that's good for trimming tree branches), and then some japanese saws like Z's 265mm cross cut blades (I bought a gaggle of the blades directly from japan - they're $6 there vs 3 times that from western suppliers). I don't use them a lot, but if I use the last one in 25 years, it won't matter.

Everything else is resharpenable. I do a whole lot of my work by hand, so the sharpening and control of the teeth is important. I think it's nice to have control over it for joinery, too, and haven't seen many saws that cut rip with hard teeth that are worth having.

Sharpening crosscut is what seems to vex most people with normal sawblades (not hardpoint), and the reality is, you can just sharpen your small teeth rip with relaxed rake if you don't want to sharpen crosscut. A slightly relaxed dovetail saw with small teeth will make a very neat and tidy cut next to a marked line.

 

[marcros]

Depends on intended use really. The Spear and Jackson Predator hardpoints are v good for the £7 they cost. They leave a reasonable cut, particularly the second cut one. A saw cut isn't my finished surface.

I would keep a first and second fix hardpoint in my arsenal even with a fleet of resharpenables.

 

[Ollie78]

I have gone to the dark side now and mostly use Japanese saws with impulse hardened teeth. They are pretty cheap last well ( if careful ) and cut so cleanly. New blades are so cheap.

The best saw I have ever used is a handmade Japanese dozuki (back saw). It is on another level, like a hot knife through butter would be a fair descripion. It has a hand scraped plate and is very hard steel. It has lost a few teeth now and adorns the wall. They are supposed to be resharpenable but the teeth are so long and fine I wouldn`t want to tackle it.

Ollie

 

[AJB Temple]

I need both. I buy packs of hard point saws and they get used for cutting rigid insulation, lending to people including my wife, and any rough work. I chuck them as soon as they get a bit blunt or sticky. Usually I pay about £15 for three and that lasts 2 or 3 years.

I have a few Japanese saws (ideal for some jobs) and various back saws of different sizes (mostly Veritas daily users). However, I also use the table saw, band saw and track saw.....a lot.

 

[BigDougal]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I started out turning wood about 5/6 years ago but in the last year or two I’ve been combining this with furniture making to create stools etc. I’m working mainly with wych elm due to some big trees coming down in my folks garden. It’s great grain but sometimes a challenge toget into useable lengths.

Coming from woodturning I’m used to sharpening my own tools and I know how important and satisfying it is to use sharp tools!

It sounds like there is a place for both. I’ll maybe purchase a new spear and Jackson tenon saw (about £35) and try to pick up some cheap second hand ones too.

 

[BigDougal]

Just noticed Ollies and AJBs replies. Thanks both.

Japanese saws... something I definitely need to try.

I’ve got a table saw, band saw and circular saw with homemade track. All very handy for general work.

 

[NDRiley]

Spear and Jackson predator saws are also great for making cabinet scrapers when they come to the end of their sawing life.

 

[Rorschach]

Depends how much you use a saw, a hardpoint saw lasts me for years as i mostly use power tool.

 

[Jameshow]

I have a sandivk saw which cuts very nicely as well as a couple of dovetail saws.

I use hardpoint saws for rough and outdoor work.

Beware when getting second hand saws that they may be missing a tooth which is a whole load of work to get working again. Probably not worth it considering the price of a file.

Cheers James

 

[Cabinetman]

Spear and Jackson predator for me for reducing down ply sheets and handy when I go to the Timberyard sometimes. Just beware when brand-new just resting it on your skin will puncture like medical needles, unbelievably sharp. Ian

 

[Mike Jordan]

I have a 22" 10 TPI Disston which now acts as a badge of office in th lid of my tool box. Use the Stanley jet cut which costs less to replace than the time taken to sharpen the Disston.
I tried to buy a Disston for my son about twenty years back, my friend at the ironmongers laughed and told me they no longer sold resharpenable saws because no one could sharpen one

 

[okeydokey]

I use as a go to hand saw for everyday use a Stanley Fatmax Fine Cut Handsaw 22" 11 tpi you get a good finish on both sides of the wood about £20, you can cut a mm or 3 off wood. I now have 2, one for wood the other for mdf and cutting upvc (ex double glazing supplier) for odd bits of white strip.
Do not get the 7tpi version horrible.

 

[BigDougal]

Thanks. Interesting comments. I’m used to sharpening my chain saws and lathe tools so it seems fairly normal practice to me.

How do these compare to sharpening a saw?

 

[Spectric]

Hi

Never to good with a saw that was hand powered, and it does not get better with age, but now using japanese saws when needed and get great results. Remember they cut on the pull not the push which I find more logical and get clean accurate cuts. They tend to have smaller kerf because they don't need the rigidity of a push saw and I just get replacement blades as and when needed.

 

[NDRiley]

Thanks. Interesting comments. I’m used to sharpening my chain saws and lathe tools so it seems fairly normal practice to me.

How do these compare to sharpening a saw?

No experience of sharpening either of those I’m afraid but I have tried sharpening saws. I bought a few old disstons very cheap on eBay to practice with. I started with a rip saw (maybe 5tpi?) which is at the easier end of the scale when everything is new. The saw file and tooth setter were not too expensive either so the whole experiment was not a costly investment. I found Paul Sellers’ videos really helpful. The disstons worked out well and I use them regularly. I had less success with a small back saw (also cheap eBay) but that was due to operator error rather than a problem with the tools or instructions.

 

[Sideways]

I'll throw in a couple of comments because I'm so poor at handsawing I consider myself a novice !
I always got on badly with cheap hardpointsaws and with good but probably the wrong tenon saws as they were delivered that I switched to Japanese pull saws for any real woodworking and much prefer them.
I've been gifted an old, properly sharpened Sandvik saw and it's massively better than anything Western that I was used to - learning how to sharpen is now on my list of jobs.
I've recently used an Axminster own brand hardpoint saw- the better one - and have bought a Hultafors which come in different tooth counts. I bought the finest pitch Hultafors and the stiffer blade, finer teeth and black coating make it much easier to use when I need to cut something down in the timber merchants' car park. The Axy was also decently stiff and the PTFE coating made up for some of my lousy technique.

 

[t8hants]

Over the years I seem to have acquired 11 hands saws, ranging from a little 9" dovetail with 22 tpi up to a 5tpi progressive toothed rip, they were all blunt. When my hard point finally gave up the ghost and I thought, 'they are ruggered already so having a go at sharpening them can't make them any worse'. I was lucky in as much I had inherited a bunch of saw files and sets, so that side was taken care of. I watched a couple of vids on the tube and had a go. Result 10 saws that now cut, the 11th a Disston rip is waiting for me to get back to it as I was disturbed half way through and then had other things to do. Yes one day I will get another hard point, but saw sharpening isn't scary at all.

 

[thetyreman]

I only use my HP saw for cutting plywood, hardboard and MDF, all solid wood is cut the re-sharpenable saws, mostly old spear and jackson ones, and I have a nice one from the late 19th century, I also use japanese saws as well, ryobi saws are very good for cross cutting, it's worth investing a few saw files (I like bacho) and learning how to sharpen them all, and maintain it regularly.