Sawing techniques to perfect the art of using the Japanese saw 

I have been a hand woodworker for about 50 years using traditional Western tools. In July 2020 I severely injured my right shoulder while in the middle of several furniture projects. As a right-handed person, I thought I could just move to the left hand which, as one can imagine, did not turn out well. So, I moved to Japanese saws and a couple of moderately priced planes and began watching videos from these guys. It took a while to learn the tools but I did and am now an avid fan. I recently bought a more aggressive Japanese saw and cannot believe how well it cuts large pieces of timber. I use my Japanese saw for just about everything and cannot imagine moving back to Western Saws. This video was very important to me. Thanks.

My own technique for cutting squareish stock is to rotate the wood 45 degrees such that you see a single line across two faces and then cut to that line, rather than cutting across one face and then moving to the adjacent face. If you can cut to that line then by definition, your cut will be square.

Outstanding, just starting out and I don’t have a workshop, just an outdoor project. So now I know I have the right tools and space! Thanks 🙏 really appreciate your work.

That was one big cookie!!! Great tips. Thanks guys.

great video, more practical than most I have come across

Knife-wall two adjoining sides and just cut. Also pull through the full length of the saw, using the weight of the saw to cut and applying no pressure on the return push. The technique demonstrated in the video is what Bruce Lee would call a “complicate mess”.

VERY GOOD INFORMATION THERE FRIEND. I WATCH A LOT OF VIDEOS ON SAWING WITH JAPANESE PULL SAW. LEARN A LITTLE FROM EACH ONE OF THEM. GOT TO SAY YOU HIT THE SPOT. THANK YOU 🙏

Thanks! This was exactly the video I was looking for after another day yesterday of not cutting straight!

thanks for taking the time to share this. that was easy to understand and helpful.

Great Video! Clear explanation and demonstration! Looking forward for more videos! Thanks for the tips and your time! 😎👍👍

Nice, well explained, well demonstrated. Proper job.

Great video thanks.

I hope you get more subs!! You guys are great!

Thanks Greg and Mitch , love these videos. Could you kindly show how you would clean up the end grain from this cut if you needed a perfectly smooth square end face? ie what kind of planes, etc? How to avoid tearout? Much appreciated.

Bit of a learning curve but I think the benefits of Japanese "sword" style saws are still worth the drawbacks. they're incredibly controllable which I think is part of the issue for some people, we're not used to having to actively guide our saws as much because western saw handles are perpendicular to the blade instead of parallel like these.

Thanks

really helpful, but i have a question. after going through about halfway you then make the beginning cuts on the other two sides, then finish cutting through... at that point have you returned to the original halfway through cut to continue on through, or do you come at it from this new side and meet in the middle...? i couldn't tell when you were flipping the board which side you started on to finish up, so i guessed and tried meeting in the middle. i'm guessing now maybe that wasn't right... i got close, but definitely not the perfectly smooth cut i hoped for and now there's cleaning up to do on both surfaces. thanks for your help guys

Thanks for the video! Is this process the same for cutting a non-square profile piece? E.g. a board with about 25mm thickness by 250mm width?

I love my Japanese saws for joinery. But man, ripping with a bent over posture like you demonstrated looks miserable, and you only did it for a few seconds. Are you sure it primarily uses your abs?

I just lay my speed square up against the side of the saw like I do with my skilsaw. Straight cut every time. Careful not to cut up your square though. Cause these Japanese saws will do it.

Do Japanese not have hand cutting saws for cutting steel?

That video just makes me laugh. I'm a carpenter of 40 plus years and was never shown such a ridiculous way to cut straight

Japanese Rip Saw teeth point towards the carpenter so he has to get below the wood for the teeth to cut .Being above the wood is back to front .The teeth will dig into the end grain . It`s much harder and too noisy .The final position on the floor is all back to front. Western Rip Saws make more sense . Learn to use a western rip saw with both hands . You face the side of the wood and cut sideways ( left or right ) with both arms .Nice and balanced with a straight back . To start the cut push the saw forwards gently .That`s thereverse of starting a western saw cut.Then keep your left hand well away from the blade . The first top cut should start at the far side of the wood so the flexible blade will not jump out and cut your hand . Sorry mate you made lots of mistakes that will need some sticking plaster .

what a palaver just use a standard western saw that has been sharpened properly its all about sharp tools thats taken you over six mins to make a 10 second cut