Go to my woodworkingmasterclasses.com to see my other videos on a range of saw sharpening and setting instruction. Its Free!

Oh i can not say how much i love to watch a master at work!

I’ve had one for forty years. I don’t think I’ve ever sharpened it. You’ve motivated me.

Nice one Paul. I use a black marker pen backwards over the teeth before filing, just makes it easier to see any missed ones.

Thank you Paul. Again you show how it should be done.

I have a saw that definitely needs this and I will try it. Thanks so much for the video!

Wow. That's quite a difference for very little time spent. Excellent tip, Paul. Thank you!

You, sir, are amazing! Nothing else needs to be said. 👏👏👏

I cannot tire of learning from your videos Paul. Please keep them coming your wealth of knowledge shared saves us a lot of time and makes us enjoy this craft sooo much more! May God bless your sharing soul :)

Wow, what a remarkable difference just several minutes filing made! Paul, thanks very much 🙂 I'm so happy to learn how to do this and keep my tenon saw that I'm so proud of. Glad I found you. Subscribed.

Always willing to learn..never ends.kudos to you for posting this

Excellent demonstration! Thank you very much!

Hi Paul, this Errol Scott from South Africa. Thank you so much for your well presented (how to series) especially the the no nonsense approach. This has made a huge difference to how I do things now.. God bless and thank you.

*May i invite you to memorize the Sound of the saw when it took 22 strokes to bottom out on its rail, and then the Sound of Sharpness when the saw bottomed out after ONLY 11 strokes. Listen for the sound of sharpness... it is the resonance/pitch that the wood delivers forth that tells you when something is sharp!*

I have a new disston dovetail and I'll try this at the weekend. Thank you.

Thanks Paul. You're much appreciated!

Wow. Simple and incredibly effective.

Well done! Great demonstration.

Thanks for the great lesson!! Wish I knew about this earlier in my wood working journey!!👍👍

You make it look so easy!

Hi Paul, thanks for showing this video!

I love this. Your videos are amazing! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Superb video. I just sharpened a panel saw my neighbour gave me. It would barely cut through butter. The difference after sharpening is amazing, it cuts a treat now. Thank you!

Very good. Thank you for teach.

Amazing, it went pretty muched halved the cuts needed on a brand new saw. I bought some antique saws cause the steels much better, but messed up on my mortise and tennon cause the cut was wild and taking forever. Next time im at the shop i will do this, much appreciated 👍

Amazing! Thanks, Paul ☺

Thank you great informational video....Now I'll go give a go!

Thanks Paul. I’m always a little nervous going a new saw in case I ruin the sharpness with bad technique. I think fair to say from that, I don’t need to worry!

Great video, thank's Paul

I highly recommend his woodworking masterclasses. Not expensive; incredible value from one of the best woodworking teachers on the net.

Brilliant, visibly better cut in half the strokes just by spending a few short minutes with a file. I imagine the time saved between sharpenings is much more than the time spent sharpening it. Guess it depends on how often the saw is used during the 3 months between sharpenings, but the cleaner/better cut is reason enough to keep it sharpened regularly. Thanks for sharing an apples to apples comparison, Mr. Sellers.

I have a cheap back saw I bought years ago and never sharpened it, didn’t know it was possible. I was cutting with it yesterday and it took forever to get a 1” deep cut. I sharpened it as described and it works better than when it was new.

Thank you Paul. I have always been a bit intimidated by saw sharpening. I recently purchased 2 on eBay needing sharpening. I now have an afternoon task to complete.

I had wondered how to sharpen a dovetail saw now I know. Thanks for posting.

I have used your instructions from previous videos to sharpen 8 & 10 tip saws but I was a little intimidated by a fine tooth saw I recently acquired. It will get tuned up today thanks to this video.

Thank you. Very helpful.

Thank you Paul! Its 11:15 PM now and I want to go out in my shop and sharpen a Freud gent saw that I bought 30 years ago but have only used once or twice. P.S. My wife thinks I'M nuts.

Due to the tremors in my hands I would find such a simple task extremely difficult to do in half an hour let alone 5 minutes. I did see a great video on KZfaq where a jig was made that would make this easier (for me at least) to accomplish. Nothing beats watching Mr Sellers doing what he does so well 👍

very helpful thank you

Wow!!... I never knew ... thanks for that tip Paul

Great video, really useful.

A little late in my response. However, I would like to say I have, through watching Paul and some practice time at the bench been happily sharpening all of my saws for some years now. I am am confident enough to state I have been become quite proficient with all of my bench and panel saws in both rip and cross cut patterns. Once your confidence grows you may feel the desire to experiment with the tooth geometry and rake angles, not really necessary of course although the process does enhance your understanding of not only the sharpening process but also the efficiency of the cut in different types of woods and certain situations. Paul's approach is simple, he strives to educate the layman in what some others deem complicated and confusing in an attempt to sell jigs and gadgets. I would encourage anyone to give it a go. Just getting used to using a file on saw teeth is quite an experience in itself although I very quickly found the basic principles straightforward enough. I would also make mention of how little effort or force is required to sharpen the teeth, particularly on saws with small teeth. A sharp file removes a lot of metal in a single stroke. Hence the need to practice and establish a feel for the file stroke. Thanks, Paul. I will never have to rely on anyone again to sharpen my saws. I have even restored, sharpened and sold a few on eBay. It won't make me rich although someone has a nice little saw and the proceeds of the sale fund the price of a few saw files for my favourite saws. Good luck.

I have a new gent saw. I put it to your test today and it did not cut well. After sharpening using your method boy does it cut now. Thank you for the instructions.

Thanks Paul.

Tried this on hand saw. Left one bit unsharpened so I could compare. Worked amazingly!

We pay £10 for a new handsaw in UK and I honestly did not realise it was possible to sharpen them, until now! Thank you for saving me endless trips and money !

Thank you for the video

Like no one else, Paul Sellers shows me again and again how needlessly complicated I make the simplest things, and just how simple and straightforward things like this can be. Whereas i spent a fair amount of time building an elaborate saw vice, he uses 2 sticks. SMH. Thank you Mr Sellers. I learn so much from you.

Wow. Mind officially blown. I’m sure it’s your experience that makes it look so simple, but watching this definitely makes me want to give this a go now. Thanks Paul.

Great lesson! It's easy to get caught up obsessing about fancy joints. But quality woodworking starts with caring for the tools and prepping the wood.

Now, I’m going to my shop and try to sharpen my saw. I just need to see if the file I own is ok for the purpose or too big. As always, thanks Paul.

That simple trick made that saw far better😮

I was searching for Paul Weller. Got this

Good info from the Craftsman.

Wow, I thought brand new saws especially hand saws were supposed to be pre-sharpened. You learn something new every day, thanks Paul.

Thank you Paul for sharing I have used your technique and my saws are a lot sharper, would you do a video of how to sharpen an old saw which has been badly sharpened

Will be trying this out tomorrow when I go to my workshop! Thx Paul. Edit: tried it but it didn't seem to work the same. I think my 3 sided file isn't as smooth as yours Paul 🤔

Mr. Sellers I have to thank you so much I had ordered a brand-new saw that was very expensive online because the one that I had originally bought to cut dovetails with was a Western push cut saw and I found it did not even come close to cutting as quickly as a Japanese Pull saw. I sharpened that one"out of the box" as you suggested and I could not believe how well it cuts!!! I canceled my $200 new saw order thank you so! Absolutely amazing!

I was watching the saw sharpening video from 6 years ago and I thought to myself "maybe he made a new one by now" LO AND BEHOLD, not even a fortnight ago uploaded! Better video quality, even though it is not as in depth as the older video

Excellent demonstration Paul! Would you be so kind to also make a video about sharpening a long cross-cut saw? I have a couple of dull ones but I am afraid if I start to sharpen them I'll make them even worse...

As allways superb and for me the right time. i have a gents saw and dont use it very often, because its not sharp. now if got a set of files and will sharpen it. if i could make a wish for a video here. you probably could make a poor mans router plane for not so poor people in the style like "adrian preda" did. i just copied his version but i would love to see some additional ideas of 50 years of experience. thank you for all your videos! regards from cologne

No point looking anywhere else, Paul's ya man.

Got to thank you Paul. You inspired me to get over my fear of saw sharpening and I'm just done a video on sharpening a Japanese Ryoba Saw. The videos I watch ages ago where you said "it's not that hard" inspired me. I did a similar trial where I did a cut with a saw saw that was a little blunt which took 1 minute and then after sharpening 45 seconds.

Really like the video, however, I can't hold the file like that and hold my white cane too. Awesome information.

Hello. Thank you Paul from spain.

Another great video Paul. I was taught to do this 40 years ago but usually have paid others to do it. What are the best files to buy?

I've watched not one video of yours I haven't liked and walked away with something. Thank you!

Thank you Paul.

Great camera work.

would you do that to any saw or just the small 19 tooth saw? I have just got Spear & Jackson 22" saw my first resharpenable saw/

good!!

Thanks for sharing that and showing how!

Woodworking is, for me, physical therapy; watching, and learning, from Paul is mental therapy. Win-win, as the kids say. And it has the added advantage that it isn't attempting to surreptitiously sell ludicrously overpriced tools (mentioning no names but a certain carpenter, whose name rhymes with job bossman, has videos that advocate, eg, saws *from* $250 and sharpening stones up to *$350* that make carpentry seem like an elitist hobby).

Big leap, but once I really got the knack of saw chain filing--no longer did fresh new chains cut better than my sharpening. IOW I'm no stranger to making new cutting edges better. Not that I've ever bought a new saw. Always fixing old saws. Sharp tools make good work easier!

Are you sharpening the blade on the return stroke?

Wow👍

Hello Paul! Has this blade a protection coat? Does anybody polish it before use?

are you filing the front or the back of the tooth?

I applaud you for not making a big fuss as to direct us to some affiliate link to the saw and/or file. It would've been in your right to do so, this was valuable content and it's typically the norm, but I trust you more knowing you aren't contriving a topic just to have an excuse to link to AMZN.

Excellent......I wish I could get more of close up of the actual file running across the teeth.....just to confirm the action......cheers

Hi Paul....I just went to a toolstore and asked about files for sharpening saws and wich ones I need for different saws.....the guy looked at me as if I am an alien !!!! maybe you can explain some things I ( we ) have to consider about bying files for sharpening saws ? thnx anyway, grtz, Chris

You wouldn’t catch any builders doing that. The world has gone lazy and wasteful :( but also brilliant now Paul Sellers is showing us the proper way!

Can you sharpen bow saw blades like this?

I don’t really understand rolling the file towards the front to change the pitch. So is the face of the file on the handle side not touching the tooth?

Hi Paul. UK fan here. Curious - what make of saw is it? Saw it came in a plastic pack so probably not a high-end one????

What a great way to reduce waste! Can it really be that easy? I’ve always wanted to sharpen a saw, but never had the confidence to launch into it. Which saws are suitable for this sort of sharpening? And what can be done for the ones with more complex geometry?

Could you talk about fettling other saw blades?

What is the reason for the guard on the top of the saw that stops you from cutting to an arbitrary depth? Seems like quite a limitation

👍👍

What file would you recommend? Of course it will differ by teeth size

I'm assuming that once you've done every other tooth from one side you turn it around and do each alternating tooth from the other side. Is that right?

Not a single dislike? Impossibru.

Onfortunately, most, if not all saws I can buy here have hardened teeth. Impossible to sharpen. Could I heat the saw to unharden the teeth and temper it so I can sharpen the saw?

I came here exactly for this. Not some mental 'sharpening the saw' thing

Very nice. I am surprised at the improvement achieved by sharpening only one side - half the teeth, right? In practice, we should be sharpening both sides, correct? Otherwise, the saw would pull to one side in the cut? Thank you for another useful and encouraging video.

Saw file. Where do I get a saw file?

Paul, you are my Jesus!! :)

I found three difficulties when I tried this 1. that my vise isn't deep enough to hold the saw like this 2. that I have a feeling my 15ppi Spear and Jackson tenon saw came with crosscut teeth and 3. It ended up taking me MORE strokes to rip cut AFTER sharpening the saw, than it took before :(

I need your arms!!

In another video Sellers states that "anything over 15 tpi is a throwaway saw, and I'd never buy one for that reason...as they are essentially unsharpenable."