Explain rake, fleam, pitch, etc.

[Rich Riddle]

I can't be the only person who doesn't know what rake, fleam, pitch, etc. mean when looking at purchasing a hand saw. Fancy words for an old Kansas farm type. What say you folks who know the jargon?

[Tom M King]

http://www.vintagesaws.com/library/primer/sharp.html

[Joe Bailey]

+1 to Tom's post.

The one thing I'll add is that you'll find the term "pitch" used in two different ways in the saw literature.

In the linked-to article, the author uses it to mean the number of teeth per inch.
"Rip teeth occur in pitches from 4-7 ppi on hand saws, and from 8-16 ppi on back saws."

In other contexts, it is used to signify the same thing as rake.
"Grimshaw on Saws" for example, says the following:
"It is necessary to premise that the pitch of a tooth means the angle of the face up which the shaving ascends; not an interval as with screw threads"

[Jim Matthews]

Rake - how much the plow leans forward from the bumper.
When the snow is light - it can be tipped more. When heavy, tipped back more.

Fleam - how much the plow blade points toward the side of the road.
You'll take less off the pavement, but push more onto the sidewalk.

Pitch - How fast you can go. When the snow is heavy, gear down.
When the snow is light - pitch it into third.

[Ron Bontz]

Hi Jim. Interesting analogy.

[Warren Mickley]

I sharpened saws for more than thirty years before I ever heard pitch refer to the number of teeth. Here is Holtzapffel (1856) said in the mid 19th century.

Holtzappfel pitch.png

The pitch of a screw refers to the distance between threads or the distance travelled by one revolution of the screw.

[Tom M King]

"Pitch" is a relatively new term to me too.

[Mike Holbrook]

Tools for Working Wood sends a chart with each saw they sell. There is a link to "The Essential Guide to Saw Tooth Design" on the page for their description of their 14" Sash Saw. Nice chart with good close up pictures. It is a little simpler and I think a little easier to see than the one in Tom's link.

[Mike Wasson]

Check this out, I found it awhile back at Grammersy Tools website. It explains exactly what you are asking.
https://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/.../Saw%20Spectra