SawSharp

08/27/2025

Woodworking in America! It’s happening Oct 10-11 2025 at the Des Moines IA fairgrounds! Seminars & Demonstrations at Bruce L. Rastetter 4-H Exhibits Building, Iowa State fair Grounds, 3000 E. Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA

I’m presenting this year—about saws, of course. 😊 Swing by my booth and/or see my presentation. Come for the swag. Come for the knowledge, and to play with the saw sharpening tools I’ll have on hand. We’ll beat metal straight on my anvil, but a sawtooth on my retoother, pop it with a hammer set. We’ll even abrade a toothline with a sharp file!. Hell, if anything, come for the tootsie-rolls populating the iron wok on my bench! And in the process, we’ll sever some wood fiber.

Coupon Code: Use code SAVE10EARLY for an additional 10% off your ticket when purchased before 8/31.

https://woodworkinginamerica.com/

Cheers! Mark at SawSharp

08/26/2025

Here’s a shoutout and public thanks to an early Bad Axe customer from a while back, Mike Allen, who asked me to provide an overview regarding the difference between hammer sets and plier sets, and why I believe the former presents a more accurate setting process for a saw.

The first link is the chapter on the subject from my forthcoming book:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9ppzmc10yfqjdam5c5hx0/6-Joint-Set-and-Sharpen-Your-Saw.docx?rlkey=ic9brxris59r39acrzxdusp6k&st=wbe0agzn&dl=0

Here’s a link to how we had SawSharp and Bad Axe use Bad Axe‘s version of the Seymour Smith Hammer set, originally manufactured in 1874. Cass and crew brought the Bad Axe interpretation to market last year, and this is a tool I use virtually every day at SawSharp.

https://youtube.com/shorts/qHplfG4DSKA?si=Ls4ZyA8e0I_-Hmvb

Finally, here is a slideshow where I show the viewer step-by-step how to restore an 1874 Seymour Smith Hammer set.

https://youtu.be/pSfcfRbBB-o?si=bdki9_b8IzrLlvYR

Cheers!

This video reflects a step-by-step disassembly, cleaning, re-grinding, and reassembly of an 1874-vintage Seymour Smith Hammer Saw Set. I have used these sets...

08/24/2025

Working on a couple of gorgeous saws from the late 1880s this morning. Yes, working on Sunday. Going through empty nester syndrome, lol.

I have a very unusual saw on the operating table, a double sided Disston adjustable backsaw, along with a 10 inch No. 4 desperately in need of a new saw plate.

But the real star of the show is the Bad Axe hammer set, patterned after the 1874 Seymour Smith hammer smith you see on the background. I began using the Seymour Smith early on with Bad Axe back in the 2010 timeframe shortly before introducing the first generation Bad Axe dovetail saw . I had been using the Stanley 42X plier set like most saw docs, but once I made my initial test cut after having used the Seymour Smith, there was no going back. A few years later, we began building the metrics on what was the ideal set for a given saw plate thickness, and that was the coup de grace. Establidhing a precise, Goldilocks set based on plate gauge subsequently became Bad Axe SOP, and something I carry through to this day with SawSharp whenever I work on a saw.

Cheers! 

08/23/2025

Your key takeaway for today and here on out is to just eyeball where the file needs to go by using an intuitive clock method.

08/22/2025

Demystifying Sawtooth Geometry, Part II:Takeaway: finding rake with your sharpening file is a rotational function.

08/19/2025

08/19/2025

(it doesn’t have to be hard)

08/14/2025

Demystifying Hybrid-Filing:

One side of the tooth is steep, and the other side of the tooth is sloped. And as long as you’re making equilateral triangles rotated along the axis of the tooth line to make one side of the tooth steep, and the other side sloped, you’re good to go.

That’s all you need to know.

We make sawtooth geometry far harder than it has to be. Once you, as an aspiring saw sharpener, realizes that it’s simply a matter of filing consistent symmetry in your toothline—with one side of the tooth being steep and the other side sloped, that’s all that matters.

So how steep should steep be? We refer to that part of the tooth as the rake angle. Check out the graphic I’ve included with this post: for hybrid filing, we’ll call that 10°. In layman’s terms it’s just a smidge off vertical as you look at the tooth in your vise ,and it’s no more scientific than that.

Why hybrid filing? Back in 2010, I was into my second year of saw manufacturing with Bad Axe when I began slinging that term around and deliberately marketing it. It was never my intent to evangelize hybrid filing, but it made a lot of sense to me and ultimately made a lot of sense to the Bad Axe market. Over the years we easily hybrid-filed 90% of our saws through customer choice. All it is, is essentially a rip filing with the rake angle somewhat relaxed, and a 10° bevel. That’s really all it takes. The better part of saw filing, remember, is filing to joint based on a consistent set appropriate to the gauge of metal for your saw.

Cheers!

07/30/2025

Hot off the press! 🤯 👊 ⚡️

07/24/2025

https://youtu.be/yxc9ASr_fqw?si=K6VmheIB6z1VEWPl

I just loaded up an 18-minute video on my YouTube channel summarizing the complete order of operations that students attending my Juy 2025 SawSharp seminar learned as listed below:

Assessing your vintage saw
Cleaning your saw
Shaping the toothline
Hammersmithing the plate true
Sawtooth geometry
Setting the teeth
Dry-Fire:
How to hold the file
Presenting the file to the toothline
Brush-stroking
Sharpening
Understanding the hang angle of your handle
Floating the handle mortise
Sharpening a float
Truing the plate/back assembly
Retensioning the plate/back assembly
Working on student vintage saws brought to the course
Building a Bad Axe saw
Course summary and review

So—if you’re curious about exactly what it is you learn at my saw sharpening seminars, this is the video to watch.

Please take a minute to review and subscribe to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/, where I have loaded over 34 videos covering not only saw sharpening, but vintage saw and hammer-set restoration and hammersmithing techniques.

You may also find me on Instagram , which highlights day-to-day operations, projects and free downloads.

My website at www.sawsharp.com is your link where you can also download free saw sharpening techniques.

My new SawFiler’s Marketplace (shopify store) is linked to my website, or you can get there directly at https://sawsharp.store/. There, I sell training aids & charts. My SawFilers Reference Chart in particular is the distillation of the past 20 years I have been sharpening saws, along with woodworker coffee mugs and t-shirts. I also list items available on Amazon or direct sellers that I don’t profit from, but find it useful for people to know where to get their saw sharpening files, maintenance products and small tools useful for saw sharpening.

And, of course, if you need a quick turnaround to get your vintage saw tuned-up, I can make that happen within a week of receipt. Just go to https://www.sawsharp.com/restoration.php, and contact me through my online form.

I hope you find the video useful, and I hope to see you behind one of my vises soon.

Cheers! ~ Mark at SawSharp

Just use the form below to tell me what ails your saw(s) and what you'd like done. Upon my response (24-48 hours) I will send you shipping instructions. Upon receipt, please ship your saw(s) to me at the address below:

05/29/2025

https://conta.cc/43lQBd9
Check out the new how-to videos I have loaded up on my youtube channel for DIY self-paced instruction. You can also enroll in one of my two remaining seats available for my 14-18 July saw sharpening seminar at my Superior workshop.

Email from Sawsharp (learn how to sharpen your own danged saw online or at my shop!) Learn how to sharpen your own danged saw through my YouTube Channel (free) or at my July seminar (two vises availab

04/08/2025

I have created a 36” x 24” SawFiler’s Reference Chart for those of you interested in picking up the craft. You can pick one up at my new SawFilers Marketplace store at:

https://sawsharp.store/products/sawfilers-reference-chart-matte-horizontal-poster-saw-sharpening-guide-for-hand-tool-woodworkers

Great fidelity, museum-grade chart paper, will arrive to your doorstep well-protected in a bombproof mailer.

Doing the simple things well count the most when saw sharpening, and a visual aid like this Sawfiler's Reference Chart for Hand Tool Woodworkers really helps. This generously-sized 36 x 24 SawFiler's Reference Chart reflects the key takeaways I personally use every day in my own shop; these are prec...