Fun with hand saws #4: BA and a Wenzloff

Hi again,

Today I have in my hands the last of my friends Bad Axe Saws. This here is a 16” 11tpi crosscut backsaw. Walnut handle with the black metal of some sort back and nuts. This thing is sweet.

For Christmas I made my 5 year old son a little bench, I just threw it together so he had something to work on while he is in the shop with me. Ironically enough, I just so happens to be the perfect size for me to use as a saw bench, figure that one out (wink, wink)

Using some 5/4 cherry, 4” wide I made a bunch of cuts, not because I needed to, because I wanted to. I just like using it. Cuts really fast, smooth and clean. It does get heavy in the hands after a while. I made some cuts with my 7 tpi disston crosscut panel saw to get a little of a comparison.

You can see that BA on the right is much cleaner, but with its tooth count that is to be expected.

I also used some mutton tallow on the saw plate when I noticed it starting to stick. Works like a charm. Now my buddies saw is all covered in rendered sheep fat, mmmmmmmm pass the mint jelly.

I really like this saw, but I just might have to hold it ransom to get the dovetail saw again.

Thanks again for reading my rant.

Of course I forgot to mention the Wenzloff, and this is an edit.

This is a 20” 6tpi rip saw. I fell in love the moment I saw it. The handle is really awesome and it is very well balanced. And of course I could not resist trying it out once… or twice… who am I kidding, lots. So far I have only had a chance to use some 3/4 pine about 3 feet long, no problems. FAST!! A few times while ripping, I stopped and drew a line where the saw line was, and then one push, then measured the cut. I averaged 15-18 mm per push. Thats quite impressive. The reason I used pine was because it was the only board long enough that I was willing to sacrifice, but I will find some walnut or cherry and give it another go.

Jeremy