Axminster Victor saw range?

[J.A.S]

Dear All,

now that a saw doctor may have been unmasked, buying a resharpenable saw seems more sensible.

Of course, Adria or LN dovetail and tenon saws would be wonderful, but are beyond my sick-leave means. As such, I'm on the look-out for old saws, but, in the mean time, I ought to buy reasonable new saws.

Does anyone have experience of the Victor range, in particular the dovetail & tenon saws?

Jeremy

 

[Chris Knight]

Jeremy,

I have a smallish rip cut Victor backsaw that I bought as a dovetail saw from Axminster. It is a pretty good saw - not as nice as the LN dovetail saw but nonetheless a thoroughly workmanlike tool that has served me well, although now I have the LN, I use it a lot less than I used to.

Many people make the point that a good saw doctor can make more or less any saw perform well and that some new saws would benefit by going to a saw doctor before use!

Having seen how hard it is to track down these mythical beasts, it certainly pays to buy a saw you can use out of the box. I would rate the Victor as one such.

 

[Alf]

I can only claim to have tried one of their backsaws at Tools2002 & 3, and I wasn't greatly impressed. I found the balance rather poor, and I reckon the first thing you'd need to do would be to take a rasp, file and scrapers to the handle to make it reasonably comfortable. But then I've been hopelessly spoilt with the joys of 100yr old saws. :wink: Mind you they're lovely and flashy to look at, but "rosewood coloured" hardwood handles for that price? Hmm... Maybe worth a look at the Roberts & Lee Dorchester and Parkstone ranges too. IIRC the R&L came out surprisingly well in David Charlesworth's test of dovetail saws.

While I was looking for R&L I found Thomas Flinn's entry into the world of high-end dovetail saws (they make the Victors for Axminster don't they?). But urgh, the price! :shock:

Cheers, Alf

 

[J.A.S]

Thanks, Alf. Let me know if you suddenly develop an allergy to those saws :wink: .

Any thoughts on the book question in my other post?

Jeremy

 

[Midnight]

Jas...

I own one... but can't advise re how it performs... however if it cuts anything like their Gents saws, it's be a handy little saw...

Alf... you don't like the grip..??? I thought it wasn't too bad.. I guess the ergonomics of the ideal handle change according to the hand holding them...

 

[Alf]

Alf... you don't like the grip..??? I thought it wasn't too bad.. I guess the ergonomics of the ideal handle change according to the hand holding them...

That's true enough; just some handles lend themselves to a wider variety of hands than others. :wink:

Cheers, Alf