Japanese saws

Japanese saws cut on the pull stroke, unlike most western saws that cut on the push stroke. Cutting on the pull stroke tends to make it easier for the beginner woodworker to master sawing. Also, due to their thinner blades, Japanese saws leave a narrower kerf (cut width).

There are three main types of Japanese saws:

Dozuki saw – the Japanese equivalent of a backsaw and with very fine teeth. These characteristics make them ideal for fine work such as dovetails and other joinery.

Ryoba saw – Multi-purpose saw with two cutting edges, one for cross-cut and one for rip cut. This makes them very convenient as you do not have to change saws when cutting workpieces to length and width.

Kataba saw – a handsaw with only one row of teeth filled to rip or cross cutting, and a wide blade to help keep the saw on track when doing long cuts.