Barnacle Bill Magazine March 2016 issue 3 | Page 37

37

The
Bosun’s Mate
Left: A western style
hand saw
Below:
Japanese hand saws

Western Saws.
Western saws cut on the push
stroke, they are usually substantial
and if quality will be able to be relatively easily sharpened by the user
utilising a few special sharpening
tools. Modern quality western saws
tend to be made by specialist companies, many of which have started
in business during the resurgence in
western saws over the last 20 years.
If well cared for western saws can
last for generations. Because of this
they tend to be a bit more expensive
than Japanese saws. Western saws
come in several different forms most of these forms come as either rip saws, cross cut saws or universal saws.

Hand saw or fish saw – these are the sort of saws you see Wyle I Coyote using to cut holes in things in car-

toons or to cut a plank in two when he is standing on the side that is unsupported over the cliff, a 10 tonne
weight obviously being on the other side. The blades are typically 10” to 30” long. They come in both rip and
cross cut form and when sharp and used properly, can cut 2” of medium hard wood in one stroke.

Backsaws – western backsaws are almost completely unique to the English speaking nations. The early industrialisation of Great Britain resulted in early mass production of cast iron and steel tools. It was cheaper to
make an effective plane from cast iron than it was a block of oak, certainly when mass produced and distributed
by railway. The Britons took these tools to their colonies and traded them to the Empire as a result this type of
tool became common in the English speaking world. On mainland Europe, this industrialisation was slower to