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Perfect saws for finer carpentry work

The Japanese saw or nokogiri (鋸?) is a type of saw used in woodworking and Japanese carpentry that cuts on the pull stroke, unlike the European saw that cuts on the push stroke. This allows it to have thinner blades that cut more efficiently and leave a narrower cut width (kerf). On the other hand, a pull stroke does not easily permit putting one's body weight behind a stroke. The Ryōba (両刃) pictured is a multi-purpose carpentry saw with two cutting edges. The Japanese means "double blade". There is a cross-cutting (yokobiki) blade on one side and a ripping (tatebiki) blade on the other.

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Once you use these saws you'll wonder why european style saws always seem to work the other way.  Their flexibility also means they are perfect for flush cuts, eg, for table leg & peg trimming. In the UK I sourced Ryoba saws from http://www.axminster.co.uk/; one edge has teeth for ripping, with smaller teeth near the handle to use when starting the cut, before bringing the full effective edge to bear on the workpiece. The other edge has crosscut teeth which produce a super clean cut surface. The centre of the blade is scraped to be thinner than the edges to prevent binding in a deep cut.  There are cheaper brands, and other versions of Japanese saws too- worth checking them out...

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