> Hi All;

> I needed a fine cut, controllable saw that would make "cake" out
> of the jumbled strip cuts at the bow of my kayak project. I was
> contemplating a Japanese pull saw, and I found a pretty nice one at a
> reaonable price. For $15 at Home Depot I bought a "Vaughan Bear
> Saw" (a pull saw made in Japan), that cuts awfully darn nice . . . It
> gave me the courage to cut my bow & stern stems, which turned out
> great. It did so well that I don't really need external stems, but I'm
> putting them in anyway for drill. The attached pic shows the bow stem, and
> the link shows a bit more detail under "Hull Construction."

> This stuff is fun! Best Regards, Spidey

Hi Spidey,

I have a Bear saw too and think its a good value but if you really get hooked on Japanese saws check out the "RazorSaws" from the Japanese Woodworker. You can spend hundreds on a top-quality Japanese saw but for me, the RazorSaws at about $28.00 have the best features of value, performance and appearance. Check-em out at http://www.Japanwoodworker.com/catalog3.html . I found cutting on the pull stroke to be very natural and since getting the Japanese saws, my antique Western saws have gotten very little use.

I use a ryoba (double bladed combination rip/cross-cut) for most tasks and a fine dozuki (somewhat similar to a Western backsaw) for cutting tenons on skin-on-frame kayaks. I also find a flexible flush-cutting saw useful for cleaning up doweled joints and tenons.

Have fun!

Greg Stamer

http://www.magicnet.net/~gstamer/QK.html