Lowell Holmes wrote:

snip

My LN is far superior to any saw I've picked up except for the Adria. There
is a lot going on with these saws besides set and appearance. It is
expensive, but cheap compared to the dovetail jigs on the market and it will
be an heirloom after I pass. :-)


Preface #1 to comments: I'm a tool junkie and a handcut dovetails
aficianado

I do have the "less expensive" barell handled dovetail saw, two in
fact,
a LN DT saw, a PAX DT saw, a relatively inexpensive dozuki and a
moderately
priced japanese DT saw from either LV or Garrett Wade. Haven't tried
an
Adria/Ardia dovetail saw but I'm betting it'd cut somewhere between
the
LN and the PAX.

Preface #2 to comments: I like japanese pull saws. The kerf's
narrower
so they cut easier with less effort - per stroke. They leave a nice
cut surface and there are so many ways to grip and cut with them -
oriented
up and down for ripping, horizontal for cross cutting shoulders on
either
the left or right sides. You can orient the stock horizonatally and
sit
or kneel while you saw vertically - with your face close to the blade
if
you need to really see the cut as it's being made. Maybe it's because
I used a jewelers saw before coming to wood saws that I prefer the
pull saw and am more comfortable sawing with the blade cutting up
and down rather than foreward/backward. With a jeweler's saw blade,
some with teeth so fine you can't see them but must rely on feel to
get them in the saw frame right, one learns to let the teeth do the
cutting at their own pace and with very little foreward pressure.
Same thing works for pull saws but not for push saws.

Preface #3 to comments: If you've seen Frank Klausz's video on making
mortise and tenon joints, you've seen his suggested sawing exercises -
draw a bunch of parallel lines on the face of a board, carry the lines
over the end grain then a) cut leaving the line, b) cut splitting the
line, c) cut taking the line and then freehand/eyeball lines between
what's left. With eight or ten lines per practice piece you can try
a lot of cuts on one piece of scrap. By your third practice piece you
have the feel for how the saw works and what you must do to make it
work best. I did three practice pieces with each saw I've got so I'm
somewhat familiar with these tools.

OK - my comments

Getting the cut started - where and how you want it is the hardest
part
of using any of these saws. Cutting dovetails, that involves two
alignments - one "on the line" and one on the vertical axis. Chewing
gum AND walking is sometimes a challenge for me so those two criteria
are enough. Add a bit of difficulty getting the cut started while
maintaining the saw's orientation and I'm half way to Screw Upville.

The "less expensive" barell handled saws are the worst to get started,
perhaps because of the teeth set and probably because they didn't come
very sharp.

The LN DT saw is next in line as far as getting the cut started. Even
with a very light back draw cut and then a more forceful foreward cut
it tends to chatter. That makes the start tricky. But once the cut
is started, right or wrong, it cuts straight and quickly with a good
cut surface.

The PAX DT saw starts a little easier than the LN though it still
chatters
on the light back cut. Once the cut is started it too cuts straight
and quickly with a good cut finish.

The dozuki starts the cut very easily, doesn't cut as fast as the LN
or the PAX and can flex and wander in the vertical axis if you're
impatient. The cut surface is good though.

And then we get to the japanese DT saw. Having used the other saws
and having difficulties with all of them in starting the cut, this
puppy was the answer to my prayer - dovetail saw wise. Starts easily,
cuts straight with no flexing, despite it's apparent delicateness,
compared to the western push saws. The japanese are right when they
say it's easier to pull a string than it is to push one. With a
narrower kerf than the western saws, it slices with less effort and
with little if any chatter.

There's another thing that you have to be able to do when cutting
dovetails - and that's stopping at the bottom of the cut line -
on both the face and back of the stock. There's several tricks to
stopping in the right place - watching the back of the cut in a
mirror, pencil line on the saw blade etc.

On all of the western saws, the spine/stiffener on the top of the
blade is parallel to the teeth. If you can keep the top of the
spine paralleling the top of the stock you only have to keep an
eye on the bottom of the cut and the stop line. But on the dozuki
and japanese dovetail saw the spine and the teeth ARE NOT parallel.
The distance between the teeth and the spine decrease towards the
handle so watching the top of the saw works against you and
you need to see both the front and the back stop line.

Because the japanese saws cut on the pull stroke, the sawdust is
pulled out towards you, slightly obscuring the stop line on your
side of the piece. Not a big deal but notable.

It also does a great job of cutting mortise shoulders. If you can afford
one, you probably will enjoy having it.

I think you meant tenon shoulders rather than mortise shoulders.
Yes, the LN works on them as well, though is limited to tenons
less than about 1 1/4 inches long. The PAX will do about 2 1/4"
and their tenon saw closer to 3 1/2 inches.


OBTW, I do sharpen my LN myself.

And I haven't - yet.

charlie b