Hacksaw Basics: How to buy and use a hacksaw. 

Thank you! Someone who is not only a subject-matter expert but also knows how to present content properly and teach with two examples of technique! This is almost unheard of on most youtube videos even when presented by professionals. OMG, I am in awe! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Signed, an instructional designer.

Thanks mate! It's amazing how nearly every tool has many more things to know about it than we first see...

Just picked up a hacksaw for apprenticeship electrical work. I haven't cut metal before but know the importance of good instruction on use and technique for even the simplest tools. Awesome job.

What a beautiful thing, to give clear and accurate tutorials on something as simple as a hacksaw. I'm 62 and I learned a couple of things. I love that anyone can learn to be a maker now. Thanks.

I guess I've done a number of different things! Knifemaking has been one of the few things that I've been interested in nearly my whole life, it keeps drawing me back!

Thanks, I just started my apprenticeship as an apprentice plumber. I always wondered why my boss cut his copper pipe in a matter of seconds, while I took so long and my hacksaw kept getting stuck/caught because I was drawing back with pressuure and getting told off for taking too long :P Awesome vid!

Glad you found the video helpful! The oil I use is heavy mineral oil, the type sold as grocery/drug stores as a laxative. It works well and has the additional benefit of not being poisonous. I started shooting the filing and filing jig videos yesterday! I'm hoping they'll be ready by the end of the week. I'm also going to start shooting a tutorial on making a kitchen knife in the next few days!

Apprentice electrician here! Hacksaws are highly underrated for cutting metal nowadays. I've seen old guys with hacksaws who can keep up with a sawzall or portaband. Good instructional!

I always get little blessures on my hands when I use a saw... The handle is always uncomfortable.. I sometimes use some foramspray in a little plastic bag and let it dry arround the handle with my hand squeezing it. Takes 5 minutes but gives you a better grip and you can use the saw longer AWESOME video again Aaron! Liked

Can I just say what a good and generous guy you are? Thanks for all the great tips and info!

dude your videos are SO helpful! Thanks!

A few more tips: if you look around you can get 14 tpi blades which are perfect for aluminium! I do a lot of hacksawing in all sorts of materials and I find that it is much more convenient to have 4 hacksaws set up with 14,18,24 and 32 tpi blades ready to use. If you want to cut close to a line then you will find that if you modify the hacksaw by removing the blade holding pins and drilling out the holes to fit the biggest cap head that will fit the hole in the blade, then securing the blade with a cap head and nut. The increase in rigidity is very beneficial. In the past I have cut many 2 inch (50mm) square pieces of mild steel, this really teaches you to hacksaw in the most efficient way!

Great dissertation on hack saw use- When I was an apprentice diver I was taught how to cut steel, we where doing marine construction,at that point I had been indoctrinated on terrestrial cutting using torches, brocos and even old gas torches grinders and welders., On the day of water cutting, I kitted up, chief came out of the tool shed with a hack saw, after giving a similar description that you just did he had me cut steel in kit on land no lubricant then under water, lesson learned.

It would be understandable, it not a terribly exciting topic on the face of it! Thanks for taking the time to watch it!

I was having trouble with my hack saw, but then after a lot of cutting I realize that the blade was installed the wrong way around.

Thanks mate! Always good to have people chime in and let me know I'm not steering people wrong! Pretty crazy job you have! I've heard underwater construction can be very dangerous...

Aaron, I really appreciate all your vids. You obviously think them through before beginning, and you do an excellent, precise job of clearly explaining things. I have found your group of content subjects quite helpful. Thanks a lot brother!

Just plain awesome!. Thank you for teaching us the proper technique.

I really liked the video. You are teaching things that used to be taught in shop classes years ago. Now there aren’t any of those classes in high school, so keep up the good work. Keep teaching

great clear narration, no padding just clear information.

Panel hacksaws are the best. To make one you need steel ribbons (about 9/16ths or 14mm wide), micarta frames, rivets, bolts and recycled handsaws (discard that old handle). Drilling is important, so lube your bit very often when drilling though a piece of handsaw. Made of spring steel and as for ribbons, cut them short. Then drill two holes on each ribbon and rivet your hacksaw blade to those bottom holes.

I just replaced the blade on my hacksaw and, holy cow, did it make a difference. I made more cutting progress in the past 30 minutes than I did in several hours over the past few days. The old blade wasn't a bi-metal one, and I had worn it down rather severely trying to cut through steel barstock.

Thanks mate. I'm planning videos on Kydex sheath making, the filing jig, making a chef's knife, and also some videos of the steel comparison tests that I have planned. There'll be a lot of snapped and damaged knives during those tests! Should be fun!

Enjoying your instructions on hand tool techniques.

Thanks for the feedback and the tip!

Hey Patrick! I haven't always been a knifemaker, no... I still *barely* consider myself a knifemaker now :D I'm actually a computer programmer for my day job, but I've always loved working with my hands. I've worked in a factory making guitars, and I've also worked as a hand (assistant) for a carpenter renovating houses. I was taught by a master knifemaker named Neil Charity for a brief period when I was younger. I'm slowly learning to be a machinist as well which is great fun!

Definitely! That is actually already on my to-do list! Should be up soon.

So glad I found this video. Perfect in every way and just what I needed. These very basic but important aspects of selecting and using tools are often skipped right over. I'll be watching the others you've done on files, etc. Thank you!

Yes, saw blades would normally be hardened... Then only reasonable way to work something like that with hand tools would be to 'anneal' them first. Have a look around the net for 'annealing' as you'll find it's pretty easy to do and will make the steel soft and workable.

When I started out I found I would get very tired and sore too... It only took me maybe 2-3 weeks before I didn't feel it anymore though. At that point in time I was sawing/filing/sanding for maybe 3 hours a day. If you're doing it less often then unfortunately our body may not adapt in a reasonable time-frame. I would recommend just doing the hand-work that you're doing as often as possible, your body will get used to in time!

Very well presented. Learned how to correctly use a hacksaw for different tasks. Thank you.

I'll probably be shooting it tomorrow, so it will be on it's way soon!

here's a free tip from Sheffield England. If your right handed use the right hand side of the vice. Left handed use the left side. This means when you complete the cut and the saw follows through there's less chance that you will take the skin off your knuckles on the material that's left in the vice.

Another good video from Mr. Gough. The number of people who know how to properly use a hack saw is few and far between; this video is a first I have seen that properly explains the use of the saw and the blade types. The angled blade feature is something I never thought of, clever! I have an older Nicholson hack saw that is the type you squeeze the grip to add tension to the blade, may not be the best way but it seems to work well.The point about a good vice is and understatement; the more you can spend on a good vice the better off look at used Wiltons vices on E Bay.Thanks.

Holy crap! I had always believed hacksaws to be shrouded in mystery. Thank you!

No worries mate! Hope it was helpful!

Agree not only are you an engineer, scientist, artist but, my new teacher.. if more of my teachers where like you I could have learned something ~~, Bless you Aaron

Thank you. I never realized how many skills are need to build a flintlock rifle.

Hand saw initially because it's much cheaper than buying a power saw. For small stuff in the shop I will still use a hacksaw even though I have a bandsaw, just because it's faster to do it right there at my bench! Staying in shape never hurts either!

I should clarify too: when I say that I *barely* consider myself a knifemaker I just mean that I'm very aware of how much there still is to learn... The metallurgy, design, advanced heat-treatments, etc... Even though I've been a professional programmer for many years, I still barely consider myself a programmer as well! I guess that's just the way I tend to think about things! Even at the end of a lifetime learning about something, there is still more to learn!

Fair enough! I'd like to have a go at that at some point too!

I never realized that about hacksaws, great tip!

Straight and to the point. Didn't waste a lot of time.

I almost passed this video up...and like your other videos, i learned something. :) thanks for taking the time!

I've spent some time over the last week re-designing the filing jig so that it only uses parts that are easy to get. The video is coming soon!

Great video. I did not know there was so much to know about the hacksaw. Thanks for the video.

Interesting, thankyou! I’m pretty new to tools like this so this is really useful to me. Appreciate the clear, detailed advice 👌🏼😊

Thanks for the video, it was very informative as I am completely a novice at using any tools! I need help and this videos helped to choose a decent hacksaw and to use it correctly!

By far the best knife maker on RU-vid.

Great information. You have earned my subscription. Very professional. Thank you.

You might want to double check your hacksaw blades. For cutting 1/4" 440C I would be using 10" 18TPI bi-metal blade... If you're using a finer blade, or one that isn't bi-metal then it's quite likely the blade is making your life hard! Also make sure it's a fresh blade! Best of luck mate!

I subscribed to the channel after the first video I seen from him, great vid's gough, I bet you have awesome muscles in your right arm from all the bevel filing and all the manual work you do on your knives lol, great stuff man...

Looking forward to it. Always enjoy your instructional vids, etc.

Thanks very informative and clearly explained 👍

Thanks mate! Glad you found in helpful!

Interesting suggestion! Do you have any particular information you'd like to know?

Great video - really thorough explanation, thank you. Silly question maybe but why is he wearing yellow tinted glasses? Does it make it easier to see detail?

No worries mate!

Great video, only thing you forgot is cutting speed. I was always taught about 50-80 strokes per minute depending on the material and blade length. By that, when you cut the O2 you were going fast..but then, wearing out the blade a bit too quick is probably worth the time saved by going fast, anyway

Thanks man you just saved me soo much time and money. Gonna make your file jig as well. Thanks.

Thanks, i didnt realize how much i needed to know

awesome skills mate & thanks for all the knowledgeable videos

I'm trying to cut ClosetMaid wire shelving with a 12 inch 18 tooth hacksaw with no success, so probably need finer blade. And I was doing everything else wrong. Your video is very helpful!

thank you sir it is very use full to learn students

Cheers! Glad it was helpful!

Super informative and helpful nice work!

i used circular toothless saw to cut metal, does the blade risk breaking?

why cant the blade be mounted backwards from what you suggest, like japanese saws that cut on the pull stroke? that way you would need less tension and it would be less likely that the blade would break. thanks for your videos. you have quite the setup in your shop and produce amazing looking knives. i especially loved the videos comparing the steels and testing corby fasteners- things I couldnt afford to test as one who isn't professional.

Hi, I'd be interested in seeing you turn an old rusty metal work file into a work of art only using extremely basic tools. cheers Jake

When I was in metal work class many moons ago there was another student there that could make short work of anything with a hacksaw, he showed me how he done it, on the forward stroke as he went about half the length of the blade he raised his fore hand and lowered his aft hand and done the opposite coming back he also leaned into it a little more on that forward halfway point, if you can imagine a horizontal oval movement, not sure of the proper term, I could cut better than I could before but he was champ, no one could out perform him in that class using a hacksaw. Unfortunately he was not great at anything else that I can remember of lol.

Absolutely please do a video on Files brother!

Great video. I have a hacksaw flush cutting jig video you might want to see.

Super video! The hacksaw you are using appears different than the saw in your link. Do you recall the make of your saw used in the video? Thank you sir!

You sir " ARE A MAGICIAN" god level knife maker ,i love it:D

You didn't mention the direction of the teeth of blade when you fix it on saw, plz tell.

thanks for the detailed video !!

Excellent videos! My family name (Mothers' side) is Gough which I thought was very cool to see also :)

for sure you'd be knackered after 5 mins of sawing hahaha nice vid

This may seem like a random question but what type of exercise would you recommend at using a hacksaw. I'm currently not in great shape and my arms get sore when using a hacksaw... I'm sure over time I'll build stamina, strength, and a more efficient technique when using a hacksaw.

Yes thank you. Why do you choose a hand saw over power is it for heat reasons or just staying in shape lol

Thank You for a very helpful video.

Any tips for sawing a quite hard spring steel sheet of about 1.5mm?

There's already a tutorial on files on my channel :P Fastest video request turnaround time ever!

Great content man thank you

Just a quick and stupid question. Would an aluminum knife blade work or would it be too weak?

Yeah I hear that mate! Thanks again.

Help me how is describe the two files tools

Ok now I'm pretty sure that the piece of saw blade I cut was hardened or something because you went through that thick piece of steel like it was nothing. Oh and trust me cutting that saw blade was hell!!! Took me like 3 days to make the ninja star I wanted!!!

What hacksaw would you recommend? I want to get one, but not sure which one. Never know when you will need to cut through metal...

cant wait, cheers for the quick reply

Great Video! I am currently making my first knife and I'm using only a hacksaw and files but the hacksaw takes me quite a bit longer. What kind of oil where you using in the video? I've heard of using oil to help make faster cuts with the hacksaw, but wasn't sure if it was oil specifically for hacksaws or WD40. I can't wait to see your filing video. You should definitely include some info on your filing jig too. Thanks a bunch for the great video and information.

Could you do a video on files and uses

new respect for the hacksaw... almost makes me want to go get the pieces of what is left of mine and give it another shot..lol

Thank you!

Is there anything that could potentially help me cut 316 stainless with a hacksaw?

It's ok! Hacksaw blades are meant to be disposable anyway! I probably go through a blade every week or two.

Can a hacksaw cut through bone if so how hard is it. I wanna see if I can cut through a pig but I heard bone is very hard.

Great video. I've got a little experience as a manual machinist, but have decided to give a go of tool making with all hand tools. I'm making various things for my hand tool woodshop and tinkering. I recently bought the Klein high tension hacksaw to start making some brass bench dogs. Can you recommend a high quality brand of files?

Poor technique I'm afraid. The saw stroke should be horizontal rather than angled downward. If you employ a horizontal stroke then you can employ your body weight to push the saw rather than just your arm muscles. The reason you are cutting downward is because your vice is positioned to low. If you concentrate on trying to perfect your stroke you will eventually be able to use "all hard" blades which will cut straighter and faster. The accuracy of your stroke will also pay dividends when you are filing, making it much easier to file flat.

I am loving your videos! Thank you for posting such helpful vids! :D Totally subscribing to you!