FAQ

One side is cross-cut teeth and the other side is rip-cut teeth. The cross-cut teeth are designed to cut across the wood grain. Each cross-cut tooth is shaped similar to a Japanese hand knife, which allows the blade to sever the wood fibres repeatedly without bending or pushing them.

The rip-cut teeth are designed to cut along the wood grain. Each rip-cut tooth has a similar shape to a chisel. This chisel-like shape helps to swiftly rake sawdust out. 

It is recommended to buy a 240mm(19.5 teeth per inch) or 270mm(15TPI) double-edged saw at first, as these are relatively versatile. It is also a good idea to buy a dozuki saw, as it is useful for detailed work.

Let us explain what dozuki is first. A dozuki is a visible line or surface that will make contact with other members. Tenon's shoulder lines are a typical example of a dozuki. A dozuki saw is designed to cut such delicate lines. Cutting a dozuki nice and clean is still extremely challenging though.

An azehiki or azebiki saw is designed so that you can start cutting in the middle of your stock. Azehiki has a curved blade that allows you to saw in the middle of the stock with the same motion as a regular saw.

Buying one double-edged saw will save you the extra expense of buying one single-edged and one double-edged. But you want to be aware that a double-edged saw has greater frictional resistance, and that while you are cutting something with the double-edged saw, the teeth facing you are moving too. 

The teeth of a saw blade are slightly bent outwards from the blade body. We call this “set”. The set allows the sawdust to discharge efficiently and prevents the blade from getting stuck or binding. This means that the actual cutting width (kerf) of a blade is larger than the thickness of it.   

Unlike the blade of a non-replaceable saw, the blade of a replaceable saw is hardened only at the cutting edge. Therefore, when the current blade becomes blunt, it should be replaced with a new blade. However, it's not impossible to sharpen the teeth once or twice. In this case, carefully hone each tooth with a fine grit file so as not to alter the set or the angle of the tooth edges.

When using a saw, it is best to relax and not apply any unnecessary force. If you apply too much force, the blade will wave and not cut straight. However, this is easier said than done. A harder blade is less likely to cause this wave action and will cut straighter.