sharpening serrated edge pruning saw

[david]

I have an old one which is blunt, is there any simple sharpener that would work for restoring it? i have googled without success. thanks David

[The Medway Handyman]

These days the time involved in re sharpening is much greater than the cost of replacement blades. A waste I know, but thats the reality.

I have three Bahco bevel edge chisels that badly need regrinding, assuming I couls actually find someone to do it (don't have the time or skill myself) it would cost more than a new set.

Goes against the grain with me, but thats reality these days.

[Brian G]

David,

Go and find a simple (triangular) saw file complete with hand of a suitable size to fit the teeth, stick the blade in a bench vice between two pieces of wood and run the file between the teeth.

Note: push the file through the teeth at the same angle as the original, the same number of strokes for each one and at the same pressure.

When there are no 'shiny' spots on the top (cutting edge) of the teeth, the saw is sharp.

Once that is done, you will have to set the teeth to protrude either side of the blade to prevent the saw jamming - and for that you'll need to get a saw-set.

Bloody hell, after reading that it would be easier to buy a new blade for the pruning saw (and I've sharpened and set hand saws hundreds of times during and since my apprenticeship).

Brian G

[The Medway Handyman]

I do find that a great shame Brian. A skill that is now in decline because of a 'throw away' society.

The environment would be in much better shape if we had people who could sharpen saw blades (or regrind my chisels), but alas they are hard to find & dearer than new products - the world has gone mad.

[fred]

My local sawmill will do chisels etc it for a quid a pop or 50p in volume. They are a huge outfit and run a lot mouldings and do thicknessing so have their own to machine tools to sharpen (and manufacture) themselves so adding a few hand-tools to the pile takes little extra effort.

[nightjar]

A Record sharpening jig and a whetstone will do the job for anyone who can't do it by eye on a wheel. Of course, it is much less work if you bring the edges back to full sharpness after every use, rather than waiting until they are badly in need of resharpening.

Colin Bignell

[nightjar]

Much less satisfying though and it probably wouldn't be easier if you factor in the need to stop the job and to travel to somewhere that sells the right blade.

Colin Bignell

[Andy Dingley]

Depends on the shape. There are some good websites around on sharpening hand saws:

If you "pruning saw" has triangular teeth that are broadly prism-shaped and cut mostly in one direction, then treat it as a crosscut saw and follow the instructions above. You'll need a triangular saw file (cheap), maybe a big hand file for topping (if it's bad) and a simple pair of plywood vice clams to hold it. Generous set is important on pruning saws, unless it's already taper-ground. As the teeth are large then you can either use a saw set or even small pliers (eBay is full of old plier-style saw sets for only a couple of quid). Don't try to set teeth that aren't intended to be set (thick taper-ground blades).

Problems start if the teeth are "diamond cut" (like a Swiss Army knife), where they're sharpened on both faces at a asteep angle, so as to cut equally in either direction. You can still do this as described above, but the angles are different.

If you have "Japanese style" teeth, then you'll have problems These cut really well, but they're a complex shape with four edges to each tooth, rather than just two. In particular you'll need a "feather" file, specifically for sharpening Japanese saws (handy for other stuff too). These are available from Lee Valley across the Pond,

or Dieter Schmid in Germany.

As always, the best guide to sharpening any tools is Leonard "Lee Valley" Lee's, "Complete Guide to Sharpening"

If you'r ebuying new pruning saws, Japanese are the ones to have. Axminster have some cheap bargains around, but a "Silky" brand is one of the nicest folding saws you could hope for.

My favourite saw is an "Ars" brand, which I obviously bought just for the name (good saw though).

[Andy Dingley]

Only if you have low standards for what "sharp" means.

There's also the other justifications for sharpening: read Toshio Odate.

As a jobbing handyman, you ought to have at least two sets of chisels. A Chinese set from Lidl for hacking through plaster and something like your Bahcos for actual carpentry. Neither of these are good enough for good bench joinery, but they're good for their roles (Bahco are pretty soft, but it's a tough steel and good for on-site use).

If you own the tool, then it ought to be sharp too. If you can't afford the time to do it on a stone, try the "Scary Sharp" technique (wet & dry stuck to flat glass, described all over the web).

As someone who pushes chisels through oak by hand, I've no probelm at all with spending time keeping them sharp. It's easier than working much harder to use them.

[david]

Many thanks for all the helpful replies. The saw does have triangular teeth cutting mostly in one direction. This is obv a whole subject in itself and you've got me interested in learning it - thanks for the links Andy. David

[Brian G]

Colin,

As you "much less satisfying" - but when you gone to all the work and for me eyestrain to sharpen the old Diston crosscut, ripsaw and tenon saws and you find that you have one 'long tooth' in the centre of the saw that 'catches' every time you use it - that then turns to sheer frustration and a lot of swearing :-)

Seriously though, I really would be easier to replace a pruning saw blade as the time and effort involved (for me anyway) in sharpening and setting the old one wouldn't be worth it.

Brian G

[Brian G]

Andy,

From your posts, I presume that you use some Japanese cutting tools on hardwood. I heard a bit about these and it would interesting to your opinions on how you find using these as compared perhaps using to some of the very good quality American and British tools?

[Brian G]

Bloody hell, after re-reading my last two posts, I think I'd better get some new glasses - sorry for the errors and omissions folks :-)

Brian G

[nightjar]

Except the new blade has probably been made of something like Indian steel, while most of my tools were made in Sheffield when it was a traditional steel town. I'll stick with the file and saw set.

Colin Bignell