best $100 dovetail saw

[Steven McLeavin]

What would be the best value dovetail saw for around $100? I'm looking at the Lie Nielsen one. Is there anyone that makes saws that are awesome and around that price? Thanks!

[Richard Magbanua]

Check out recent threads about the new Lee Valley dovetail saw for $65. I hear it's the best value for the money right now.

[lowell holmes]

Wenzloff, Adria , and Lee Valley are there.

[Alan DuBoff]

$100 is just a tad shy of getting a Wenzloff or an LN as both are about $125.

I agree with the Veritas, it's quite a deal, although I haven't used one so speaking blindly.

LV sells the Wenzloff dovetail saw for $129. The LN dovetail saw is $125. And the Adria I'm not sure who sells anymore, TFWW doesn't seem to list them, and neither does Hartville. Adria might be only selling direct now, $135 from their website.

[Danny Thompson]

Don't forget the award-winning Gramercy dovetail saw from www.toolsforworkingwood.com:

$140 for the one with the logo; $70 for the kit (you make the handle using the provided plan)

[Joe Meazle]

Tim Hoff makes a great saw, when you can get them. He only makes them part time. At least half of the people that have touched my Hoff dovetail saw have bought one their own. Mine was about $85 but that was a few years back.

[Don C Peterson]

I have the LN Dovetail saw and like it quite a bit. However, if I was in the market for a DT saw now, I think I'd be leaning hard toward the LV. I'm personally not crazy about the new-age look, but they price can't be beat, and based on the top-notch quality of the other LV tools I own, I'm pretty confident that the DT saw would not disappoint.

[Rob Luter]

I have the LN and am very happy so far. I considered the Lee Valley but was put off by the looks. That sounds petty, especially considering that I have (and love) a number of their other non-traditional looking products. I suspect the LV saw works exceptionally well. The LN saw was a better match visually and in terms of feel to my other backsaws: Disston, Jackson, Atkins, and Bishop. As I continue this journey down the slippery saw slope (comes right after the plane slope) I plan on a couple new joinery saws from LN or Wenzloff too. My old timers work pretty well, but the new dovetail saw cuts like a scalpel by comparison.

[John Keeton]

I have NO experience with dovetail saws outside of my recent purchase of the LV. But, I can say that it is an amazing saw - very comfortable, cuts clean and aggressively. I am sure the others are fine, as well. Just wanted to express my satisfaction with this saw - and, I like the look!

[Steven McLeavin]

about the tacky looking LV saw...I want to buy a good dovetail saw and keep it until I die. I have a feeling that 50 years from now the Lie Nielsen saw will still be pretty and the LV will still be ugly...it is petty though I know.

[Wilbur Pan]

Gyokucho model #311 rip dozuki, about $30-35.

If you want to try a saw that cuts on the pull stroke, that is.

But I happen to think this is the best inexpensive saw around for cutting dovetails.

[Alan DuBoff]

I kinda felt that way about the looks at first also, but it's grown on me some and there really is quite an amount of r&d to go into those saws.

The most amazing thing really is that Rob Lee can bring you this saw at sub $70. It is a price point that there is not a lot of players, and there are quite a few lesser quality saws that sell for more (PAX, GARLICK, LYNX, etc...). I would certainly be hard pressed to produce a saw and be able to sell it for that price point myself.

At least the LV has a decent looking handle, and you can make your own for it if you like.

Just like any saw, the LV will go dull, and knowing how to keep it sharp will go a long way to enjoying it. It has good clearance to get into a saw vise, let's hope the folks that buy them will do that!

[Alan Schwabacher]

I'm not an expert, but at a recent woodworking show I tried all the dovetail saws Lee Valley had on display. The new modern looking saw works quite well. However, even though I have not extensively used Japanese saws, the Japanese Rip-Tooth Dozuki 60T04.04 was far better for me than any of the others in cutting fast, cleanly, and exactly where I wanted.

I suspect that I learned at least as much about me as about the saws with this experiment.

[John Keeton]

...50 years from now the Lie Nielsen saw will still be pretty and the LV will still be ugly...it is petty though I know.

Consistency - a very important thing in woodworking! One must look good, as well!

Steven, I fully understand the "look" issue, and it is a matter of personal taste. For a traditionalist, the LN is a much finer looking saw - and, no doubt, a quality tool. If money was not an issue, even I would buy the LN.

While I can afford either, I would prefer to use my play money on other toys. For someone that really just wants functionality and "consistency", the LV does a great job at an affordable price.

[Mark Singer]

At $35 the tashiro queen dovetail is a fine contender
A fine kerf and straight as the line you scribe