Veritas recently introduced a couple of new carcass saws that are about half the price of comparable saws on the market. I was happy to take both the crosscut saw and the ripsaw for a spin.

The saws boast a somewhat cosmopolitan pedigree: The blade is made in Japan, the spine is molded in the United States, and the saw itself is assembled in Canada. Both have an 11-in.-long highcarbon steel blade with a 2-3⁄8-in. cutting depth. The molded spine is a mysterious “stainless steel/glass/polymer composite,” which looks like plastic and feels a little like painted cast iron. The bubinga handles felt comfortable, and encouraged a loose but steady grip.

I spent the better part of a day making cross- and ripcuts with both saws in a variety of hardwoods. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the crosscut saw performed, cutting clean dovetails and tenons. The ripsaw was a bit more finicky to handle. It takes a delicate touch to get the saw started in the kerf. Once engaged, the saw cut more aggressively than I like and left a rough finish on most of the samples.

I think the crosscut saw is an excellent value. The same-priced ripsaw, on the other hand, just wasn’t right for me.

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