Push or pull

When you start a cut across the grain, do you start with a push or a pull?

My habit is to score a line with a marking knife, place the saw in the hollow left by the line and draw back a few times to establish the starting kerf. But I have seen and heard other people who will say you should point the saw down a bit and start with a few short pushes.

Is it just a matter of what suits or is there a good reason for one over the other.

In practice, using Veritas saws, I can get very clean and accurate cuts doing it this way but I wonder if this might just be another of those things I have gotten away with because nobody caught me.

I tend to pull the saw towards me when starting the cut. I think I was taught this way from school but I can not recall.

Now to get on a slightly different tangent when using a larger saw and a rough cut is needed to bring timber down to smaller size I will pull the saw towards me and then proceed with cut.

So it might be that I am used to starting with the pull stroke on the larger saws before doing the final dimensioning with the smaller saw.

A few short pulls to establish the cut then a few short pushes to see if it goes. That was how I was taught. You sort of have to get the feel that the cut has started. Another point is that large tooth saws will be harder to start than fine toothed ones so it is never always the same. If you can start the cut on the push and get a good result then that is fine for that saw. A low attack angle also makes the start easier.
Regards
John

Wot John said. One or two pulls to make a small notch & make sure you're right beside the line, then away you go.

In my experience, a sharp saw is easier to start than a dull saw, so if you are having troubles starting a cut, it may be time to break out the file....

Chers,