Back saws...

[Leif Hanson]

I apologize if you've seen this post elsewhere - but I just thought I'd show some of what I've been working on for the last while. I've been busy making back saws for some friends, in both 6" and 8" varieties. The 8" saws have a .020" thick blade and are filed at 15 PPI rip, and the 6" saws have a .015" thick blade and are filed at 17 PPI rip. I made them using several types of wood, including:

Bubinga:



Pao Ferro:



and Goncalo Alves:



I also made some from cherry, walnut, and lyptus, which can be seen here if anyone is interested. What a lot of fun!

Thanks for looking!

Leif

www.norsewoodsmith.com

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Beautiful Leif, but I have to ask how effective are the 6" saws since you only use a few teeth all the time? How long a stroke do you take with it and do the teeth wear noticeably faster than a 10" saw?

[Leif Hanson]

The 6" saws are actually a copy of an old Groves saw I saw once - it was 6" long also. As to how short they are - well, I will admit they are really only suitable for very fine work, but then again, how long does a saw have to be to cut half-blind dovetails? Or full dovetails, for that matter? Or when does it get to be too long, and become awkward for fine work?

Besides, I just thought they looked cool.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Beautiful Work Leif!!! I really like the extra effort you took to completely shape the handles. Far, far nicer than the half-vast attempts the commercial producers make. I also suspect that the greater depth of the brass spine adds to their stiffness and hence greater accuracy.

[Dave Right]

When I saw the pictures, all I could say was "WOW".

Beautiful work!

[Maurice Ungaro]

Um....Leif....are we going to see any of these in the "Classified" section?

[Herb Blair]

Beautiful craftsmanship ole friend!

[Marc Hills]

Outstanding work Leif! Those handles really are beautiful.

Is the "Norse Woodmith" going to become a commercial entity/trade name? Maybe you could do some cross-marketing with Chester Toolworks.

I recall you did some nice wheat vine carving on some of your earlier saw handles (a stairsaw in particular -- wasn't that you?), and beautiful Celtic knot work on some wooden panels. Call me crazy, but if you added the Celtic knotwork carvings to those handles, the Norsewoodsmith back saw would become a truly unique and desirable product. I'm thinking gallery submission to Woodwork or FWW magazine here. Or maybe the cover of a Lee Valley catalog.

It's really exciting to witness you and other folks carrying on the tradition of the tool maker's art. And I do mean art.

[Mark Singer]

Beautiful work!!! Really special tools!

[Tom Stovell]

Dennis,
I'll let you know just how they work very soon. I have a 6" Nordic Dovetail saw (type 3) that I plan to use on my new tool cabinet. The cabinet, by the way, will hold among other prized tools, the dovetail saw. It's like the old riddle, "which came first....

Tom

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Dennis,
I'll let you know just how they work very soon. I have a 6" Nordic Dovetail saw (type 3) that I plan to use on my new tool cabinet. The cabinet, by the way, will hold among other prized tools, the dovetail saw. It's like the old riddle, "which came first....

Tom

I'm sure it will do a great job Tom. I'm looking forward to seeing the completed cabinet.

[Alan Turner]

Wonderful shaping on the handles. Very fine work.

As a matter of preference, I prefer a longer saw for tenon work and carcase work, but a gent's saw for DT work. I have my Dad's older Tyzack No. 120 which is 8", filed rip, but never use it. Each to his own.

[Leif Hanson]

Thanks, everyone....

These were a lot of fun to make! But are they for everyone? I don't think I should have to defend them, but I'm not afraid to say that they aren't for everyone, though. Just as some people like pull saws, others like gent's saws, and more yet might like longer saws - some will like these, and some won't. I know for years the only saw I would use was a 100 year old "Warranted Superior" back saw that I never sharpened. Still haven't. And - it's still one of my favorites. To each his own.

I've been just doing this for fun, mostly. I've not considered making the "Norse Woodsmith" tag a trade name - but if my current employ doesn't work out (which is a pretty good possibility) I may delve into it further. I guess I don't know for sure about that... Actually, when I was trying to find a name to register, norwegianwood.com was taken (Beatles) .

I'm hoping to do some more later this summer - at that time, I might add in a little carving. Depends - but it sounds like fun!

Leif

[Dev Emch]

Leif....

That is some nice work. Can you tell us more about the saws? What alloy are you using for the blade and how exactly are you cutting these teeth? Do you use a saw set and if so, which one. Oh ya, is your back a solid back or a folded back? We love your work and just want to know more about how these gems are made.

[Jerry Palmer]

I gotta gloat a bit here as I was one of the very lucky ones to have been at the right place at the right time and to have jumped quickly at the chance to purchase one of the prototypes of Leif's backsaws. The short length took a little getting used to, but, until my recent purchase of the Veritas DT Saw Guide forced me to go to a backless saw for DTs, I used it to cut DTs as well as other accurate joinery. I though I had a pic on my site to link to, but I've apparently been remiss and will remedy that soon.

An excellent saw to use and it will remain in my arsenal, at least until Leif is rich and famous and some offeres me 6 or 7 figures for it.