Comparing Machine-Made and Handmade Japanese Saws

Understanding the value of Handmade Ryoba, Dozuki, & Kataba

Not all saws are created equal. While machine-made Japanese saws Gyokucho, Suizan, Z-saw, etc.) are readily available, affordable, and much better than the average big box western saw, handmade saws provide a level of precision and craftsmanship that serious woodworkers value. This post explains the differences between these two production methods and how choosing the right saw can impact your work.

Machine Made Saws

Machine-made saws are manufactured using automated processes and CNC routers:

• Material: Made from a single metal sheet.
• Impulse Hardened Teeth: This treatment makes the steel extremely hard and durable, but the teeth cannot be resharpened.
• Consistent Thickness: The blade’s thickness is more or less uniform from tang to toe with slight variations (less than 0.10mm).
• Increased Set: To compensate for slight imperfections in the blade, manufacturers increase the set (the outward angle of the teeth). This makes the saw more prone to wandering during cuts.

Machine-made saws are useful for rough work and engineered woods and are relatively inexpensive, but the speed of the manufacturing process forces compromises that impact performance. More on that below.

Pros

• Inexpensive
• Readily available
• Impulse hardened teeth can manage engineered woods, glues, and epoxies.

Cons

• Disposable - once dull, it must be discarded
• Inconsistent geometry - the saw's thickness and set are managed by machine, so every saw will be slightly different

Handmade Saws

Handmade saws combine machine processes with skilled craftsmanship and much greater precision and quality control. Here’s a closer look at the production process of the Hishika saws sold at the Sunday Carpenter:

Production Process

1. Rough Cutting: Soft steel plates are cut and deburred.
2. Hardening: A craftsman heats each blade to 800℃ and then quenches it in rapeseed oil. This changes the crystalline structure of the soft steel, making it hard but brittle.
3. Tempering: Each blade is heated again and gradually cooled, improving the structure of the steel and making it softer and less brittle. The details of the tempering process are carefully managed by the smith and vary depending on the product.
4. Rough finishing: Hardening and tempering introduce changes to the blade's shape, which are manually corrected by a craftsman.
5. Taper-Grinding and Buffing: The blade is taper-ground by machine from both tooth to back and toe to tang. This tapering reduces friction during sawing, making the saw track better and cut faster.
6. Medium Finishing: The blade is prepared by hand for sharpening, and any distortions introduced during the taper grinding and buffing stage are removed.
7. Sharpening and Set Adjustment: The teeth are sharpened mechanically, and the set is adjusted to improve performance.
8. Final Finishing: The saw is manually straightened, ensuring that the saw can actually cut straight. The handle is attached, and it is packaged for shipping.

This hybrid process—“machine-started, hand-finished”—produces high-performance tools that cut straighter, faster than their mass-produced counterparts.

A note on hand tapering

Step 5 above mentions taper-grinding. The idea here is that the blade is subtly shaped so that the saw cuts straight. This is achieved by giving each type of saw a unique shape.

Ryoba

Ryoba are tapered on both sides from tooth to center, with less set on the crosscut teeth than the rip teeth. This design helps the ryoba cut smoothly without binding when ripping wood.

Additionally, the set of both the crosscut and rip teeth is reduced gradually from the tang to the toe of the blade. This ensures the saw is less likely to bind or wander when pulled

Dozuki and kataba

Dozuki are also tapered from the tooth to the back of each blade, and set is also reduced from tang to toe. The blade is constant thickness near the first teeth, ensuring that the blade does not change direction once in the cut.

Pros

• Resharpenable Teeth - Unlike machine-made saws, hand-hardened steel blades can be filed, making them resharpenable and repairable.
• Tapered Geometry - The tapering described above drastically improves the saw's performance.

Cons

• Expense - the hand detailing adds cost.
• Not suitable for plywood and engineered woods - since the teeth are not impulse hardened, 

Caveat Emptor: Avoid Overpriced Machine-Made Saws

Many machine-made saws are rebranded and sold at a premium, sometimes with minimal improvements. It’s not uncommon for shops to attach a custom handle or logo to a basic ryoba or dozuki saw and sell it as a high-end product. If you encounter a saw priced over $50, ask questions to make sure the tool justifies the cost and isn't just a rebranded version of a cheaper model like a Gyokucho or Suizan.

Conclusion

Choosing between machine-made and hand-made saw blades depends on your needs. While machine-made blades are affordable and effective for rough work, hand-made saws—like premium ryoba and dozuki models—offer superior precision, resharpenability, and performance. If you’re going to spend extra on a saw, make sure the quality backs up the price.

As always, feel free to reach out with questions or leave a comment below!