Collection: Saws

Cutting on the pull stroke makes the blade easier to control and ensures that the saw cuts in a straight line, as each tooth is being pulled out of the cut.

Yes they do work on hardwood, and there are even dedicated hardwood saws.

It is true that most Japanese saws have a "general purpose" tooth which is optimized for softwoods, but most users find that general purpose saws work fine on domestic hardwoods. If you expect to be doing much work on exotic hardwoods, a dedicated hardwood saw is a sound investment.

The most common in the world of furniture making and general carpentry are:

• Ryoba - general purpose double-bladed saws, basically the "jack of all trades" in Japanese carpentry. Ryoba means "double-bladed".
• Dozuki - very thin, very fine tenon saw with a rigid back used for precise work where accuracy really matters. Most commonly used for cutting the shoulders of tenons, which are often very visible. "Dozuki" means "with a spine", referring to the stiff back.
• Kataba - contrasted with ryoba, kataba means "single edged". Kataba are similar to most western saws, in that they are typically dedicated to a single purpose (rip cutting, cross cutting, etc).
• Azebiki - azebiki are a type of ryoba with a curved blade. The curve allows you to begin a cut in the center of a board, and are typically used for blind sliding dovetails. Azebiki means "ridge saw", referring to the curved contour of the blade.

For beginners we'd recommend a 180mm or 240mm Jiro Bessho Ryoba. Go with the 180mm if you're expecting to do lots of finer work and 240mm if you think you'll be doing timber framing or dimensioning lots of boards.

For context: almost all Japanese handsaws available in the US are machine made from machine-rolled steel sheets that are too soft for use in woodworking. To make the teeth extra hard, they are impulse hardened and quenched by machine.

This means the body is a constant thickness (plus or minus manufacturing tolerance), and the teeth are more or less in a straight line. The teeth are also hard enough to grind away files, so they can't be sharpened.

Hand forged blades begin with blanks that are heated and worked repeatedly by a smith. This improves the steel's structure and makes the body harder and able to retain an edge.

The teeth are typically cut by machine, and initial grinding is done by machine. In Jiro Bessho's case, the body is also taper ground to improve the performance of the saw. Finally, the teeth are filed by hand and set in a subtle taper from heel to toe.

The tapering improves performance by ensuring that, when following the cut line, each tooth moves away from the edge of the kerf, allowing more precise cuts.

Because handmade saws are hardened by hand traditionally rather than impulse hardened by machine, they are soft enough to be filed but still hard enough to perform well for a long time between sharpening or replacement.