1. A brief historyof the saw
Shop for Saws
Paintings show saws in use as early as Egyptian times! These saws were
made of copper and are depicted as a large blade with no handle.
It's thoughtthat the Romanscame upwiththe ideaof usinga woodenframe to
holdthe saw blade,makingiteasiertocontrol the depthand directionof the cut.
Evidence of sawsfoundinJapan,suggeststhatan earlyversionof the bowsaw
had beendevelopedbythe 15th century!
Despite these initialdesigns,itwasn'tuntil 1650 and the developmentof rolled
steel,thatthe saw reallybegantotake off.
2. By the 1800s, almosteveryhouseholdownedasaw of some kind,butmostwere
designedforcuttingwoodonly.
More recentdevelopments
Overthe last decade,saw technology hascome along way.Developmentsin
the blade,frame andhandle designmeanthatnowadays,there isasaw
designedforalmostanymaterial imaginable,includinginsulation,masonryand
plastic.
There are also"general"or“all-purpose”sawswhichcancut througha variety
of materials.
However,withmanufacturersproducingnew designsalmostconstantly,alotof
whatwe know aboutsaws,isnow changing.
It seemsthatthere isnow a markeddifference betweenthe more traditional
saws,usedbyour parentsand grandparents,andthe modernversionsnow
takingover
the market.
Generally,the 'classic'saw wasseenasbeing‘builttolast’,witha solidwooden
handle anda resharpenable blade.Mostwere hand-craftedanddesignedtobe
passedthroughthe family.
3. Two keyfeaturesof most‘contemporary’sawsare theirrelativelylowcost,and
disposability.Mosthave plastichandlesandhardenedteethwhichcannotbe
resharpened.
Once the teethbecome blunt,the saw isthrownawayand replaced.
We are killerskillingoff nature
Andalwaysmakinga wager.
What
