Woodworking in Japan is defined by its reputation of precision in the tools that it manufacture and utilizes. Such precision is so precise in its required execution that many would describe it as an obsession with achieving such fine results in the craft of woodworking. In a woodworking shop in Japan, the tools will be different than those in a shop by a Westerner.
For instance, Japanese saw are different than saws that are manufactured in the Western world in several ways. For instance, Japanese saws are those that cut on the pull stroke of the saw, whereas Western saws are most common on the push stroke of the saw. Many of these saws have handle that are wrapped in natural rattan, or the handles are made of polished wood.
Additionally, the blades are thin enough to flex if stared at with too much force. However, once the woodworkers is knowledgeable of the logic behind each tool, these saws become both very useful and addictive to use. Such saws will allow the woodworkers to have a saw that leaves the wood surfaces that are so clean that the sanding of the wood is skipped in many cases.
In addition, the amount of wood wasted by using these saws is almost non-existent. Finally, these saws require patience from the woodworker that the power tools rarely demand. Japanese saws are only useful if they are matched with the correct saw for the task that the woodworker must complete.
Each saw manufactured in Japan has been developed for only a few specific sawing task. Consequently, if the woodworker learns of each of these saws and the various tasks for which they are developed, they will find that they no longer have to fight against the wood that they are sawing, but rather, they will begin to listen to the wood and the way in which they can be sawn. Consequently, each of the saws that exist in Japan have certain characteristics related to the saw, the strength of each saw, and the situations in which the saw is to be used.
Common Types of Japanese Saws to Know
1. Ryoba Saw
One of the most common and important saw in Japan is the ryoba saw. The ryoba saw includes both rip teeth on one side of the saw and crosscut saw teeth on the other side of the saw. Consequently, when the ryoba saw is later flipped over, the saw will perform the same function as when it was first manufactured.
The ryoba saw is relatively stiff in its blade to allow the saw to make controlled saws into the wood, but the blade is thin enough to allow for the saw to be pushed into narrow areas within the wood. Japanese carpenters have used ryoba saws for many centuries when sawing lumber to various joints, and sawing the joints on the construction sites of those carpentry projects. The pull stroke of the ryoba saw allows for the thin blade of the saw; consequently, the thickness of the blade can be less than one millimeter.
Additionally, because the blade is thin, less wood is wasted when the saws are used. The tradeoff of the ryoba saw is that both hands must be used to guide the saw, and the force that the saws apply should not be excessive. However, once the woodworker becomes accustomed to the ryoba saw, their saw will be an extension of their arm.
2. Dozuki Saw
The second saw that exists is the dozuki saw. Woodworkers in Japan use the dozuki saw the most. The name of the dozuki saw translates to tenon saw, indicating the role that this saw plays.
The saw features a rigid spine on the saw that is similar to the back saws that are used by Western carpenters. However, the teeth along the dozuki saw are finer than the teeth of any other saw manufactured in Japan. Consequently, the saw leaves a surface that appears as glass on the end of the wood being sawn.
Additionally, the saw can be used to cut dovetails without the use of a dovetail saw guide. Additionally, because the dozuki saw features a thin blade that moves only on the pull stroke, no tear-out is made by the saws in even the most figured woods. Consequently, the saws are used for the sawing of the shoulders of tenons and the cheeks of the dovetails.
However, the saw cannot be used for cutting deep into the wood; the spine of the saw limits the depth of the saw. However, the dozuki saw is a saw that is difficult to beat when performing these tasks.
3. Kataba Saw
The third saw in Japan is the kataba saw. The kataba saw is used when the ryoba saw is too short for the task that must be performed, or when the dozuki saw is not able to reach deeply into the wood. The kataba saw is a single-edged saw, like the ryoba saw, but does not feature a spine on the saw. Consequently, the saw features only crosscut teeth on one side.
However, the saw is used for deep sawing into the wood; because there is no spine, the saw can cut deep into the wood to the length of the blade of the saw. Additionally, many kataba saws allow for the blades to be replaced over time when they become sharpened. Consequently, the saw is often used for breaking down large areas of wood.
Additionally, the handle of the saw is longer than a ryoba saw, providing more leverage for deep sawing. However, because there is no spine to the saw, the saw’s technique must be relatively clean; any twisting of the saw will cause the saw to stray from the cut line. However, any woodworker who masters how to saw with the kataba saw will find that it can be used for tasks that may require the use of multiple saws with the ryoba saw and dozuki saw.
4. Azebiki Saw
Japanese saws include a fifth saw that generates the respect of nearly all of the woodworkers in Japan, the azebiki saw. The azebiki saw is a saw that is similar to the ryoba saw, but features a curved blade, and features saw teeth along each of its two edges. Additionally, the name of the saw is often translated as horseback saw, indicating that one of the main ways in which these saws were used was while a person was sitting on the beam of the saw.
Consequently, the azebiki saw can be used to begin sawing into a panel of wood without making a starter hole for the saw blade. Consequently, the azebiki saw can be used for cutting grooves for the backs of cabinets, or for cutting dados. Additionally, the saw has fine saw teeth so that the saw will leave a clean cut.
Consequently, the azebiki saw is used infrequently in the homes of most woodworkers in Japan. However, when the tasks that a woodworker requires the use of the azebiki saw, no other saw comes close to fulfilling its role. Additionally, because the saw is small in size, it is often used on decorative antique furniture.
5. Kugihiki Saw
Another saw that is incorporated into the saw family of Japan is the kugihiki saw. However, the entire purpose of the saw is to cut nails, and nothing else. Consequently, the blade of the saw is thin enough to allow it to be flexible, and the teeth are filed to be able to file through the hardened steel of a nail without shattering the saw.
Traditional Japanese carpenters often used square nails. Consequently, saws such as the kugihiki were used to cut these nails flush with the wood being sawn. However, the saw’s teeth are filed in a way that they will clear the filings made by the metal of the nail.
Consequently, even in the moddern world, saws of this type can be seen in the workshop of a woodworker in Japan. For instance, they can be used to trim the brads of a sawn piece of wood that has been glued into place. The flexibility of the saw allows the saw to cut flush with the wood without injuring the surrounding part of the wood piece.
Consequently, while it may be a specialized saw, the saw is one that is used to separate professionals from amateurs in the crafting of wood.
6. Arashiko Saw
The fourth saw in Japan is the arashiko saw. The arashiko saw is used for the rough sawing of wood.
Consequently, the teeth of the arashiko saw are pitched in a way that allows for the ripping of the thick wood with relative ease. Additionally, the blade of the saw is relatively wide and stiff so as to be able to handle the amount of force that is placed into the saw when ripping the wood. Arashiko saws are often seen working in the workshops of the timber-frame carpenters who must saw lumber to precise dimensions for their constructions.
While the pull stroke is used with arashiko saws, the stroke has an aggressive motion and force when compared with the other saws of Japan. Additionally, the teeth of the saws are coarse so that the saws leave a relatively primitive sawn edge to the wood. However, this is intentional because the arashiko saw is only used as a means of quickly removing the wood that will be sawn by the ryoba or kataba saws.
Consequently, the arashiko saw is used as a saw that is satisfying to use to those who work with it.
7. Kama Saw
The next saw in Japan is the kama saw. The kama saw is the smallest saw of the Japanese saws.
Consequently, the traditional Japanese carpenter may see the saw folding into a pocket the same way a mechanic may carry a utility knife. Consequently, the saw may be used for trimming pegs, sawing bamboo, and other tasks in the same location where the carpenter is working. The blade of the saw features a curve, and the saw’s teeth are relatively aggressive in their pitch.
Additionally, some saws feature a hooked tooth along the tip of the saw. Consequently, the saw can be used to saw thin wood or delicate parts of a project where a larger saw would be too difficult for that task. Additionally, because the saw is small, it allows the woodworker to work in tight spaces where the saw would become difficult to use a full-sized saw.
8. Nokogiri Saw
The final saw that was manufactured by the Japanese is the nokogiri saw. Consequently, there are numerous variations of the nokogiri saw in Japan. However, one saw that has developed in Japan is the saw that is used for intricate fretwork, called the hako-zukuri saw.
These saws feature blades that are so thin that they resemble wire saw blades instead of a wooden saw saw blade. Consequently, the saw blades are three millimeters or less in width. Additionally, a wooden frame holds the saws in place that allows for the tension of the blade to be maintained.
These saws are used for cutting intricate designs into shoji screens, decorative panels, and delicate boxes. Additionally, the saw features teeth that are microscopic in size. Additionally, the saws have short strokes.
Consequently, when a master woodworker in Japan saws with a nokogiri saw, it is almost as if they are performing embroidery work rather than sawing wood with a saw. Additionally, because the saws only remove the minimal amount of wood for the desired project, sawing with the saw creates the least amount of waste when sawing wood. Consequently, any artisan who is skilled with the nokogiri saw is considered to have accomplished the highest level of skill in the Japanese pull saw philosophy.
Each and every one of the saws described in Japan contain a lesson about the importance of using the wood rather than fighting against the wood being sawn. Each of the blades of the saws is thin, each of them use the pull stroke, and each of the teeth are filed according to the knowledge of how cedar, cypress, and oak behave when cut with saws that were developed over many centuries of Japanese craftsmen observing and experimenting. Consequently, because using force against the wood may cause the thin saw blades to buckle, and the fragile fibers of the wood to tear, using the pull stroke allows for all of these saws to allow the saw to do the work against the wood.
Consequently, after exposure to these saws, it is difficult for a woodworker to return to the thick saw blades of the Western world that require the use of much force from the woodworker’s muscles. You should start with a ryoba saw or a dozuki saw, learning the pull stroke until it becomes naturaly to you. From here, the rest of the saw family will make sense to you.
The wood will guide you from this point forward. Every time you hold one of these saws, you are joining a long line of makers who understood that there is a right tool for the job and that the right tool respects the wood.
