Reply To: Finding saws

Can I jump in here ‘cos I think we have some good news? Saws and sharpening can be very confusing and we are trying to minimize that confusion in what is, with a little practice, a simple and enjoyable procedure. We have recently filmed a method for sharpening that will hopefully simplify it for everyone. Most of it is nuts-and-bolts sharpening and decision making mid file stroke. We will expand this into subsequent more specialised sharpening methods after we launch this one We need a couple of more days to finish up.

Re Crown saws, these are made by Thomas Flynn and so if they are new and unused t is likely that they will need de-setting and possibly sharpening. The are good saws, but for some reason they have never given us the performance of better quality saws. I wrote an article on these saws some years ago and described them as more a saw kit. They have a good brass back, good steel with edge-retaining qualities and a noce wooden handle. Crown doesn’t care about what we are looking for and it doesn’t really matter whether a saw arrives sharp because no saw in daily use will last more than a few days before it needs light filing again to get the edge you need in fine woodworking. I have owned and used all of the range Thomas Flynn saw makers make under their different names. As I understand it, Thomas Flynn saws bought the names of former makers as they went out of business and so Thomas Flynn, Garlick, Pax and such became their own brand names and they are all made under the same roof. Some of them are more refined and higher quality in the finished product. Crown happens to be one of the lower end saws in terms of finish, but the steel, brass and wood are about the same as most of Thomas Flynn products. I will say this, any of these saws will make a good long-life saw.

One of the students brought in a very nice and clean Disston USA D-8 this weekend and I sharpened it for the class to see the process. He paid only about £20 from The Old Tool Store. So Disstons can be had for a good price and few saw match their quality.