This nifty Puff Handle by Z-saw keeps your cutting line visible by applying a puff of air to the cutting site with every stroke. From Core77:
As a part of our Hand-Eye Supply duties we test out new product. Yesterday we gave this intriguing Japanese Saw a tryout! It incorporates an internal piston system that “puffs” air from a blow hole on to the work piece using the kinetic energy from the worker’s hand motion. The “puff” clears away saw dust so that you can clearly see your cut line. It may seem gimmicky but as Japanese saws enable extremely precise cuts this is an indispensable feature!
10 thoughts on “Japanese saw handle puffs away sawdust”
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wouldn’t just a puff from the person sawing work just as well and use less resources in production of the saw handle?
I mean. It’s amazing we’ve been able to build anything at all with out all these must have gadgets. Just imagine how much material the old woodwrights wasted because the couldn’t see the line and didn’t know how to clear it away because they didn’t have saws that blew on the sawdust as they used it.
Great idea. I remember when electric jigsaws started to come with the small internal blowers. You could spend more time following the line rather then cut, blow, cut, blow…
I risk sounding mean-spirited but don’t mean it that way so here it goes. In my shop I: care for my saws so they do not have chipped or missing teeth (I wouldn’t demo damaged new product or pound it on the bench top); don’t position my F clamps where they might impale me; don’t let the saw teeth ride on the material on the return push stroke and easily puff a blast of air with my lungs. Generally, I look for woodworking tool reviews from working carpenters or woodworking tool suppliers and media.
And, since there is a lot of sawdust in the woodshop what keeps dust from being drawn into the piston and fouling the sliding mechanism, is there a way the clean it, is it warranteed?
Otherwise, keep up the good work.
Thanks, Mars
Friends, do you use Japanese saws? There’s so little sawdust from these, because the blades are pretty narrow and cut on the pull, that this is really unnecessary. I was so surprised the first time I used one I tested it, seeing if I could cut between the edges of my pencil line: I had pencil carbon on both sides. Now I mark out with a knife.
I know pull saws are much lighter than push saws, cut a narrower kerf, and generally use less energy for the actual cutting. Does the action of the piston in this handle make the cutting noticeably harder?
What about balance? Not only is it likely that the static balance is different, but the dynamic balance, the feel of the saw in one’s hand, is of necessity different. How does it feel to cut with?
It’s an interesting idea, and it certainly addresses one of the objections to pull saws, but it does seem like a lot of engineering to solve a small problem.
FWIW, I use pull saws and push saws, depending on the application, and sometimes depending on my mood.