Handsaw Basics

Book excerpt: Everything you need to use your handsaws! There is no woodworking tool that's more satisfying, quick, and precise to use as a handsaw. This tool can process timber in its rough state, bring boards up to a glimmering smoothness, cut rabbets, dados, grooves and other joints, and trim wood with a precision that has yet to be matched by power tools. Yet many woodworkers--both beginners and professionals--are intimidated by choosing the right tool, sharpening its cutter and putting it to use. Handsaw Basics contains everything you need to choose the right tool for your budget and projects, take it out of the box, sharpen it, and use it successfully. The chapters in this book have been compiled from more than 10 years of the author's writing on the subject of handsaws in magazines, trade journals, and blogs.