A $20 Dovetail Saw that might be able to compete with the Premium Boutique Saws?

For years I've been saying the quality of a hand saw is determined by the last person that has sharpened it and not it's price. But this could just be dogma I've embedded into my shtick or confirmation bias of not buying the nicer things because what I have is "good enough". So in the interest of figuring this out I bought a cheap $20 saw ($25 delivered) and did a half way job of fixing it up. Meaning I sharpened it. Such a monstrous difference from how it performed out of the box. But will it beat the best of the best in the boutique tool market such as Lie-Nielsen, Bad Axe, Bontz, Wenzloff, Florip, Skelton, Medallion and Veritas. Well to find out after I was done I sent it to Shannon Rogers of The Renaissance Woodworker Channel as he's got the expertise and experience to "Tell it as it is."

So here's my prep work for the dovetail saw battle. Tune in to Shannon's video for the result.

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[pnesap]

For sawing 1/2" wide, 10" long pieces of 3/4" thick walnut, what size back saw please, and pistol grip or straight handle? Thanks.

[J.A.Smith]

Could we get another video on turning oval handled plz

[wulf]

A $6.00 utility knife would cut as well as, if not better than, your $100 Buck knife. People who do quality work often value using quality tools for many of the same reasons.

[philipchandler]

Great tutorial learned a great deal about process of sharpening. I need to get to work!!

[MrGrutgrut]

Great video. I think you need to grease your vice screw to fix this squeaking noise 😂...on my way to the sharpening station...

[andrewbrimmer]

I can't get comfortable with a straight handle

[BradsWorkbench]

I think this goes for alot of cheaper tools. If you dont have the money, you'll have to spend some time tuning.

[michaelthompson]

Funny enough I actually saw Shannon Rogers' video earlier today before seeing this. I like Shannon, he's a good teacher and I did purchase his first semester hand tool school so I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but he often seems to make excuses or find reasons to go with the most expensive tools on the market.

Shawn, I want to thank you so much for your latest series. My woodworking seems to go in fits and starts because of life but one thing that bothers me is that if people see too many boutique tools they'll get discouraged by the price of entry into the craft. Of course cheap tools can be too far in the other direction but it's nice seeing someone try to go get into the middle ground.

I'm loving the new series and I'm considering using your box joints for a wall hung chest. Very well done!

[JackFright]

Okay, so Shannon doesn't like the gent's saw, Rex Krueger and James Wright seem to think that it's only any good for throwing in the trash. And yet, you have the Veritas and have used it for 10+ years. Why? For me, the gent's saw just seems the correct one for the tiny, thin stock I am working on. I don't own one yet. My only backsaw is a cheap Spears & Jackson tenon saw. Just wondering why the gent's saw is good in your eyes.

[DouglasASean]

wow, I'm thinking about how much time tuning up my saws would save me now.

[AutotechWoodworking]

In the past I would buy a new back saw when the one I was using cut noticeably slower, so I have three inexpensive Stanley saws in varying stages of dullness, two that are just laying there unused. Using your sharpening video as a guide, I recently sharpened the one I have been using for many years, (I don't remember exactly how long I have had it), and the results were amazing! It cut so much better and faster, while producing a straighter cut and thinner kerf.

[MrBillUp]

I know this video is a good few years old now, but can you remember the size saw file you used to do the sharpening? Many thanks.

[wrstew]

Hacksaw with a 14 or so tooth blade will work in a pinch. Tighten it up and go for it. Won’t clear the dust as quickly, but if you are really in a money bind, it will cut. Too much kerf? Diamond stone/ India stone sides to thin the thickness of the blade. They are hardened more than a custom blade, so you probably won’t need to replace for ten thousand dovetails or so. Softwood would probably be 10/12 tpi for a quicker cut. The masters of the past didn’t have what we have available, and look at what they did.

[fritzer]

crown saw?what size file did you use to sharpen your

[johndavis]

Hey man love your show I learn something every video. A quick question do you yourself run a school or have an apprenticeship. Woodworking is my passion.

[jimwilliams]

After watching this video, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that all om saws desperately need sharpening. Guess I better get to work!

[tpobrienjr]

I have one of those $20 saws. Afraid to go look at it, probably will make me ashamed.

[MinecraftMaker]

That's no longer a $20 saw once you've spent a bunch of your time on fixing it up :) Nice video - thanks for sharing.

[billbyrd]

Paul Sellers allows as how the sharpen-ability of a saw determines whether it's worth buying. Apparently, some saws are disposable. It seems I can buy a $20 saw and then buy lots of equipment to make it right. And if I buy a $250 Cosman saw, I'd still need the equipment to keep it right. Just how much would I need to spend on the equipment?

[vferdman]

I am curious if you ever tried a Japanese style saw, like this?
It costs under $30, has replaceable blades for about $17 and is super thin, sharp out of the box and comfortable to use. Not meant to be sharpened (but probably could be) and is, of course, a pull saw as Japanese saws are. As a newbie in dove tails, I tried classical inexpensive dove tail saw and had a horrible result (I did not sharpen it), but when I tried this Japanese saw I was blown away at how well the actual sawing part of the dove tailing went. I still need a lot of practice with other dove tailing aspects, but the saw aspect is SOLVED for me. Was wondering if you could review one of these. They are very inexpensive and I was very impressed.