I have both a gentleman's rip saw and various dovetail saws. There is utility for both. I use my small gentleman's saw for dovetailing thin stock as for example when making tool box tills. The standard sized dovetail saw is overkill and I generally want a finer cut. You generally want at least 5-6 teeth in a cut at any given time. For quarter inch thick stock, this means 20 ppi. If you use this saw on thick stock (3/4"), you will have 15 teeth in the cut. Not a big problem except that you will have a lot more sawdust in the kerf at any given time and this can cause the saw to bind. Also, depending on your sawing skills, using a thin bladed saw in thick wood means that you could "warp the cut" and this will increase resistance to the cut. I use my gentleman's saw as a crosscut (!) saw on small shoulders where I am looking for a first class cut (the half pins on standard dovetails for example). My dovetail rip and crosscut saws were made by me in Tom Calisto's backsaw making workshops. I generally make these in the range of 12-13 ppi, with a closed tote. For a long time I used the LN dovetail saw which I absolutely loved. I would stay away from fine nuances of shape and sharpening (progressive pitch, progressive rake, tapered plate,etc.) because they interfere with the basic process of developing handsaw skills--they add to the price but do not improve your skills. Note: I do like progressive pitch on my handsaws, especially rip, as this does making starting the cut marginally easier--but that as almost standard practice by sawmakers back when.
I do saw sharpening workshops as well and the reality is that for older guys (moi!), sharpening a 20 ppi saw is a matter of faith, more than skill. So you do not want to have to be in the position of sharpening these saws too often. That is, reserve this saw for very specific situations.
I do saw sharpening workshops as well and the reality is that for older guys (moi!), sharpening a 20 ppi saw is a matter of faith, more than skill. So you do not want to have to be in the position of sharpening these saws too often. That is, reserve this saw for very specific situations.
