Wowbagger
Gold Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2015
- Messages
- 8,036
I take it from your posts that you're an enthusiastic woodworker, and you appear to have a preference for Japanese methods. Would you say that is accurate?
Well yes and no. When I began to get serious about cutting and using dovetail joints I was just sure from all that I had read and experienced about the superiority of Japanese saws that that would be what I preferred for cutting dovetails.
In fact after some experience with both I have come to prefer Western / European style hand saws for cutting dovetails partly because they cut on the push stroke. The fuzz of the kerf goes to the back of the work and the saw dust does as well and so it is easier to follow the layout lines but also the way the handles "hang" (technical term for the relationship of the handle grip to the line of teeth) when cutting dovetails held in a western / Scandinavian style vise/work bench.
The Western saws are the way to go for dovetails. I have a ton of both saws and enjoy both but for different applications.
However . . . most all of my Western style chisels just SUCK so bad. Soft steel, poorly made, super poorly ground and sharpened at the factory.
The Japanese chisels, even the inexpensive ones (talking $20) are HARD, precisely ground, super sharp and ready to use on ANY work they are designed for. I might change the edge angle but ALWAYS ready to go out of the box. The reinforcing ring at the top of the chisel where it is struck with a hammer is often loose when I get it but that is mostly due to how dry it is where I live compared to Japan and it is very common for the end user to go through tightening this fit up in any case. No big deal if the rest of the chisel is excellent and they always are.
What I appreciate most about the Japanese methods and tools is that a guy or two can show up with a box of tools that they literally carried on their back and build an entire house and furniture even a temple. The simplicity of the tools and methods has been pared down to a high art form.
The sharpness of the saws is something to behold. Before I began using Japanese saws I was in the habit of cleaning the teeth of a saw by gripping any junk in the teeth with my fingers and thumb and just kind of pick it all out. Even on metal working saws aluminum clings to the teeth and I would just pluck pluck pluck. Kind of a habit.
NEVER DO THAT WITH A JAPANESE SAW you will come away with many slices to your finger tips like you had put your hand in a box of razor blades. The Japanese cross cut saws have multiple facets and they are all very sharp and the steel is harder than western saws so they hold that sharpness. and the saws are SOOOOO THIN ! Scary things. Effective things !
Well yes and no. When I began to get serious about cutting and using dovetail joints I was just sure from all that I had read and experienced about the superiority of Japanese saws that that would be what I preferred for cutting dovetails.
In fact after some experience with both I have come to prefer Western / European style hand saws for cutting dovetails partly because they cut on the push stroke. The fuzz of the kerf goes to the back of the work and the saw dust does as well and so it is easier to follow the layout lines but also the way the handles "hang" (technical term for the relationship of the handle grip to the line of teeth) when cutting dovetails held in a western / Scandinavian style vise/work bench.
The Western saws are the way to go for dovetails. I have a ton of both saws and enjoy both but for different applications.
However . . . most all of my Western style chisels just SUCK so bad. Soft steel, poorly made, super poorly ground and sharpened at the factory.
The Japanese chisels, even the inexpensive ones (talking $20) are HARD, precisely ground, super sharp and ready to use on ANY work they are designed for. I might change the edge angle but ALWAYS ready to go out of the box. The reinforcing ring at the top of the chisel where it is struck with a hammer is often loose when I get it but that is mostly due to how dry it is where I live compared to Japan and it is very common for the end user to go through tightening this fit up in any case. No big deal if the rest of the chisel is excellent and they always are.
What I appreciate most about the Japanese methods and tools is that a guy or two can show up with a box of tools that they literally carried on their back and build an entire house and furniture even a temple. The simplicity of the tools and methods has been pared down to a high art form.
The sharpness of the saws is something to behold. Before I began using Japanese saws I was in the habit of cleaning the teeth of a saw by gripping any junk in the teeth with my fingers and thumb and just kind of pick it all out. Even on metal working saws aluminum clings to the teeth and I would just pluck pluck pluck. Kind of a habit.
NEVER DO THAT WITH A JAPANESE SAW you will come away with many slices to your finger tips like you had put your hand in a box of razor blades. The Japanese cross cut saws have multiple facets and they are all very sharp and the steel is harder than western saws so they hold that sharpness. and the saws are SOOOOO THIN ! Scary things. Effective things !
Last edited: