The Japanese saw or is a type of

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...

used in

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

and

Japanese carpentry Japanese carpentry was developed more than a millennium ago through Chinese architectural influences from the 12th century. It is a form of ancient Chinese wooden architecture and woodworking joints that involves building wooden furniture wit ...

that cuts on the pull stroke, unlike most

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an saws that cut on the push stroke. Japanese saws are the best known pull saws, but they are also used in China, Iran, Iraq, Korea, Nepal and Turkey. Among European saws, both coping saws for woodworking and jeweler's saws for metal working also cut on the pull stroke like Japanese saws. Cutting on the pull stroke is claimed to cut more efficiently and leave a narrower cut width (

kerf A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

). On the other hand, a pull stroke does not easily permit putting one's body weight behind a stroke. This can be readily solved by using a vice or clamping. Another disadvantage, due to the arrangement and form of the teeth, is that Japanese saws do not work as well on hardwoods as European saws do. Japanese saws were originally intended for comparatively soft woods like cypress and pine whereas European saws were intended for hard woods like oak and maple. The popularity of Japanese saws in other regions of the world has resulted in the manufacture and production of a number of Japanese saws outside of Japan.

Types of Japanese hand saws

; : A type of

backsaw A backsaw is any hand saw which has a stiffening rib on the edge opposite the cutting edge, enabling better control and more precise cutting than with other types of saws. Backsaws are normally used in woodworking for precise work, such as cutt ...

. The Japanese means "attached trunk", thus a saw with a stiffening strip attached, i.e., a backsaw. Although similar to a Western backsaw, a Dozuki saw has a much thinner blade that excels at precise cutting. Dozuki saws are designed for cutting tenons and dovetails, types of

woodworking joints Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

, also referred to as joinery. ; : Multi-purpose carpentry saw with two cutting edges. The Japanese means "double blade". There is a

cross-cutting Cross-cutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time, and often in the same place. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simultan ...

(''yokobiki)'' 横挽き blade on one side and a

ripping Ripping is extracting all or parts of digital content from a container. Originally, it meant to rip music out of Commodore 64 games. Later, the term was used to extract WAV or MP3 format files from digital audio CDs, but got applied as well to e ...

(''tatebiki'' )縦挽き blade on the other. Ryoba saws are often described by their blade length (in millimeters). Shorter saws, around 240mm (9-1/2") for example, are for general carpentry. A longer saw, around 270mm (10-3/4"), would be suitable for larger work, like timber-frame joinery, for example. ; : A saw with teeth along only one edge, like a Western saw. These are supplied as either rip saw or cross-cut type blades. An advantage of this saw is that it is easy to use with a saw guide. "Kataba" translates from Japanese as "cutting on one side." Kataba saws are commonly used for larger work when a Ryoba saw is not suitable, or for flush-cutting. ; : A small ''ryōba'' saw used for cutting into the flat surface of a board rather than from the edge. The blade has a convex curve which can begin the cut anywhere on the surface. Azebiki saws are used for cutting mortises, grooves in mid-panel and sliding dovetails. These smaller saws are essential for making Saya, wooden scabbards for swords and knives. They have cross-cut teeth on one side, and rip teeth on the other, and have a rattan wrapped wooden handle. ; : A thin saw used for cutting curves, the Japanese version of a

keyhole saw A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard, fingerprint, RFID card, security token or coin), by supplying secret information (such as a number or letter permutation or pass ...

. The name means "turning cut". ; Kugihiki: A thin flexible flush-cut saw with unset teeth on one side, designed for trimming the ends of dowels, tenons, and other protrusions flush with a surface.

Other Japanese saws

; Oga: A large two-person

pit saw Pit or PIT may refer to: Structure * Ball pit, a recreation structure * Casino pit, the part of a casino which holds gaming tables * Trapping pit, pits used for hunting * Pit (motor racing), an area of a racetrack where pit stops are conducte ...

used for

large boards in the days before power saws. One person stood on a raised platform, with the board below him, and the other person stood underneath them.

References

External links

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Japanese saw
at th
Takenaka carpentry tools museum Japanese Hand Saw
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{{Woodworking Saws Woodworking hand tools Saws

Types of Japanese hand saws

Other Japanese saws

See also

References

External links