How to Sharpen a Woodworking Handsaw – A Paul Sellers Video

There are many different types of handsaws available for different projects. To get started in woodworking however you really only need one or two saws to do most projects. All saws are sharpened for rip cutting but will also cross-cut unless they have large teeth.

There is a progressive rip cut pattern on most saws with 14 or 15 points of teeth before the teeth change shape.

Teeth Pattern

A passive rake means they are straight up and down then they change to a more aggressive rake then an even more aggressive rake with a perpendicular tooth cut. This provides more power closer to the hand where you need it.

A rip-cut is the most simple handsaw. They usually have 11 points per inch teeth size. You will probably need to re-sharpen this saw most often. It’s inconvenient to send it off for sharpening but once you know how it will only take 10 minutes to do it yourself.

Sharpening Saws

This method is suitable for rip-cut pattern saw which can do both rip and cross cutting sawing.

Saws with 11-15 inch teeth are a good size to sharpen but 20-30 inch teeth become difficult to sharpen yourself.

Paul uses a clamp which is a piece of wood with a slit used for holding the saw in the vice.

It’s a one inch by one-inch piece of wood or buy you can buy a saw holder. Place it in a holder so it’s square.

You can use a 6 sided file or hand saw file but first Paul uses a bastard file to pull across the top of the teeth with one stroke to get a shiny spot on all teeth. You can then see where flat spots are and help maintain level of quality.

Working on the first one inch or 11 teeth. For 1.34 high teeth, the file needs to be over double the size of each tooth. When filing teeth bottom aspect of file is wearing out. Hold file at fore end and also the back end of the file.

Start on the front of the first tooth. Go across with saw file perfectly level. After the eleventh cut rotate the file slightly. After the next 11, the file will be perpendicular to teeth.

Push forward with a couple of light strokes and count the number of teeth as you go.

Rotate slightly then two strokes in each tooth going forward. Remove any flat spots on top of the teeth.

Maintain regular path for file and keep everything the same. You should be able to feel the file cutting the saw. A file should last 10-20 saw sharpening sessions depending on the quality of the file.

You can hear the difference when you are filing outside the jaws of the vice but there should still be enough support past the end of the vice. The last tooth at both ends of the saw will wear away with use so file away any remaining parts of the tooth. It should feel like tiny pin pricks when you touch the tops of the teeth.

Micro Bevel on Back of Tooth

While Paul doesn’t usually bother with micro or secondary bevels on most tools, he believes it’s worth the effort on a hand saw:

With the saw still in the vice, use a flat file and place on the back of each tooth to strengthen the fore edge. Push forward with two strokes maintaining the angle of the file. This will create a small flat on the back of each tooth. By filing, the saw should stay sharp for 2-3 times longer so it’s a worthwhile extra step.

With a micro bevel on the back, Paul has found his saws stay sharper. Small files are cheap and will probably last several years of saw sharpening.

Saw Setting

Before or after final sharpening, you should set the saw. On every saw set there is a barrel and anvil. They work via a plunger moving forward and a hammer anvil connecting on the other side of the saw. Only do every alternate tooth.

Next clamp a hammer in a bench vice with the head facing up to give you a hard surface. Use another hammer to slightly bang back to remove part of the set.

Testing

Test your newly sharpened saw by starting at the tip of the saw then use the second half closer to your hand for aggressive sawing. Feel the difference a sharp saw can make to the job.

About Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers A Lifestyle Woodworker is a popular blog with a YouTube channel that boasts 286,000 subscribers. The UK blogger is a woodworker and furniture maker with thousands of projects under his belt. Some of his popular videos have 1.4 million views.

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