handsaws

[Ferny1]

Hi
I've used Bahco barracuda 22" just wondering if anyone know of a saw thats as good but cheaper

[steviejoiner74]

Mate I've tried them all and at the 7/10 quid a saw market they are pretty much all the same.
I buy what's on offer as I go through around 2 a week and currently I use spear and Jackson as you get 2 for a tenner in b and poo. 3 types available fine,medium and course which you can mix n match.

[Grendel]

I obviously don't work as hard as Steve as my saws last longer than a week! Seriously though 2 saws a week does sound as if they are cutting something very hard or abrasive or are other ways are being abused. I've used jack saws for years and some have lasted for months and we didn't have to worry about paying for them either . At two for a tenner that's over £450 a year
I used a dot system on my saws. When I got a brand new one it was given a marker pen dot on the handle. When I got another new one it too was given a dot and the exsisting saw was given another dot thus meaning the more dots the older and therefore blunter it was. By the time it had four dots it was about ready to be given to the masons to cut out their joints. The system did result in one guy who was a truly brilliant chippy being dubbed "one dot"

[steviejoiner74]

Doing timber frame houses eats through saws and I'm not the most careful and lash them around.
There are two of us that work together so it's really a saw each,still a lot tho!
I do all the rafter cuts by hand so the saw has to be sharp or it's binned,the sparks and plumbers usually take all our throwaways and I do keep a few incase we have to cut through nails etc.

[fin]

might be worth buying one of those ergo handles and just buying replacement saw blades.

ive got one but still have the odd blue handle bahco 244 aswell

cant get away with irwin jack saws. they seem to be blunt after a few cuts. and deffo cant get away with those spear and jackson saws

[steviejoiner74]

The Orange handle jack(Irwin) saws are rank and ain't cheap.
The disposable hand saws have gotten worse over the last 20 years in terms of quality.
The blue bahco244(they used to be sandvik back in the day) have been around 7 quid for over 20 years,the price has stayed the same but they get thinner every year.
The spear and jacksons I use are the light blue handle and are decent enough,the red handle medium cut ones are rank for cutting 4x2 etc.
The Stanley jet cut lance tooth used to be great but I've not seen them for ages.

I bought a bahco Teflon coated thing for 20 quid a while back and it did last a few weeks but it wasn't the sharpest to start with.

They are all the same after you hit a nail btw......and I'm an expert at hitting nails with a saw

[fin]

aye i remember them being orange handled but that was when i was very young so probs changed back end of the 90's? they used to be sandvik then didnt they?

so what are the light blue ones then?

haha aye that noise ya hear when ya hit a nail

btw dunno if it happens to anyone else.... but if i go to the local timber yard and they cut the timber down for ya... not one of them can cut square... or even anywhere close to square

yeaaa ive not seen any stanley saws anywhere for ages.. i remember the jet cut saws.

anyone used those ck sabre tooth saws? or that weird irwin thing with the extra bit on top?

[steviejoiner74]

I used to get loads of saws from the local timber yard,they used to let you cut down stuff yourself as the yard guys couldn't cut properly and I'd be away with the saw in my van

Sandvick saws were always blue,the Irwin ones that used to be called jack saws are the orange ones.
The bahco barracuda saws are blue and orange,way to expensive now at around 12 quid a pop.

[Grendel]

I've used the Irwin jack saws for years principally because the firm I worked for supplied them free of charge , predominately the orange handled ones but also the finer toothed blue handled ones which do seem nice to work with. Downside , I suppose , is that I've little experience with other stuff . I've not tried the Bahco but have used the Stanley jet cut some time ago . The firm did try another make which I unfortunately can't recall , black or at least dark handles I think , but they were dreadful seemingly delivered ready blunted.
One thing we did try to source was a hard point rip saw but it seems such a beast doesn't exist which is a shame. Practically all claim to be designed , ground , or otherwise made to cut and rip but I don't really feel they rip a star well as a traditional rip saw .

[fin]

im sure i remember the timber yard selling them like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SANDVIK-Unive ... SwPCVX8V7N

long ago like. didnt ya used to get people that tried to sharpen em?

[steviejoiner74]

im sure i remember the timber yard selling them like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SANDVIK-Unive ... SwPCVX8V7N

long ago like. didnt ya used to get people that tried to sharpen em?

That's the 246 fin,the 244's have always been blue handled.
You can't really resharpen a hardpoint saw and even if you could it'd cost more on a file set than it would to buy another saw

I remember you used to get a twin pack of the 244's and you'd get a free gift for a while. Couple of pencils,a woolly hat,pocket level. They were useful wee things you'd get.

[fin]

ahh ok fair nuff haha. before my time i guess.

whats the difference between a 244 and a 246 then?

yeaaa sometimes itd be a hat or a level or a tape measure. or a toolbox saw.

builders merchant here has the baracuda blade for the ergo handles at £6.99 plus vat... or was it £7.99 plus vat... one of the 2 deffo

[182michael]

Barracudas £8 down here Stevie mate!

[ayjay]

builders merchant here has the baracuda blade for the ergo handles at £6.99 plus vat... or was it £7.99 plus vat... one of the 2 deffo

The Barracuda and Ergo handle is by far the best throwaway saw available nowadays. I used to buy the blades for mine off eBay in boxes of ten, still got a couple left which will see me through my retirement. Best I can see at the moment is 6 for £44 - post free - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bahco-EX-244P ... SwLF1X6o8I

Bahco 244 has to be the next best thing: Jacks were OK before they became Irwin, the blades are much thinner since they changed to Irwin, but they do make good scrapers for my pottery once they've been cut up.