Something to hang your hat on. I couldn’t help but laugh when I thought of this old saying. I remember when men I worked with talked about how one day carpenters would earn £20 per week. One man said, “Now that’s summat yer can hang yer ‘at on.” Of course rates of pay generally back then…

Question: As a women with smaller hands and a height of 5’3″ I was wondering how I would go about finding a saw that is a proper fit. Ive noticed among tenon, hand and dovetail saws most of the handles are much to large for my hands. Could using a saw that is too large…

Next level in the saw shaping. Another hour and you will complete your saw handle. I use the saw across the grain to shape the underside of the handle as I did for the underside of the handle yesterday.     Then I cut in toward the saw cut from both sides to shape the…

This is how the handle was from the maker in the 50’s. Watch what happens. See my slightly earlier post on saw handles previously.   Well, saw handles are more than just grips on a pair of dumbbells. I have owned many saws with handles made from strange substances ranging from crushed pecan shells cast in…

There is more to the saw handle than you might realise. Yes a good grip is important.Comfort too. And having it fit your hand with enough heft to it so that your finger nails don’t cut into your palm makes it about the right size. Sometimes we have little choice on such things, but usually…

You know it’s true. I find many overseas makers  now  produce  finer tools than we do in England. It really began to happen in the post war era when the real austerity of the war years changed the quality of hand tools in Britain forever. Here is an example of what I mean. I took…