Thread: Flush Cut Saw problem: Nakaya Kugihiki

Wow, never seen anything like that Grogs. I have a hand made Jap saw and I have been using the ones that Bunnies carry, name escapes me at the moment. I have used them to cut anything and everything, the only thing that has dulled the edge much was nails but still didn't break any teeth off.

I guess to say I was disappointed is understating things. The Kugihiki is 0.2mm thick so I guess the teeth are very brittle. I have just ordered another Veritas saw

Yep, that would be super disapointing. You buy what you think is a quality tool only to find it can't handle the pressure.

I have read about Japanese saws not suitable for hardwoods but I use them exclusively, the Gyukucho & Shark brand, mostly because I can saw "straighter" with the pull stroke.

Never sawn Jarrah but have used them on Red Stringybark which is pretty dense and hard to me. So far, have not broken a tooth yet. Mostly because I am slow.

But, seeing how an entire row of teeth broken in succession would lead me to think the saw is faulty. Or the hardened teeth are just too brittle.

Gunn

I've got that exact same saw and had the exact same problem. It is a piece of sh*t IMHO.

Cheers
Michael

Take it back. Demand a refund.

Hi Greg

I agree that the saw has a problem.

For reference I use the same LV as you have, plus another LV (see image below). Both are excellent and have not let me down over quite some time.



Regards from Perth

Derek

Japanese saws were developed for use on their (mostly) soft woods and the tooth set is optimised for that. Having said that, I've cut some very hard woods, like Inland Rosewood (supposedly one of the hardest woods there are), and got away with doing that by cutting very carefully. You can get a Japanese saw with a hardwood tooth set but they are not readily come by, and I don't expect they make a flush cut saw for hardwoods.

If it was me I would be sending that Nakaya back for a refund.

.....

Derek, it took a little searching but I found it here. For some reason it does not appear with the other flush cut saws.

I am thinking now that the blade is simply too thin and too hard for Jarrah. Probably very good for pine and other softwoods.

One thing I didn't mention before, and that is that the broken teeth are a serious problem to remove. I am glad I used a saw from the bin to complete the cuts. Then the WoodRiver block plane I used to smooth them down received some nasty scratches underneath and on the blade which will need a complete regrind and hone.

Had the same problem on Jarrah, I lost a couple of teeth before I realized what was going on as I thought I had knocked it against the vice.

Is it my eyesight or does the set on the teeth start at the blade of the saw and is parallel rather than angled like on a western saw, this may explain why they break off especially when curving the blade. But wait is it not a flush cut saw

Groggy I see the problem now, your saw was made by a subsidiary of a well known flat pack furniture manufacturer and you forgot to read the assembly instructions.

Originally Posted by m2c1Iw

Groggy I see the problem now,...

The teeth are broken up to the spine. I wonder if that might be part of the problem, assuming that the exertion put too much tension with the spine which caused stress and the teeth to break.

I've got a Dozuki of the same make, I've cut plenty of s/gum with it. So far I've broken 1 tooth, but I can see 3 other teeth which are showing stress (they're shiny) which I expect to break sometime too.

I am not sure Waldo, since it is a pull saw I tend to let the teeth pull themselves into the work-piece rather than force it. The blade is really too thin to try to impart too much force anyway.