There are two main different types of hand saw: rip cut and crosscut.
Rip cut saws are designed to cut along the grain, whereas crosscut saws are designed to cut across it.
Rip cut saws can be identified by their straight teeth.
Crosscut saws seem more three dimensional when you look at them side on, as each alternate tooth faces in the opposite direction.
Saw sharpening tools
In order to sharpen your saw, you will need a vice, a mill file and a taper saw file.
If you’re sharpening a crosscut saw then you may decide to use a crosscut file instead of a taper saw file. Read on for more information!
What size taper saw file should I use?
Any taper saw file that fits between the teeth of the saw you are trying to sharpen can be used for this process.
However, if you really want to make your files last a long time, it’s better to use one that is at least double the size of your saw’s teeth.
If you do, you will only wear down the bottom half of the two faces of the file that are engaging with the saw.
This is an advantage because once they wear out (after multiple sharpenings), you can rotate the file and you will have two new, sharp faces still left to work with.
The part of the file that is worn out will not be coming into contact with the saw, so it won’t matter that it’s blunt.
For ease of reference, the table below should help you to choose the right file for sharpening your saw. It’s the size of the teeth that will matter rather than the size of the saw itself.
The term ‘PPI’ stands for ‘points per inch’, which is the way the cutting edge of a saw is measured. The higher the number of points per inch, the smaller the teeth on the saw.
PPI on blade
Size and type of file
5
175mm (7″) taper saw file
5.5
175mm (7″) taper saw file
6
175mm (7″) taper saw file
7
175mm (7″) or 200mm (8″) slim taper saw file
8
150mm (6″) slim, 175mm (7″) extra slim or 200mm (8″) double extra slim taper saw file
9
150mm (6″) extra slim or 175mm (7″) double extra slim taper saw file
10
125mm (5″) or 150mm (6″) extra slim taper saw file
If you are using a crosscut file, all you need to worry about is making sure the file fits between the saw teeth. Most crosscut files should easily fit!
When it comes to choosing your mill file, size absolutely does not matter.
