Another Saw Question
Patrick Gibbons, Houston, Tx
>Seeing the saws made by Sandor of Bear, DE got me to thinking about the construction of handsaws. I believe this question has been touched on in the past but here goes anyway. Is there really any advantage of milling a notch in the back of a saw rather than folding the metal over in a sandwich as was done previously? The major saw makers had access to mills and could have built this way. It would seem that milling uses less material. Granted, American makers used blued spring steel for the backs rather than brass which I would assume is more cost effective. My assumptions would be that a heavier back is better in most cases and a folded back is actually a structurally stronger arrangement. A milled back looks neater and, if one has a mill, much easier to make than using a brake.