Are hand saws as rare as dial phones?

[tallyho8]

Does anyone still use a hand saw? Yesterday my neighbor came by and asked if I had a battery charger for his battery powered saw. It seems he had nailed up a 2X4 and then had to cut the end off in his back pasture and his battery went dead. He is a 38 year old contractor and had left his charger on the job site far away.

I didn't have a charger to fit his battery but I offered to lend him a saw. When I got out my hand saw, he said he had never seen one of them before except in pictures. After he used it and returned it he said it was handy and that he was thinking about getting one.

Cripes, I feel old.

 

[dave1949]

I have one hanging on the end of my work bench. It gets used about once every three years. :laughing: I also have a couple that were my wife's grand dads that I keep oiled and put away in a crate. Don't ask me why.

Some people collect the older saws.

Unless a person stays in practice and the saw is kept in good shape, it isn't easy to make a nice square and straight cut with a hand saw.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have 3 or 4 of them laying under my work bench. I don't think I have used any of them in many years. One was my fathers, one I bought 30 years ago and I don't know where the others came from. I do use my hand hack saw occasionally but it has the same blade in it for more than 10 years, mostly I use it to cut small wood pieces that I don't want to break out my jig saw, Sawzall, skilsaw or table saw.

 

[tcreeley]

They are handy once in a while. I use the coarsest cut one I can because I am impatient for a fast cut. I remember an old retired Polish carpenter I used to watch work as a kid. He used a mitre box, sawhorses and handsaws. He was fast and accurate. He did use a skillsaw but he always depended on his handsaws. He had a hammer or two as well and a large collection of different nails! Put them in his mouth when his hands were occupied. Always deliberate, used a folding ruler with a slide out for that extra little bit.
I went to buy myself a good handsaw and only found "garbage saws"- not finely made or balanced. The blades were too short. If you have your parent's and grandparent's saw- hang onto it. You won't easily be able to buy a new one. When they were common, they understood how to design them and make them. It is nolonger the case.

 

[JBourquin]

I have a couple I use about once a week or so around the house. The batteries to my cordless tools are junk and I'm too cheap to buy new ones. So, if I can't plug it in, I'm probably doing it by hand..

 

[Gunny]

I've still got four handsaws, while they don't get used frequently, they get used at least three or four times a year, especially when the board that needs cutting is way out from electricity. It's just easier for me to grab one of them than to run down the battery powered circular saw and hope the battery is charged up.

 

[lew61]

I have a set (crosscut, rip, and backsaw) that belonged to me great-grandfather. A while ago, a friend came to visit as I was working in my shop. He looked at one of my old handsaws and said, "You need to find an old retired guy who can sharpen these for you." I replied, "John, we ARE the old retired guys!" A week later, my uncle came for a visit and, lo and behold, his grandfather had taught him to sharpen handsaws, so he taught me. Now, I'm an old retired guy who knows how to sharpen a handsaw. A well sharpened handsaw is a joy to use, imho. :thumbsup:

 

[magicheater]

I keep one in my truck and in various places around the place. Use it for a lot of stuff, was pruning apple trees today with one....

 

[k0ua]

I have one, I haven't used it in a while. But they are just what you need once in a while.

James K0UA

 

[tcreeley]

I have a set (crosscut, rip, and backsaw) that belonged to me great-grandfather. A while ago, a friend came to visit as I was working in my shop. He looked at one of my old handsaws and said, "You need to find an old retired guy who can sharpen these for you." I replied, "John, we ARE the old retired guys!" A week later, my uncle came for a visit and, lo and behold, his grandfather had taught him to sharpen handsaws, so he taught me. Now, I'm an old retired guy who knows how to sharpen a handsaw. A well sharpened handsaw is a joy to use, imho. :thumbsup:

How do you sharpen one? I've never done it but have an old saw that could use it!