That question is as debatable as "Pins First or Tails First"!
There is a spirited thread on "The Burl" on this subject.
Here's one of the posts: (they do get a bit long winded over there !!!)
>> I read the responses to your question. They are typical of what you will find on woodworking websites, where the focus is more on tools than on the quality of the finished product.
Remember Tage Frid? He used a bow saw.
Do you know joinerswork (Ray Pine)? He uses a old $10 gents saw.
Have you heard of Ben Hobbs, who won the 2011 Cartouche award for lifetime achievement in making period furniture? He has used a gents saw for a long time, then bought one of those new Lie Nielsen's with graduated teeth per inch. He likes the gent's saw better. HIS FURNITURE IS FLAWLESS. His dovetails are tight, and he works fast.
I took a course from Ben Hobbs last week. I have been using a LN for a few years. WHy? Well, lots of folks on the websites say its good, and I worked for Woodcraft when they sold LNs so I got it at a significant discount. But last week I cut dovetails for the carcass of a chest of drawers and for four large drawers, all with a gents saw. I like it better than the LN. That was a big surprise to me. I had read that you can't tell the direction it is going because of its round handle. Having used the saw every day last week, I can tell you that is not the case.
You can buy a gent's saw almost anywhere. I just looked up the Woodcraft website and they have one for about $23.
Go to a store where you can try a dozuki, a Western saw and a gent's saw, and see what you think.
I believe that the "Trick" to cutting nice dovetails has little to do with the saw, and a great deal to do with skill, which comes with practice.
Of course, what I am saying is not the "current wisdom". Your use of a gents saw will be looked down upon by the "BUY THE BEST" crowd. If you judge the results of top notch furniture makers such as Ray Pine and Ben Hobbs, versus the results of those here who push for the expensive saws, you'll probably go with the gents saw.
Whatever you do, THINK FOR YOURSELF. I have found that asking "Which tool should I buy?" on woodworking websites not to be either interesting or useful. i have found that watching top notch craftsmen gives me a better understanding of how things really are.
By the way, some of the folks who recommended what I call "boutique" saws to you are excellent woodworkers. Sampson is quite good, and he is a very nice guy. But he is a tool afficianado, IMHO. Nothing wrong with that. It is a valid weltanschauung, just not mine.
Here is another way of looking at things. The average poster on woodworking websites seems to be an older white male of above average means who enjoys expensive tools. So it is easy to figure out how they will respond when you ask a tool question.
Also there are other biases in answers to which tool should I buy. Remember that many people who recommend saws do not make furniture for a living. Many are fairly wealthy hobbyists. Others are SALESMEN. Rob Cosman, who is a very nice guy, is a salesman. He tried to make a living by making fine furniture, but found that he could not make enough to feed his family, so he went to selling tools and to giving lessons. Can Rob Cosman cut a nice set of dovetails? Absolutely. And he can do it fast. He has cut more dovetails than most. That has more to do with his prowess than the saw he uses. He recommends starting your session each day by cutting a set of dovetails and to do that for a year or more. If you do that, I believe you could cut beautiful dovetails using any saw available, using your "other" hand.
For the fun of it, I have tried to cut dovetails with a 26" crosscut saw, a large bow saw, a small bow saw, and with my chain saw. It is a fun exercise. Give it a try on some scrap wood. As soon as you realize that cutting dovetails is nothing very exciting or difficult, you get over the "romance" of dovetailing, and you can focus instead on "making fine furniture". That changes your whole outlook on tools. I guarantee you, no one can tell what kind of hand plane you used on a piece or what type of hand saw you used. They can tell if you have the skill to use your tools well.
My hope is that my post helps you think about buying and using tools in general, not just your dovetail saw. In the scope of making fine furniture, the dovetail saw you use makes no difference at all. REMEMBER the definition of a great woodworker. A great woodworker is one who can make masterpieces in someone else's shop using someone else's tools. Anyone who can only do well with the tools that they are used to is a lesser craftsman.
My whole approach to woodworking is not typical of what you will find here on the Burl. When most woodworkers visit the home of another woodworker, they usually want to go to see his shop and tools. I have little interest in their shops or their tools. I would rather see their den, living room, dining room, kitchen, etc. I am interested in their work. If I see they have done something very interesting, or very different, or very good, I ask what processes they used in making it, not the brand name of the tools they used.
HAVE FUN. FOCUS ON THE RESULTS , NOT THE TOOLS. THINK FOR YOURSELF. FOLLOWING THE CROWD WILL ONLY MAKE YOU A MEMBER OF THE CROWD. GO FOR "OUTSTANDING" INSTEAD. Whatever you do, don't believe me either. Try things out and test them for yourself. I believe you will always find that skills gained via practice will trump tools every day in every way. <<
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http://forums.delphiforums.com/burl/messages/?msg=502.1
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pete
