Bad Axe saws worth it? Anyone try Winsor saws?

[David Weaver]

IMHO there is no functional difference in slotted or folded backs.

How does a user adjust saw plate straightness on a saw with a slotted back? It's pretty easy to adjust the spine on a folded back.

I don't know if there's a need for users to pay extra for a folded back, but they aren't the same.

[Sean Richards]

How does a user adjust saw plate straightness on a saw with a slotted back? It's pretty easy to adjust the spine on a folded back.

I don't know if there's a need for users to pay extra for a folded back, but they aren't the same.

If you are enough of a muppet to get a saw into that situation its pretty doubtful that you will have the necessary motor skills to be able to straighten it successfully ...

[Chris Griggs]

If you are enough of a muppet to get a saw into that situation its pretty doubtful that you will have the necessary motor skills to be able to straighten it successfully ...

I find this statement to be offensive to Muppets. I love the Muppets!!!

[David Weaver]

If you are enough of a muppet to get a saw into that situation its pretty doubtful that you will have the necessary motor skills to be able to straighten it successfully ...

It might be if a beginner does it to a saw initially, but the same beginner should progress to the level of skill to be able to make that fix easily.

(the importance of how different fixing the two is might be negated by LN's return policy - they may fix mistakes, including those made by muppets. I don't have any new production saws, though, so I don't know what any of the places would do. Putting together three from parts and replacing the plate on another old english saw, I certainly appreciated the ability to adjust the back easily until the entire assembly was straight).

[Isaac Smith]

How does a user adjust saw plate straightness on a saw with a slotted back? It's pretty easy to adjust the spine on a folded back.

I don't know if there's a need for users to pay extra for a folded back, but they aren't the same.

I make my saws with slotted spines. I can't speak for other makers, but on the saws I build, something went seriously wrong if the blade needs to be adjusted in the slot.

First, a little background on how I build my saws. Before the blade is installed in the spine, I squeeze the slot shut. When I pound the spine into place, the blade bottoms out in the slot, and is held there by friction. A lot of friction. The fit is, for all practical purposes, permanent. I have occasionally needed to remove the blade from the spine; in about a third of these instances, the plate is sacrificed in the violent struggle for liberation.

Before a saw leaves my shop, I check the blade against a surface plate to ensure that it is planar. If the blade, at some point in the future, becomes non-planar, it is due to one of three causes: a twist or bend in the spine, or a bent/kinked plate. The first two can be remedied by straightening the spine, while the third cause probably requires that the plate be replaced.

[David Weaver]

I make my saws with slotted spines. I can't speak for other makers, but on the saws I build, something went seriously wrong if the blade needs to be adjusted in the slot.

First, a little background on how I build my saws. Before the blade is installed in the spine, I squeeze the slot shut. When I pound the spine into place, the blade bottoms out in the slot, and is held there by friction. A lot of friction. The fit is, for all practical purposes, permanent. I have occasionally needed to remove the blade from the spine; in about a third of these instances, the plate is sacrificed in the violent struggle for liberation.

Before a saw leaves my shop, I check the blade against a surface plate to ensure that it is planar. If the blade, at some point in the future, becomes non-planar, it is due to one of three causes: a twist or bend in the spine, or a bent/kinked plate. The first two can be remedied by straightening the spine, while the third cause probably requires that the plate be replaced.

I understand that everyone does it basically, except maybe TFWW and is wenzloff even still making saws?

From a business standpoint, it makes a lot more sense to make slotted backs than it does to bend. I can imagine it would be a total bear to get the blade out of a brass slot that's precisely milled.

I don't think it's a matter of a maker making a saw that needs to be adjusted by a user, rather a saw that needs to be adjusted by a user due to abuse (hopefully by another user).

[Mike Brady]

David, there really is no way to remove a kink from a saw that has a slotted back, according to Mark Harrell of Bad Axe. Saws with slotted backs have the plate glued into the back and attempting to remove the plate will ruin both the back and the plate. That said, if you don't kink or drop the saw there won't be a problem. I'm totally satisfied with my slotted back saws and don't think that paying twice the price for a folded back saw is justified.