Why Japanese Saws Are Taking Over Woodworking

Japanese saws are amazing and have a lot of great benefits. The question is, are they better than Western saws?

Join this channel to get access to perks:

How To Channel

---Tools I Suggest---

---Find Antique tools near you---

Super Stars
JD Belknap:

Top Patreons
Rich Dodson
Sherlock
Brett Lance
Daniel McGrath
Ian McElcheran
Christopher Brown
Kenny-Anjanette Horn
Brian Suker
Andrew Wilson

////Help this channel grow\\\\

////You Can find me:\\\\

Instagram: @udostehle

[brooklynpaul]

The tip about using both hands on the Japanese saw was worth the whole video.

[zenkenshokunin]

<---- Japanese hand tool woodworker. Five minutes in and you've done a better job at advocating for Japanese hand tools than I ever had! Huzzah to you, sir.

[bryanthiga]

I inherited my Japanese tools from my grandfather but didn't get into woodworking until after he passed so I have been learning to use them on my own. It is these simple suggestions that astound me because it improved the quality of my work to a degree I attributed only to getting better tools. The using 2 hands with a ryoba and extending your index finger down the handle of dovetail saw to lock your hand and reduce wander were such simple fixes that dramatically changed my work that I am watching how people hold tools and their postures a lot more.

[douglassiemens]

As a kid, I got very frustrated not being able to saw a straight line. And there was nobody to teach me how. Now, as an old guy who is a beginning hybrid woodworker, I have found I can use a Japanese pull saw quite effectively. I was also able to show my younger brother how to cut a straight line, too. This video is spot on.

[iamwhoiam]

I've been doing serious woodworking for over 50 years and made a secure living doing it. I have both the western saws and 12 Japanese saws and use both depending on the sawing situation at the time. You're 100& correct on learning to use a saw for it's designed to do. I can cut dovetails and tenons with my western saws with ease, and I can cut dovetails and tenons with the Japanese saws with ease because I took the time to learn how to use them and which one is best for the project I'm working on. I can use a Japanese Kataba crosscut saw and crosscut through a board faster and straighter than with a skill saw. Practice, experience and what best works for you is the key to good sawing technics. Thanks for sharing your video and the effort it takes to make them.

[lukacsnemeth]

I was quite experienced with western saws, no problem cutting a straight line. Bought one of the japanese for fine lines, and always went out. As soon as i saw the video, went out to the shop, tried the 2 handed stroke and it works like magic. Thanks for the tip!

[ssl]

Best woodworking video I've seen in months, solid gold

[davidegerton-warburton]

Great video James's, I Use both. I started using Japanese saws originally due to price. Yet once I purchased good western style Back saws (Dovetail, Carcass, Tenon) and invested in developing the skill. I now prefer to use western saws 95% of the time. I still use a 270 mm Ryoba to resaw thin stock sometimes to reduce waste, yet I find that a Japanese saw can very easily wander inside the cut when re-sawing. Scooping out the centre while staying in the kerf on both sides! A n Azebiki saw is very handy for cutting out timber in the centre of a board. Cheers David

[randybecker]

Hey James,
I'm almost a year into my (serious) woodworking journey and own and use both. I have owned a western crosscut saw for well over 40 years that I used for everything around the house. Until this year I didn't know why the teeth looked black and seemed to be less and less efficient. I needed to cut some small wood pieces about 2 years ago and bought a small Japanese saw and loved how well it cut. Of course it cut much better because it was better suited to the job and was much sharper! Now I own both and find, like you said, each kind does different jobs. Quite well too! I just bought a larger one and am loving that. Of course this was right after buying a Spear and Jackson cross cut saw that I also loved! I agree with you they are both great and I like one over the other only based on what I'm trying to accomplish.
Thanks for a great video!

[williamw]

Hey James, its great to see you covering Japanese tools as a Japanese woodworker. I use traditional, resharpenable, forged saws. I like these for a few reasons.

Good saws made by masters can be very, very hard. Up to 63 or 64 HRC and have to be sharpened by specially made files. This means that they have incredible edge retention. I use exclusively hand tools and work most with rough lumber. I only sharpen my most used saw a couple times a year, (including rip and crosscut)

I also like the design of the crosscut teeth (yokobiki). Due to their design they have much greater "fleem" and severe the wood fibers much more effectively. A bit of a pain to sharpen but the finish is incredible. I virtually never shoot my boards since the cut is so fine.

Another perk of very hard saws is that they can be tensioned very tightly and become very stiff. This combined with a fine set means they can track beautifully, and very quickly.

My favorite perk of a hard saw is the feedback. Since they are so hard, you can feel everything going under the teeth. You know very precisely what's happening under the saw. I can tell it's going off the line by feel. I also know when to add more pressure or less pressure. It is said a good saw will tell you before it breaks or snaps, giving you a moment to stop and reconsider your technique.

[Blackys-Boy]

I've had the pleasure of knowing Wilbur for about 20 (or more) years. He was always a font of information on Japanese tools. But I wasn't aware he was presenting at WWIA! Good for you Wilbur!!

[dennismeko]

I built a 6 drawer storage cabinet out of plywood and pine and did all the cutting with an Irwin Japanese style hand saw. When I was going to learn how to make dovetails I would make 30 practice cuts with a western back saw. My shop experience tells me to use one tool for every thing so I really learn to use it. That was the first time I heard about using two hands on Japanese saw although I think I naturally learned it myself.

[Greebstreebling]

I really like mine, such a fine cut too, usually no sanding required.

[dougdavidson]

Thanks James & Family. Take care & stay safe.

[BrolyOrAurak]

I love both saw styles!! I'd love a continuation of a series kinda just brushing over all the major differences, maybe even just covering the most common preferences

[osliverpool]

Whoa, the two-handed cut! I wish I'd learned that years ago! It's been entirely Japanese saws for me for quite a long time, and that lesson will be a big help.

[farnarkleboy]

I've found that on many Australian hardwoods which tend to have high silica, they blunt quickly and are prone to breaking teeth, fabulous on fruitwoods and softwoods though. I actually use frame/bow/turning saws a lot now, easy to make and the tensioned blade means they'll work in either orientation

[TerrysMcAllister]

Hi, I use Japanese saws and find them very good to use. Very impressed with your Western saws and how you use them. A skill you have mastered very well. The one Japanese saw that surprised me has the teeth at the front of the saw going around a curve. With this feature I can cut along a straight line in the middle of a large sheet, Firstly going back and forth a short distance tilting the blade around the curve. In no time you cut through the sheet and then finish the cut normally leaving nothing but a straight cut line. I am starting to use this feature more often and find I can get less wastage when laying out parts on a large sheets. Always room for improvement and new ideas.

[TooShortPlancks]

As someone using both, I find myself most frequently picking up my Japanese saws. But this is more because I'm working out of a small room in my house with little space. I very quickly go back to my western saws the moment I want to rip cut.
I've also found myself cutting more accurately with my western saws, although I can usually track quite accurately one handed with the ryoba.

[DerekKnop]

I've found the Japanese style saws to be generally easier on the body. My Dad was doing less and less woodworking because the accumulated damage of 80 years of hard work was making sawing downright painful and he didn't have the strength to hand or power saw much any longer. I loaned him my set of Japanese saws for a week after months of begging him to try them. I'm happy to say that he's doubled the amount of work he can do and his joints no longer hurt as much when he's done.