# Weird .. I dunno what to call it. (saw, file, sharpening)



## Ericfg (Feb 27, 2021)

I am looking to sharpen the teeth on the handsaw that I use for cutting scales for my kitchen knives.
So I google youtube vids for 'handsaw sharpening' and find that a particular file shape is made for handsaw sharpening. Blah blah blah... a particular shape and style is recommended.
And who is a maker of these very specifically shaped saw files? None other than our old kitchen knife maker friend Friederich Dick! 
Other firms make these files as well but I found it weird that a file I can buy, to sharpen a saw I can use, to cut wood for a handle I can use, for a knife I can rehabilitate, is made by the same company.
Degrees of separation, or full circle.... I dunno what to cal, it other than weird.

Possibly drunk at the moment...


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## Yet-Another-Dave (Feb 28, 2021)

What kind of saw are you sharpening? Some, usually cheaper, saws can't be sharpened because of their induction hardened teeth. (Good news is they don't dull as quickly.) For Western-style push saws you can sharpen with files, a "three-square" or "tapered" file is usually used. The size is dependent on the number of teeth per inch. For Japanese-style pull saws you can sharpen with files, a "feather" file is used. It is a different shape, because the teeth have a different shape. Their is sort of a gray-area where special (expensive!) extra hard files or diamond hones can be used, but....

I don't know about F.Dick files. For Western saws NOS vintage, Grobet, Vallorbe(sp?), Corradi, and Bahco get recommended a lot. I've also seen reports Nicholson have gotten their Mexican factory back under control and they don't suck anymore. Nicholson are available, in a few sizes, at Home Depot.


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## DavidPF (Feb 28, 2021)

As far as I'm aware, the Friedrich Dick company began with file making, and didn't get into knives until later. It seems their files and associated equipment are well regarded.



Ericfg said:


> Possibly drunk at the moment...



Better than being impossibly drunk.


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## ModRQC (Feb 28, 2021)

Ericfg said:


> Possibly drunk at the moment...





DavidPF said:


> Better than being impossibly drunk.



There's just so many layers into this that it is basically a 10' tall onion.


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## DavidPF (Feb 28, 2021)

A 10' tall onion is possibly eaten or possibly not eaten - but it too is impossibly drunk. (By whom I'm not sure.)


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## ModRQC (Feb 28, 2021)

DavidPF said:


> A 10' tall onion is possibly eaten or possibly not eaten - but it too is impossibly drunk. (By whom I'm not sure.)



Surely, by an impostor.


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## Ericfg (Mar 1, 2021)

Yet-Another-Dave said:


> What kind of saw are you sharpening?


A cheap Buck Bros back saw. Something along the lines of 12 or 13 PPI/TPI. My drunken research for files came back with 5" XX-slim as the best option.


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## Yet-Another-Dave (Mar 1, 2021)

Ericfg said:


> A cheap Buck Bros back saw. Something along the lines of 12 or 13 PPI/TPI. My drunken research for files came back with 5" XX-slim as the best option.



Not sure of that saw, it sounds modern and I suspect it would be induction hardened. (Old saws and high-end new saws tend to be intended for sharpening. Cheaper new saws are designed to last a little longer without sharpening and then pitched.)

Your file sounds about right, (though I'm not an expert,) and it might be worth a try. Worst case your saw teeth are harder than the file and it doesn't cut well, or at all.

Pete Taran has a long legacy in western style saws and he maintains a website of historic information:

Vintage Saws

and offers a Primer for beginner saw sharpeners:

Saw Filing Primer

Good luck!


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