Whether you’re already a nokogiri enthusiast or looking for saws that cut quickly and cleanly, any of this Niwaki trio, available from Wood Workers Workshop, would be worthy additions to your tool board, as Jonathan Salisbury shows here.
The Woodworker & Good Woodworking
Niwaki is well known for Japanese gardening tools and tripod ladders, but they also stock a small range of woodworking tools, which are now available from Wood Workers Workshop. Niwaki’s woodworking saws are sourced directly from manufacturers: the larger ryoba and dozuki saws are made by Shirai Sangyo, based in Sanjo, Japan and the smaller kugihiki saw is from the Razorsaw brand, manufactured by Gyokucho.
The basics
Japanese saw blades are thin and work in tension, as the teeth point towards the handle. Effort must only be applied on the pull stroke, and blades can buckle as you push forward; this requires focus, especially if you’re used to cutting the other way. Occasionally, a tooth can break if the blade is twisted too much or isn’t guided carefully enough through exceptionally hard areas in the wood, such as dead knots, but this doesn’t usually stop them from performing well. Don’t be put off by this, however; suitable techniques are easy to master with a little patience and failure to achieve good results is more likely due to lack of experience than saw quality.
The two categories of blades are Kataba – single edge – and Ryoba – double edge. Dozuki, meaning ‘tenon shoulder’, which is what they’re designed to cut, are kataba saws with a back. Flush cut saws are called Kugihiki. Ripsaw teeth have a simple profile similar to western saws, and often have smaller teeth close to the handle for starting and larger teeth for speed at the other end. Ripsaws are easy to resharpen. Crosscut teeth are comparatively thin and have multiple cutting edges, which makes them more awkward to sharpen. Nowadays, many saws have replaceable blades.
The test
All three saws on test have fixed blades; with reputable brands, this indicates quality. The handles of the Ryoba and Dozuki are made from magnolia; that of the smaller flush cut is Japanese white oak, but listed as pine. The blades are held in place with steel pins or rivets, and the two larger saws have a short rattan ‘ferrule’, which prevents the handle’s end from splitting. Choosing a saw seems straightforward, but it depends on what you want to cut. While there’s a certain amount of flexibility, they’re not always very forgiving if you get it wrong. These are suitable for softwood and medium-hard hardwoods; cutting oak and ash would be pushing them beyond their limits, resulting in a disappointing finish quality and/or the risk of blade damage.
Ryoba
This is a medium-size saw for carpentry, rather than fine cabinetmaking, with both crosscut and rip teeth on one blade. The long handle allows for a range of different grips; I use the ripsaw one-handed for joints and with both hands for long cuts in planks, flipping it over to tackle crosscutting tasks – one-handed for bench work and two to trim thicker pieces to length. The crosscut tooth geometry suits thicker pieces of timber and I’ve not yet got it to work so well with anything thinner than about 35mm. Two-handed through decking boards didn’t pose a problem, but with planed ‘2×1’, the balance feels wrong and the blade didn’t progress through the timber as it should.
One disadvantage of having teeth on both edges is that it’s possible for the teeth along the top edge to start rubbing in the kerf of really thick pieces of timber – 75-100mm – leaving marks or causing the blade to catch.
Dozuki
Dozuki blades are very thin, which means they can cut a super-fine kerf; they’d be difficult to control without the rigidity provided by the back, however. Used gently one-handed, it cuts exceedingly quickly and precisely and I found it very easy to control straight away. The Dozuki is the same length as the Ryoba, but with finer teeth, making it suitable for cutting smaller pieces to length. The weight of the back means that it needs little effort to use, producing a very smooth finish that requires no further work even on visible end-grain, unless you’re exceptionally fussy. Due to the back, depth of cut is limited to 40mm.
Kugihiki
These specialist saws cut off pegs, plugs, dowels or surplus material flush with the surface from which they protrude. They also require a special technique to use. The blade is very thin – 0.3mm – and flexible, so that the cutting part of the blade is flat even if the handle is being held at an angle over the workpiece. This Ryoba Kugihiki has fine teeth – 1.3mm pitch – on one edge and even finer – 1mm – on the other; the teeth have no set, so there’s no appreciable sharp contact with the surface. As long as you keep the blade flat, the results are amazing; a flush cut peg/ plug/dowel/joint that requires no further work.
Conclusion
The Ryoba is excellent for cutting boards and planks to length, and is also handy for carpentry joints. As an introduction to Japanese saws and for learning technique, this one would be my choice as it’s a more sturdy general purpose saw, has both crosscut and ripping teeth, and is also reasonably priced.
If you’re after a much smoother finish, are working with smaller sections or cutting finer joints, then the Dozuki is perfect. It’s particularly good for dovetails.
Trimming wood flush with the surface it’s protruding from is so easy with a Kugihiki; provided you take care, no further work is required, which saves considerably on time and abrasives. The Kugihiki blade is too flexible for general work, but could be used for cutting small sections.
The sharp blades of every saw slice through softwood quickly and easily, leaving a surface that usually requires no further finishing. You’ll need patience when sharpening the crosscut teeth as they start to blunt, but with care and attention, the cutting edges will last as long as their more expensive western counterparts.
The Verdict
- Pros: Quick and easy cutting; smooth finish that requires little further work; lightweight and enjoyable to use; affordable.
- Cons: Requires a technique that might need patience to master; sharpening crosscut teeth is more difficult
- Performance Rating: 5 out of 5
- Value Rating: 5 out of 5