Historic Saw Teeth

Product Description

Crosscut saws had series of teeth arranged in a repeating pattern: 2 or 4 cutters (which alternately severed the grain on either side) followed by a raker which chiseled out the wood in between. Bow saws had a smaller version of the same thing. It was an art to file a saw. First the saw was "jointed"; using a special gauge the teeth were filed down until their lengths all matched. Then, using another gauge, the rakers were filed down slightly lower.

Then the cutters were filed to a sharp point, and hammered against a block to alternately bend them right or left to give the saw its "set". (A saw must cut wider kerfs than its thickness or else it will stick.) Then the tips of the rakers were tapped with a hammer to bend the points down like little chisels, pointing in the right direction. Several different files were used, along with the gauges and a special hammer. And it took a lot of time. Most large outfits had at least.

Features

Rust-resistant

Hard chrome-plated

Taper-ground blade with an impulse-hardened

Non-set tooth design for greater cutting efficiency.