Before chainsaws, this was how one person bucked a log, and Robert Sorby still makes the saw that did it. The blade is British CS80 steel, forged by the Sheffield firm that has been making edge tools since 1810, filed in the traditional crosscut pattern that clears chips as it cuts.
Foresters use it for crosscutting large logs, and a growing number of people buy it to cut firewood the quiet way. We think it earns a place in timber framing too: big crosscuts, no cord, no fuel, no ear protection. Choose the Great American tooth pattern or the Champion tooth pattern; both are traditional crosscut filings and both resharpen.
Specifications:
- Options: Great American tooth pattern or Champion tooth pattern
- Blade: 3 ft, British CS80 steel, Rc 44-46, 1.5 mm thick for stiffness on long strokes; each tooth hand set
- Great American: groups of three alternately set teeth separated by a gullet (crown tooth); for dry, medium to hard wood; sharpen with a crosscut (Great American) file
- Champion: two alternately set cutters and an unset raker with a gullet between; wide teeth for extra hard, dry, or frozen wood; sharpen with a large triangular file
- Handles: solid beech, plus an auxiliary handle for two-man use or a second grip
- Sizing: the saw should be 2 to 3 times the length of the log
- Made in: Sheffield, England by Robert Sorby
