I’m looking to buy my first hand saw — Relatively new to woodworking and I mostly want to use hand tools. In need of a full size hand saw and I’m looking for a 26 or 28 inch rip. Options seem to include:
1) Ebay – found a beautiful Disston D-8 28 inch from 1887-1895 patent dates. It’s in great, but it’s just north of $250. Another option would be to find a different saw on Ebay but probably not as large, or as good condition, and probably needs to be sharpened. Seller would likely not have as good feedback and the item’s condition may be questionable.
2) Bad axe 26 in rip, and wait 4 months.
3) Pax 24 in rip from Lee Valley
4) Pax 28 in rip from ToolsforWorkingWood and wait unknown amount of time until they come in stock from manufacturer.
I don’t have power tools aside from a few hand drills and Festool Trion. I need to make long 8′ rips for workbench top (but honestly I might just take those to a local lumber dealer to ease my pain haha).
Is $250 too much money to pay for a great-perfect an antique 28″ rip Disston D-8? It would probably last me another 100+ years… and I could get it by next week. I know this question has been asked so many times before…. I guess I’m just looking for someone to say “BUY EEET!” so I feel better about my own inclinations. Thanks in advance for advice.
Adam
Replies
How much experience do you have restoring or fine tuning saws? If you go the eBay route you might get a saw with teeth not set properly then you’ll have to learn how to do it yourself.
I’ve discovered (been doing woodworking for a measly 4 years) that I should save and buy the best new tool I can afford. That way I know what a great tool (or saw, plane, etc.) should perform like. I started out buying a Home Depot hand plane and never fully understood why a Lie-Nielsen was so expensive until I tried one.
Not super helpful but maybe it will give you something to consider.
Josh
28 inchers are a lot more rare than 22s and 24s, so 28s are usually at a premium. I really don't know prices though. And it make look mint, but might still need sharpening. So that could add to your wait.
You'd never go wrong with Badaxe.
Having said that, I would stab myself in the groin with a fork before I would start ripping 8 foot stock for a workbench top. Nope, nope, nope. Bandsaws are great for that.
I love handcutting joinery. I own more backsaws than crazy old ladies have cats. And I will break down long stock with a handsaw. But I don't use them for furniture making. I just don't enjoy it that much. But if you can love ripping workbench tops, good for ya.
There are inexpensive yet well-made handsaws about, although it can be difficult to find them. (Spear & Jackson is one). In addition, they're almost sure to need fettling - meaning that they'll need to be properly sharpened and set. They may also have mediocre ergonomics, such as a handle with sharp corners or a poor shape, that you need to refine yourself.
Those expensive upmarket saws from LN and Badaxe come already fettled, to a very high standard. It's a good part of the price. They'll also be made of high quality materials and have good ergonomics. But even they will eventually need sharpening etc..
******
Personally I've become leery of doing a lot of ripping after experiments with resawing largish planks by hand rather than with a bandsaw I no longer have. Unless you have the time (a lot of time) and the inclination (even more of that) I would avoid hours and hours of hand ripping. It's not only slow and arduous but also less accurate than machine ripping - at least for the first few "practice planks".
But if you want to adopt and practice a certain style of woodworking often named (wrongly) "authentic" or "pure" then it's probably best to begin with a cheap saw to see if you really do want to take on all the skill acquisition and hard work.
On the other hand, a Bad Axe saw will probably sell for near it's new price, should you get one but find yourself becoming disillusioned with the hand ripping as 80% of your woodworking time & effort. :-)
Lataxe
Price is subjective, set by the market for condition and collectability. That is a collector price. As said, you can shop around and pick up a user at a lesser price, but at the least expect to have to clean and sharpen.
Yesterday, I bought an Antique Rosewood Bow saw, Pearwood handles, with a blade that appears never used, for $50 at an antique store. There are deals in the wild, if you look. Some linseed oil and steel wool brought it back to life.
A gallon of vinegar, some steel wool, and an hour or two of your time will get a saw plate clean.
Learning to sharpen a saw is a useful skill, and not that difficult. If you are considering hand ripping lumber for a work bench top, you are not afraid of a bit of work. Personally, I would pay to have them ripped and save your saw work for the rest of the bench, though I fully understand the satisfaction and bragging rights.
I’m guessing you’re looking at 8-10 8-foot rips. By hand. If you’re gonna do that, I say, get the best saw you can afford and go to it. I’ll cheer you on from the cheap seats. I’m all for developing hand tool skills, and am working on just that myself. But 8-ft-long rips? I notice that I’ve got a nice table saw, with a nice outfeed table, and...well, that’s the route I’d take.
They say, “To each his own,” however, and, since I suspect you’re doing this for love rather than money, I’d encourage you to do it the way you want to do it, whatever that might be. And like I said, I’ll be cheering you on.
BTW, I just got a Pax rip saw, and I love it, so far. FWIW. Wanted a L-N saw, but they’re not in production at the moment, with no forecast as to when they’ll return, so...went with a plan B. Or C. I liked the idea of a Bad Axe saw, but decided to save a bit towards other things by choosing the less expensive Pax.
Much of life is a “choose your path and make the best of it” sort of affair. Go for it!
Before you settle on a length of saw, see how much saw you need. Ron Herman had some great articles and videos at another magazine that talked about fitting a saw to your body type. It's worth reading.
I just checked Ebay and found several options at $40 to $100. You would have to check the listing closely but a lot of those old saws will perform well. I think a well tuned old saw with a nice patina looks way cooler in my shop than new stuff. You would have to buy a $10 file and a $15 saw set, but you can use those for your other saws. Sharpening is not that hard, especially if you're doing a rip saw. Check youtube and you'll find plenty of help, start with Paul Sellers. Make sure they box it securely. I bought one and the guy simply folded cardboard around it and stuck it in the mail. It arrived with a kink. I got a refund and the seller told me to keep it. Now I have a 20" saw instead of a 24".
My first few years of WW was 95% hand tools with exception of a corded drill and circular saw.
Living In New England there was no shortage of antique tools needing some TLC at flea markets. I still use many after 25 years although I’ve long since switched to electrons.
You can do better than $250. At that price and age it’s a showpiece and not a user tool.
Look around more. Send it out for sharpening unless you really are more interested in that than using it. I think you will be better ahead spending less on a user tool that is professionally sharpened. Learning Sharpening skills on planes and chisels will be a better use of your time.
If you are ripping by hand I recommend making first either a split top saw bench or at least a birds mouth saw horse. 2x4 and pine boards are used. They should not be heirloom items when you are done.
If you are serious about the ripping a frame or bow saw may be better. Definitely available new and far less expensive.
Also I highly recommend with the money saved from the less expensive saw to order a copy of The Practical Woodworker and The Complete Woodworker. Both 1920s era books in reprint chock full of hand tools ways and whys. Also Mike Dunbars Restoring and Tuning Antique Handtools.
Mike
I haven't paid more than 15-20 for the saws I use, most of the time I don't even have to do rust removal, just sharpen and set the teeth which you will need to learn to do if you are going to do hand tool woodworking anyway.
If you don't want to restore a cheap good old saw then get the pax, but you will still need to sharpen and set teeth eventually.
Some good points are made in all the comments above. I like the idea of using a bow or frame saw in tandem with a handsaw or saw plane if you want to attempt ripping long planks. That's what I did. The first cuts were not very straight. With practice they improved. I agree 80% of your time will be ripping at least. Because of that, saving for a band saw is a good idea.
Buying used cheap one s need ability/tools to sharpen.
I have 3 or 4 old Disston's laying around that were my Dad's I have never/will never use.
I was a carpenter summers when going to engineering school and have ripped TOO many 4x8 plywood sheets and more lumber than I want to remember.If you really insist on ripping lumber buy a Diston (sp?) saw made in the 40os or 50s when the steel was good and they were still well made.Go to a flee market then take it to one of the remaining saw sharpeners and have it properly filed and set. I then guarantee you will not use it enough to have it re-sharpened.
Files are cheap and you can make a saw vise or buy one for about $25 if you a patient. There is nothing better then that first cut after a quality sharpening. I rarely pass up a good old handsaw and often find them at $5 or less. I had the crosscut out last night because the board was too long for me to put on my table saw. Hearing and dust protection not required.
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