Tenon Saw Choices

[gavin]

Hi guys,

Happy to be here!

I'm in the process of creating a small workshop for a community project which I work with.
I have been working with tools all my life so know just what I need to buy in terms of what tools, however it is the options specifically in regards to price which is confusing me a little...

So. Tenon Saws!
My major question is on price differences. These are the two I have in mind:
- The Stanley FatMax Tenon Back Saw 14in - Roughly £10
- The Footprint 256 Brass Back Tenon Saw 250mm (10in) 14tpi - Roughly £40

So please could you advise me, not on which tenon saws I should be buying, but essentially what is it that makes one tenon saw to another (as the ones via the links) so different in price?

Many thanks in advance guys!

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Hello Gavin, and welcome to the forum!

Probably a combination of things affect the relative price of those two saws. Firstly, materials - brass ain't cheap! Secondly, volume of manufacture and resultant economies of scale - the Stanley will be coming off an automated production line by the thousand, and regarded as disposable. The Footprint will be virtually hand-made, being of rather low volume manufacture (I suspect either by Atkinson Walker or by Flinn-Garlick Saws; I'd be surprised if Footprint made them in-house), and being resharpenable, will be regarded as a once-a-lifetime purchase. Thirdly, the handle; a plastic injection moulding will be very cheap in unit cost, but a piece of shaped hardwood (albeit in this case not particularly nicely shaped) rather more.

(PS - £40 for a new resharpenable tenon saw is dirt cheap. Try googling Wenzloff & Son or Bad Axe Toolworks for some real fancy prices!)

Edit to add - I've just had a quick google of Stanley FatMax Tenon saws, not being too familiar with them, and the Amazon description states "Origin - China". That might well be another part of the explaination....

Another edit to add - Just for a laugh, here's the Bad Axe equivalent to the Stanley Fatmax - 14", 13tpi. It's only $265 plus shipping, import duties and VAT. Nice saw, though. http://www.badaxetoolworks.com/14-inch- ... ck-saw.php

 

[gavin]

Thanks a lot, thats really helpful!

The resharpenable option I think will be enough to push me towards the more expensive choice!

 

[woodbrains]

Thanks a lot, thats really helpful!

The resharpenable option I think will be enough to push me towards the more expensive choice!

Hello,

But then again, maybe you should reconsider. The re-sharpenable saw will need sharpening more often than the non resharpenable will need replacing. Perhaps 4 or 5 times as often. And saw files are nearly as expensive as a hard point saw! Depending on your project, it might be better going for the disposable, cheaper option. And if novices/young people are involved, I would not opt for the Stanley Fat Max myself. (Japanese derived spear point teeth, difficult to start for beginners and can give nasty cuts if juddering about) The Irwin Jack hardpoint tenon saw has less aggressive teeth and novices find them more controllable. I equipped a school workshop with them, after getting better results than the Stanley with the students. Of course if the users are experienced, then the Stanley's are fine. They cost about the same. Hope this helps.

Mike.

 

[marcros]

is anybody going to know how to sharpen it in the community workshop, or take the time to do so. I am not sure how these things work, but I imagine it being a case of people dropping in to do some work on a project, and if they have to spend the first hour of a session sharpening the saw, or resharpening it after somebody else has had a go at doing so, it is going to become frustrating.

 

[custard]

But then again, maybe you should reconsider. The re-sharpenable saw will need sharpening more often than the non resharpenable will need replacing. Perhaps 4 or 5 times as often. And saw files are nearly as expensive as a hard point saw! Depending on your project, it might be better going for the disposable, cheaper option.

+1

Many of the second hand saws on Ebay are ones the owner has used until they're blunt, and then realised they don't have the skills to resharpen them!

I don't understand why so many newbie woodworkers buy traditional saws when, if they're honest, there's very little prospect they'll invest the not inconsiderable time required to properly sharpen them by hand. Cheap, disposable hard point saws are 90% as good as the most expensive kit out there, and they remove a big chunk of the sharpening skills that you'll need to master.

 

[MIGNAL]

You can sharpen (ie. freshen up) a from new traditional saw 3 or 4 times before the real skill is required. Even then anything below 11 TPI is relatively easy. You should be able to sharpen 3 or 4 saws minimum from one decent saw file, so the cost is hardly great. Nor have I come across hardpoints that will give you a very fine dovetail saw type kerf.
Having said all that a hardpoint might be the correct saw for the OP's situation. I'm not against them as such. After all I use them myself and the Japanese throwaway saws (well, blades) too.