Tenon saws. Which one should I buy to add to the two I already have?

[Sergio Escudero]

Hello. I currently have two tenon saws: the Veritas dovetail saw (I think it's 20 tpi) and this other one that I recently restored with 13 tpi; I don't remember the length, but I think it was around 37,5 cm.

What other types of tenon saws should I buy? Long ones? Short ones? With a large cutting depth or shallow? I'm looking at Ducotools and I see some nice saws, but I don't know much about them.

[Von]

Are you looking to buy a another saw because you want to buy another saw, or are you trying to solve some shortcoming of your current tools?

No judgement implied in my question - I completely understand the joy of getting a tool for the sake of getting a tool, but I've learned its wise to understand if you are adding a tool to your collection for the sake of collecting or if you are solving a problem.

 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

I think there's a tendency among a lot of hand tool people to think that they need 67 different handsaws. And i am no exception. I have about a dozen. 

But i actually only USE a handful. 

A 16 ppi carcase saw is my main saw. I use it for dang near everything. But it has a pretty shallow depth of cut. 

I also have a larger tenon saw that's 13 ppi, and a dovetail saw. Those 3 cover just about every need i have. 

The thicker the wood, the bigger the saw. 

 

Note; i am not including panel saws here. I have a few of those too for rough cutting. 

[Sergio Escudero]

On 2/3/2026 at 11:08 PM, Von said:

Are you looking to buy a another saw because you want to buy another saw, or are you trying to solve some shortcoming of your current tools?

No judgement implied in my question - I completely understand the joy of getting a tool for the sake of getting a tool, but I've learned its wise to understand if you are adding a tool to your collection for the sake of collecting or if you are solving a problem.

 

50-50. First of all, I want to learn because I don't know much about saws, and I think that a saw different from the ones I have might be better suited to certain tasks. For example, I saw this one and it caught my attention. Seeing how low it is, I think it's more suited to dovetails and that its low height might have some benefit in terms of balance, although I don't know if I'm right. It has 11 tpi, which I think is still too little.

[Tom King]

Learn to sharpen the ones you have.  The next one you buy should be to fill a need that comes up.

I have one little 20 point backsaw that I bought decades ago when I was young.  I almost never have a use for it but it will cut wood.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 2/3/2026 at 4:19 PM, Sergio Escudero said:

50-50. First of all, I want to learn because I don't know much about saws, and I think that a saw different from the ones I have might be better suited to certain tasks. For example, I saw this one and it caught my attention. Seeing how low it is, I think it's more suited to dovetails and that its low height might have some benefit in terms of balance, although I don't know if I'm right. It has 11 tpi, which I think is still too little.

11 tpi is pretty aggressive for dovetailing, unless it's in very thick stock. 

As a rule of thumb, you usually want a minimum of 4 teeth across the thickness of your work piece. 

Most dovetail saws are in the neighborhood of 16ppi, and finer dovetail saws are around 20ppi. 

So that breaks down to 

16ppi for stock that's 1/2" to 3/4" 

20 ppi for thinner than 1/2". 

11 tpi, at least to me, would be used for stock 1" and up. 

 

These are guidelines, not immutable, unbreakable rules. 

[wtnhighlander]

The other consideration for joinery saws is tooth geometry. Teeth optimized for cutting across the grain are shaped very differently than those optimized for cutting along the grain.

In my opinion, almost all furniture-sized joints can be cut with just 2 saws. One for cross-cut, one for rip-cut, each with a cut depth of 3" (75mm) or so. Having a saw for each grain direction vastly reduces the need to clean up the cut with a chisel or plane. However, a single saw with cross-cut teeth can do anything you need, in a pinch (especially if it is japanese-style pull saw! )

[Tpt life]

The saw vise (I think I got from Tom) has been a very nice tool for getting into filing my own saws sharp. It’s not a need, but super handy.