Saws

So, you want to cut something, do ya?

Saws. First, there are two basic design philosophies; do you cut on the push, or on the pull? I won't get into the background which led to the adaptation of push or pull in re culture, but it does matter if you normally work standing or sitting; muscle groups are involved.

Push saws, predominantly used in European-derived societies, cut as you push them away from you. This requires that they be fairly rigid, that they not flex very much, and generally this is done by using thicker metal, although if the saw is cutting a thin enough object a stiffener along the back can do the job; those with such a stiffener are generally referred to as backsaws.

Pull saws, brought to Western awareness via Japan, cut on the pull. As you pull them toward yourself this creates tension on the blade, allowing it to be thinner than a push saw. If there is danger of the blade binding, a technical term for getting caught by the material being sawn, a thicker blade is needful so it doesn't bend all over instead of pushing back out of the cut.

Pull saws can, if used properly, allow for much finer control of the cut.

A third type of saw is used when lumbering, as in going out and cutting down trees, not wandering around like a drunken bear. You may have seen old photographs of trees being cut down with two-handled saws, one person at each end of the blade. The teeth on these saws are actually designed so that half cut on the pull, half on the push, alternating as they go down the blade, so every motion results in a cut, with the sawyers controlling the cut when they pull, and providing more motive power on their push. Smaller, one-person versions of these are used for pruning limbs off trees, there are a couple of different designs which I'm not going to try to describe without visual aids.

I personally prefer using a pull-saw over a push-saw, my manual dexterity isn't the greatest so anything which enables me to do more delicate work is to my benefit. I have found, while pruning trees, that I need to get some thicker bladed pull saws, as binding is a problem when pruning. Then again, that's because the pull-saws I'm using are designed for finishing work, not for lumbering, so no wonder they aren't the best for the job, they aren't designed for this job.

Just need to decide if I'd use the proper tools enough to justify purchasing them.

I'll probably add photos to this down the line, so things make more sense.

Post this Puppy!