A new hand made dovetail saw.
At the recent Northern Woodworking and Power Tool show in Harrogate Shane Skelton of Skelton Saws came to my stand to show me his new dovetail saw. Shane has taken the bold step of setting up as the only handmade saw maker in the UK, challenging the US dominance in the market. I must say his first offering was very impressive.
The 10” dovetail saw has 15 tpi rip cut teeth with a canted blade (slightly narrower at the front than the back) and a very fine rosewood handle (which Shane assured me was from sustainable sources). The saw had a nice balance and trying it out on a piece of sycamore proved that the cut was quick and fine. I thought that the 15 tpi would mean the starting cut would be difficult however this was not the case, a testament to Shanes fine hand filing. The saw had a similar feel to a Gramercy dovetail saw belonging to a former American student of mine, strange, as the Gramercy has much finer teeth. The canted blade is intended to aid sawing down to a line. The saw also looks good with a beautifully hand shaped handle and fine detailing round the brass back.
I have only a couple of niggles about the saw. I have large hands and the handle seemed just a little small, however I’m sure this was something I could get used to. Unfortunately my other niggle is that at £245 I can’t afford this lovely tool, I’m just a poor furniture maker!
However if you love to handle and use well made tools I think this saw will appeal to you. Perhaps you should add it to your Christmas list!
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Thankyou, Chris.
