G
1
c/arboristshill.sarahhill.sarah1d agoProlific Poster

I was sharpening my handsaw wrong for a decade until a retired arborist in Asheville pointed out the angle of my file.

He said, 'Kid, you're filing it like a ripsaw, not a crosscut,' and that one tip made my next oak removal feel like cutting butter.
2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
2 Comments
alicecooper
My uncle swore by his 45 degree angle for everything, even tried to file his steak knife that way once. Took me three years of fighting a dull bow saw to realize he was just a stubborn guy with a shed. That Asheville arborist probably saved you a lifetime of sore arms and bad cuts. Some of that old school knowledge is just waiting at a hardware store counter.
6
william407
Watched a buddy struggle for months with a cheap chisel he thought was junk. An old timer at a flea market showed him how to hone the back flat on a stone first. That tool cuts like a dream now and taught him to question the basics before blaming the gear.
4