The Complete Handbook of Hand Saws

Angela Young: I've been cutting wood for 25 years and thought I knew hand saws, but Chapter 1 alone clarified why my old crosscut saw performs so differently from the new one—it's all in the tooth geometry and set. The book doesn't waste time on general tool philosophy; it gets straight into the mechanics that actually matter. My only wish is the maintenance chapter went deeper into sharpening angles for different tooth configurations, but overall this is the reference I'll keep on my bench.

Susan Thompson: Finally, a book that treats hand saws as serious working tools instead of nostalgic hand-me-downs. The specification chapters are dense but worth working through—suddenly all those numbers on saw boxes make sense. One small thing: a few more photographs of tooth geometry would have helped me visualize the rake and set angles better, but the descriptions are clear enough. This is exactly what my contracting crew needed.

Betty Martinez: This is the handbook I've been looking for. I restore vintage hand saws and sell them, and now I have a framework for evaluating what I find—why one saw is worth restoring and another isn't, what specifications matter to buyers, how to talk about condition and performance. Chapter 1 alone is worth the book; it explains the physics so clearly that I actually understand the decisions sawmakers make. Invaluable for my business.

Betty Lewis: As a furniture maker who uses hand saws daily alongside power tools, I needed to understand not just *which* saw to buy but *why* one performs better than another on different woods. This book delivers exactly that—the concrete mechanical knowledge that lets you make an informed choice instead of guessing. The decision framework in Chapter 3 has already saved me money and frustration. Highly recommend for anyone serious about their tools.

Sandra Martin: I work in historic preservation and hand saws are essential to my work. This handbook covers everything from understanding why old saws sometimes outperform new ones to knowing when restoration is worth it versus starting fresh. Chapter 1's explanation of tooth geometry and cutting physics is the clearest I've ever read—no fluff, just the facts you need. This is now my standard reference for tool selection and troubleshooting on every project.

Angela Walker: Good practical reference overall, especially the chapters on maintenance and choosing the right saw type. Chapter 1 is thorough but dense—I had to re-read some sections to understand the geometry concepts, and while the explanation is accurate, a diagram or two would have made it much faster to digest. The business opportunities section was useful but pretty brief; I would have appreciated more detail on actual sharpening service pricing and startup costs. Still, solid foundation for someone entering this field.