Some Pointed Remarks

I use Japanese saws exclusively, save for a lone coping saw which sees infrequent use. Some of the saws use replaceable blades, and they work well, while the remainder are traditional saws which can be resharpened. While I have saw files and can, and do, touch up dull teeth from time to time, I generally prefer to send dull saws out to a specialist, who can resharpen, set wayward teeth, and, most critically, perform metate on the blade body to bring the saw blade into perfect alignment and tension.

I gathered a bunch of saws together last year, along with a couple which a friend in Germany had sent to me, and got them together with a box to send to Japan. But then, well, life got in the way, with a newborn, and my shop time occupied with completing two large cabinets, and I did not get around to shipping the saws off until a few months back.

Today I received them back, to my considerable relief. Several of my saws were made by a deceased National Treasure saw smith, and were irreplaceable items, so trusting them to the whims of international shipping and customs was a risk.

They arrived in fine shape, and in a new wooden box:

i had shipped them in a smaller wooden box, however three of the blades I had sent were in fact NOS, and just needed new handles of the correct size fitted. These new handles couldn’t fit in the old box, so the agent I used prepared a new box, and he did a very nice job. This is the sort of customer service which is the norm in Japan, and which I have become decidedly unused to since I left that country some 18 years ago.

With the lid peeled up, I was greeted by the sight of the new handles, each numbered to the corresponding saw blade:

The tray with the handles (and one saw blade) on it was pulled out, to reveal the next layer:

And then that layer came out to reveal the next:

The bottom layer had saws affixed to both sizes. Below it was my old box.

After removing the two saws owned by my German Friend, which I shall ship on to him next week, I spent a while tapping the saw handles back on to the blades and hanging them back on the wall. It’s so nice to have a bevy sharp hand saws in my possession once again.

Thought it would be fun to share my later summer ‘Christmas’ present with you all out there. Thanks for dropping by on your journey today.

via Tumblr https://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/165115296229