What first Japanese saw?

[TomP]

Hi,

Im in need of a saw to learn to cut joints with such as dovetails etc....

im in two minds either getting a japanese saw (however not sure what type i would be most suited too) or possibly
a veritas dovetail saw.

Any advice appreciated

Tom

 

[deema]

I would get a secondhand either 12”or 14” tenon Saw. It will cut any joint your likely to be doing with ease. To tune up a Saw have a look at a thread I produced on how to do it. A brass back Saw from a car boot or similar will cost very little.

hand-saw-restoration-and-re-teething-of-a-99p-saw-t98494.html

 

[Limey Lurker]

I recently bought 2 Japanese style saws from Lidl. These are smaller. dovetail type saws; I can't tell you the TPI at the moment; they're not indoors. I have several Japanese style saws, and I like them. The Lidl ones are of good quality, and cheap enough to be dumped when they become blunt, which, going by my others, will be longer than my Western saws last between sharpens!

 

[thetyreman]

I have a ryobi, definitely wouldn't recommend it for dovetailing, but you could try a dozuki, the throw away blades are a bit annoying though, I prefer saws you can sharpen.

I use an old spear and jackson that has 13 tpi sharpened to ripcut with a fine set, works very well for dovetailing.

 

[El Barto]

I have the fine tooth Veritas dovetail saw. It's great, but then I got this Japanese saw and it is absolutely brilliant. I use it for everything. And cheap enough that you could get it and if you didn't like it you could try something else!

 

[John15]

If I were you I would firstly opt for a new western style dovetail saw. The Veritas one is good quality and easy to use, and only buy a secondhand saw if you are confident of sharpening and setting it to the standard of a new one.

John