Bougie Backsaws

Truly an Embarrassment of Riches

From the top: Megan’s three favorite dovetail saws – Bad Axe 10" tapered saw with a small handle; Eccentric Toolworks saw and 12" Bad Axe with a non-tapered blade and small handle. Below that are three of Chris’s particuarly nice saws: his Eccentric Toolworks dovetail saw; his new Skelton Saws carcase saw and his Two-Lawyers dovetail saw. At left are his fancy leather holsters from Lie-Nielsen and at right, the second saw Mike Wenzloff made, a tenon saw based on the one in the Seaton Chest.

Fitz: Before anything else, let me just say that each of the saws pictured above costs more than my first car (which, to be fair, was an absolutely shitty ’68 Volkswagen Beetle that cost close to nothing). But, if you’d told me 20 years ago I’d spend a rent payment on a saw, I’d have scoffed, laughed, then laughed some more. And said you were crazy.

Chris: I would have not called you crazy. In the early aughts, I caught a bad case of Infill Disease (“infills” being fancy British/Roman handplanes with a metal shell “infilled” with some nice wood). I spent entirely too much money buying custom handplanes and exploring their attributes. Could these planes do things that normal bench planes could not? The answer: Yes, but my kind of work in domestic hardwoods didn’t really need that kind of firepower.

I released most of my infills back into the wild (I still have some for sentimental reasons). But one day I used a backsaw made by Andrew Lunn, and I still haven’t recovered from that. The saw was exquisitely balanced, light at the toe and the feedback was just perfect, like the first time you hear a professional orchestra play live.

I love my Fancy Lad Saws, and I have become a better sawyer in order to wield them. And I still feel like they force me to be a better sawyer (mostly because their sawplates are thinner than normal). So how did you get into the Ritzy-ass Saw Club?

Fitz: I fell in love with woodworking, and, in particular, cutting dovetails. So now I have a handful of exceedingly nice dovetail saws…and I’ve a few more (not pictured) that are merely very nice (the ones I loan out in classes).

My favorite above is one I later regretted not buying in 2008, when Andrew Lunn first offered his Eccentric Toolworks dovetail saw. But at the time, I simply couldn’t afford it…and I was but mildly intrigued with woodworking and still planning to go teach Shakespeare. (A very kind person recently gave me one. Sniff. Thank you again very kind person.)

A relaxed rake at the toe, a thin plate (0.15") and minimal set makes the saw easy to start and use – easier than any other dovetail saw I’ve used. Plus the thing is simply a work of art. I use it only on thin stock, and on special projects. And I do not pull it out during classes…because I don’t want to let anyone else use it. I’m afraid it will get kinked, and because Andrew retired from toolmaking after only a few short years, it is basically irreplaceable.

Chris: I feel the same way about my Lunn saw. I don’t like to talk about it much because you can’t buy one for love or money. But I insist on mentioning it because I know that some modern sawmakers (no names, I promise) spent serious time and money reverse-engineering Lunn’s saws and tooth configuration. So all woodworkers have benefitted from his short time as a toolmaker. If you are reading this Andrew, thank you.

So let’s talk about the other fancy saws we own. Which ones do you use daily?