Japanese saw users

[Paul Bent]

When cutting pine and most other woods, my ryoba has a real gravelly feel when cutting at a 45º but when verticle or horizontal it feels smooth. Is this a sign of a dull blade? This is a gyokucho disposable that probably doesn't have 20 feet total on each edge.

[Patrick Chase]

When cutting pine and most other woods, my ryoba has a real gravelly feel when cutting at a 45º but when verticle or horizontal it feels smooth. Is this a sign of a dull blade? This is a gyokucho disposable that probably doesn't have 20 feet total on each edge.

Do you mean 45 deg w.r.t. to the grain as opposed to pure rip or crosscut? Or something else?

[Jim Koepke]

Paul, my Japanese saws are not used as much as in the past, but the feeling you describe was part of using them for cross cutting. Mostly now my Japanese saws are used for trimming dowels and other light cuts.

jtk

[Paul Bent]

Pat -Pure rip and crosscut. 45º to plane of work surface. Gyokucho #605 Using it on some cedar and it really stood out.

[Paul Bent]

Jim - Makes sense that it would feel like a western saw in the reverse. Never really thought of it. Just hated the feel.

[Patrick Chase]

Pat -Pure rip and crosscut. 45º to plane of work surface. Gyokucho #605 Using it on some cedar and it really stood out.

Is it only gravelly at the start of the cut, or does it persist?

At the start of a 45 deg cut you'll have asymmetric engagement (teeth on one side cutting while the others aren't), so that's always going to be less smooth than cutting straight down. Once the saw is into the work it "can't tell the angle" - any difference you feel at that point has to be down to your own technique.

[Brian Holcombe]

Tilt the stock toward you, rather than away from you.

[lowell holmes]

I prefer the first dovetail saw I used a long time ago, when they first came out.

That is a Lie Nielsen. I also have the larger Lie Nielsen saws.

[Paul Bent]

That seemed to do the trick. Thanks.

Tilt the stock toward you, rather than away from you.

[Alfred Kraemer]

For any of my smaller hand saws - a old dovetail saw with a more recent Wentzloff blade and a Gyokucho small ryoba - I start at a very shallow angle until the kerf is deep enough to guide the saw. Then I angle it much higher and can go very fast.
Both saws, although they are rip-filed, also excel at cross cutting, and I just them often for that.
Higher angled sawing starts are - in my opinion - much harder with a Japanese rip saw because the teeth angle is much more 'hook-shaped'. Once you have the kerf, however, you can go quite fast.

Alfred