Why you need to know how to sharpen a handsaw, and how to do it

[Tom King]

The best way to cut ridge cap shingles on a wooden shake/shingle roof is with a handsaw.  You hold the blade down on the other side of the roof, and it cuts the exact angle. It might look sloppy because the shingles are irregular thicknesses, but the plane is correct for the next layer.  You can't do this with a Sawzall.  If you use a copper flashing "safety" to prevent leaks, the copper dulls one side of the teeth.  You can't sharpen just one side of a saw, so you have to sharpen the whole thing. This is a Sandvik 288 8 pt. crosscut that I keep for "rough" work.  I have probably 15 others that are kept in better shape.  This one has gotten left out enough that it has some rust on it, but still works just fine for jobs such as this one.

You need to know how to sharpen one if you use one.  It doesn't take long before it needs sharpening.

To sharpen the saw, you need to be able to see the teeth easily.  Put a light at just the right position so the face of the teeth you want to file shines back at you.

I like to use one hand on the file, so I can see what I'm doing. The little smooth end gives a running start, and makes it easy to feel the right rake angle to match the old one.  Once you feel the rake angle, one finger goes on top of the file, and that's all you need. This is the way I learned to do it at the start.  Later, I saw all the gadgets and little blocks of wood on the end of the file, and thought that I had been doing it the wrong way.  I started using the blocks of wood, but when I used them all up, I didn't make any more.  I could never do a better job with both hands on the file.  I can do better seeing what I'm doing clearly with one hand, and nothing in the line of sight.

To help start the fleam angle correctly, a scrap of plywood is cut on the miter saw to the angle you want, in this case 25 degrees, and laid on the table behind the saw.

[Tpt life]

I seriously need to apprentice with you some summer. I get more in a few days around people who know their stuff than the Internet can ever convey. 

[Tom King]

This light is an LED worklight from Lowes. http://www.lowes.com/pd_433457-43921-MPL1009-LED40K840_1z0vgb0__?productId=50260965&pl=1 It's just right for this job.  I had to sharpen this saw in the middle of sawing that ridge, and I finished right as it was time to go get lunch.  The two guys who work for me were washing their hands and doing a little cleaning up getting ready to go, so I started sharpening it for next use while I was waiting my turn.  I might have taken three minutes, but I had the saw sharpened by the time it was my turn to get ready to go. 

I don't like to let one get dull enough that it takes more than one stroke per tooth with the file.  The saw had plenty of set to start with, so it didn't get reset after these two sharpenings.

The light gets moved to the other end for sharpening the other side.  When the tip of the saw is pointing to the right, I use my left hand on the file, so I can see the correct tooth to file clearly.

In short, you don't need all the gadgetry you see for sharpening saws. 

This is an old Stearns no. 3 vise that I like because it has levers for tilt and saw lock. 

[Tom King]

I tried to get a picture today to show how big of a flat you want to joint to only need one file stroke, but I could never get the camera to focus on it good enough for a decent picture.  I'll try to remember to take the good camera tomorrow.  You only want the flat big enough to get half of it with one stroke, and then the other half gets taken when you turn the saw around.

Normally, I use a 6" mill file that I'm used to, but didn't have any so I use an 8".  It a little playing with it to figure out how much pressure to put on the 8", but it is doable with one.

Always joint before filing, but you don't want to do more than you have to.  I have some fancy antique file holders for jointing, but I almost always just want to get it done, so just hold the file between my fingers.

[Tom King]

I remembered to carry the good camera today, but still had a hard time getting a picture of the amount of jointing I like.  It's the least possible, and still make sure you hit every tooth.  I like to only make one complete file stroke per tooth, and a light one at that. If the saw starts feeling like it's rubbing the wood instead of throwing chips, it's time to sharpen it, but you don't want to let it get too dull.

I don't know if you can see this or not.  I put my finger there to give the camera more to focus on.

After sharpening the saw five times, it was in need of a set before it was sharpened again to put it back in the box.  In the shop, I made sure I had a bright light above where I sharpen saws, but at the jobsite this worklight is ideal.  It has the best adjustable stand I've ever seen on a worklight, but is still lightweight enough to be able to move around.  You can't get by without seeing what you're doing on this job.

I had to move it several times to shine down into the opening in the top of the 42X so I could see where the plunger was.

Setting takes as long as filing, and is more tiring on your arm because of having to squeeze the handles.

For setting, I just raise the saw up in the vise, and you don't have to move it for the whole process.  The 42X grabs the saw blade, so it can't move, before the plunger engages the tooth.  I have a little hot melt glue inside the loops of the set so there is not metal on metal contact with the tips of the teeth, even though here I set before the last filing. 

[Coop]

In the very first pic, I thought that was the damnedest I ever saw, until I enlarged the pic and saw that you had cut thru the board and it was hiding the rest of the blade. Back to Walgreens for stronger glasses!

[Jim DaddyO]

I have 4 saws that I picked up at a yard sale for $2.00.  2 of them are aluminium buttoned Disston's.  The other 2 are Waranteed Superior.  I have kept the 2 Disston saws as cross cut and filed the other 2 to a rip (though at 7 tpi they are a bit fine, I plane on making one about 4 tpi someday).  It is a pretty cheap experiment and one thing I have found is that even a poorly sharpened saw cuts better than a dull one.  It is a pretty inexpensive project and I get a bit better every time I try.  Oh, I picked up a saw set at a flea market for $4.00, the files were the most expensive part.

[Tom King]

If you're going for a rake of 15 on a crosscut saw, it's extra easy.  The top of the file stays flat, or level, whichever way you want to look at it.

[rodger.]

I have a pax rip saw (4 TPI), and its relatively new.  The blade needs to be sharpened, or honed is probably more accurate.

I'll take a pic, but would like some advice if you are kind enough to help.  I'm unsure if I need to joint the teeth, and they are not at all worn.  Ibwas thinking i would just lightly file the teeth to hone them (I bought the appropriate file).

[Tom King]

I have one of those Pax rip saws too.  They aren't very sharp to start with.  You can probably hit each tooth with one full stroke, and not worry about jointing it.  Try to use the same pressure on every tooth.  The sound helps judge that as much or more than the feel.

[rodger.]

1 hour ago, Tom King said:

I have one of those Pax rip saws too.  They aren't very sharp to start with.  You can probably hit each tooth with one full stroke, and not worry about jointing it.  Try to use the same pressure on every tooth.  The sound helps judge that as much or more than the feel.

Do you file all the teeth in the same direction, since its configuration is rip?

[Tom King]

Some people do.  I don't.  I don't know that it matters.  I just don't like the way it feels filing into a tooth leaning towards you.