I got a chance to review the Knew Concepts Fret Saw and liked it so much I bought it. I then pimped it out with an Elk Head Tools handle and now have the slickest fret saw around. Here is my review of the saw.
I bought the titanium 5" Knew Concepts and I can honestly say it is the very finest coping/fret saw I have EVER found. It just plain works, and the quality is unparalleled. Zero flex means blades don't break nearly so often. The lines I can cut with this don't wander; they're dead straight. As others have said, it's not inexpensive. Don't care. Now all I need is the $85 replacement handle. Yes, the price is now $85 (Jul '24).
Overpriced or underpriced I don't care and in 2 years I will not remember the price I paid.. These are exceptional saws that address the shortcomings of all other fret and coping saws. I bought the coping saw version that takes the 6.5" pinned blades. The quality Swiss and German blades available do fit into a dovetail saw kerf and they cut a straight line. When I changed over to the cocobolo handle I was able to save the original handle just by sliding an inch long brad through the centre of the roll pin and pricking a hole on the other side where I was able to centre and drill a 1/8' hole through the ferruule and use a drift punch to drive out the pin. I am happy to pay a premium price for a quality tool but would hate to destroy even a simple handle. I will chuck it up and turn it to fit a nice brass ferrule and use it on a file or rasp. I like the idea that it is reused and in doing so has a little history to it.
Really why do people have to snipe at someone who genuinely makes his kmowledge freely available to others. There are worse ways to spend money than on fine tools that will last a lifetime and are a joy to use. I am just a hobbyist woodworker with a full time day job, my shed is 6 by 10 feet, I dont have the means to make my own tools so I buy the best I can afford and may contribute a tiny bit to keeping folks employed in the uk, us or canada in the process. I have this saw, was introduced to it on a course by David Barron, it is lovely to use and costs the same as a modest meal for 2 here in the uk so why not. Overall Shannon shows how to use tools that cost a lot less than say a router table and dovetail jig so why the sneering? I for one am happy and grareful to be able to learn from him.
I don't understand all the negative comment about him using an expensive tool. He even tried the cheaper alternatives before realizing they don't work and moving on to the nicer one. Perhaps we should be thankful because we now know the knew concepts saw is functional while some of the others may not be.
Hello Shannon, good video and well presented. I had a cheap £10 fretsaw with a 11" throat-broke loads of blades cleaning out waste. Lightbulb moment- I carefully placed saw in a vise having removed fittings from saw, then using common sense bent the U shape throat and its 10" of metal over to 90 degrees to the rest of the saw making sure the now vertical loop was to the left hand side(I am right handed), I promise I hav'nt broken a blade since, and its taken me longer to write this post than to modify what was but is no-longer a wretched tool.
I bought this fret saw just because it was awesome and it's easy to use. It cost more, so what. A cheaper one might do just as well. So what. I can afford it, I like it, and it worked better than any cheap saw I've used. I still chop my pins but like this saw when I'm doing a bunch of dovetails.
Shannon seems to have received a lot of undeserved flack for this video and for buying nice tools. I subscribe to his channel as the topic of his videos are always of interest to me I see him as having a similar outlook and philosophy to myself. Thanks for the great videos. I have a number of health issues that prevent me doing a lot of things people take for granted. The money I don't spend on going out, dining out, drinking, partying, gambling, attending sporting events or theatre, travelling, holidaying, I spend on quality tools. What I get from owning and using these tools is my recreation and enjoyment. When your quality of life and life expectancy is not great, you realise hoarding money is far less important than getting enjoyment from it. People in all situations should heed the sayings about not being able to take your money with you and being a long time dead. Do what you enjoy and don't shoot others down because you are covert their situatiion (or tools).
Exactly. No roof racks on hearses. I gave up golf years ago after back surgery and started indulging myself with good tools. Now I have a wall of fine tools which I use to make items to delight the family, instead of a drawer full of golf score cards.
Shannon, you're right about the Jeweler's saws not working well for that type of application. They're really meant to be used on a birds mouth in the vertical position and do no like being used horizontally at all (I learned the hard way.) Thanks for the review.
Hello Shannon, good video and well presented. I had a cheap £10 fretsaw with a 11" throat-broke loads of blades cleaning out waste. Lightbulb moment- I carefully placed saw in a vise having removed fittings from saw, then using common sense bent the U shape throat and its 10" of metal over to 90 degrees to the rest of the saw making sure the now vertical loop was to the left hand side(I am right handed), I promise I hav'nt broken a blade since, and its taken me longer to write this post than to modify what was but is no-longer a wretched tool.forever , never day peoples full tools brazil wood never belo horizonte single ok play city longer from sure having time side vise point
Who ever said you need to have these tools to cut dovetails. You definitely don't need sets of chisels or a fret saw. The joint isn't hard to cut and can be done with much simpler tools. I doubt any of the makers of the fine tools you mention would feel they are overpriced. Take some time to research all the work that goes into them then let me know if you think they are overpriced.
You're right about the makers of those tools, they think they're probably "UNDERPRICED" and I know exactly what work goes into these tools, I worked in a machine shop, today it's all CNC and the process is cheaper and doesn't justify those high prices of tools, the HYPE created over them is the reason. If you know Paul Sellers, you'll find a modest person who can do masterful work with simple tools, I saw him with my own eyes doing it. If you don't know him, check him out, he's the real McCoy.
I have to say I made a couple of poor word choices, and I'm sorry. Shannon is a good guy, and knowledgeable, too. I want to be sure that everyone knows I have a lot of respect for him. We do, however, have a different take on how much money we believe is prudent for an amateur to spend on their hobby. It's a topic that's clearly based on personal incomes and other financial considerations. I am not comfortable w/ expenditures such as this one, but that's my personal opinion.
The jewellers saw works brilliantly for what it is intended to do, cutting metal. And it works far better when the blade is mounted to cut on the pull. I have no intention of ever using to remove dovetail waist.
I agree with you wholeheartedly, Sellers is a breath of fresh air in a field of people who want us to spend huge bucks. This video is nothing more than silly. If I wanted a saw like this, I'd make one.
Really nice Shannon , but it just gave me a thought: Rob Cosman's Dovetail Saw =$250, Knewconcept Fret saw+handle=$200, a Lie Nielsen set of chisels= $340+ 3 Lie Nielsen Fishtail chisel set= $225 totals to+$1015.00. Well, do you know how to cut and fit Dovetails? At least you have the tools, you can brag about them. One would wonder, how did our ancestors managed to cut Dovetail Joints with high precision without getting all those "OVERPRICED" tools? What if you have don't have the dough?
Shannon, I guess you didn't LIKE my answer to your answer, huh? Any way, if you never saw Paul Sellers, I recommend you to check him out, may teach you a thing or two...
Advocating the use of a fret saw costing $100 is the reason I don't subscribe to this channel and channels like them. Woodworking is NOT a business. Making you spend your money IS.
RenaissanceWW My comment was not aimed at professional woodworkers and frankly I couldn't care less what professional woodworkers think. Your core audience is the hobbyist and weekend woodworker and the vast majority (me included) can't afford $100 for a fret saw.
Alan Wright my "core audience" sends me literally thousands of emails asking my opinion on a lot of tools so someone must be interested. On the contrary, woodworking is a business as there are MANY toolmakers big and small as well as lumber suppliers big and small who rely upon the business of hobby woodworkers. Regardless of the price of an individual tool, it is a marketplace and I don't see how my uncompensated opinion on the subject can do anything but help. If nothing else someone may have learned about sawing out dovetail waste where they didn't know it before.
My last comment - and my point - is that someone may well have learned how to refine their skills in removing dovetail waste but it doesn't need a $100 saw to do it. Advocating the use of such tools is the way you choose for your channel and good luck with that. There are other channels that focus on bringing the hobby to ordinary people on moderate means. I'll watch those. Thanks for your time.
Alan Wright fair enough, I'm sorry you feel that way based off 1 of my many videos. I consider myself to be very inclusive but you are right, there are MANY other places to go so godspeed.
