I've never used a Jap saw but I must say that
the Ryoba seems an improbable rip saw, being too short, too fine toothed, too expensive, un-sharpenable.
It is a hard tooth throwaway. Why is this fashionable and acceptable with Jap saws but not so with western equivalents?
A western hardtooth
such as this one would almost certainly rip better at a fraction of the price.
My preferred option (if having to do it by hand) - a trad rip saw (26" long, steep 3 to 4 tpi) would also do it very quickly with no difficulty and would be re-sharpenable and last for life.
Why waste your time and money fiddling about with silly saws?
Jacob,
Japanese saws were developed by the Japanese for their working technique, traditionally they did not use benches and their work was done on the floor, hence the pulling action of their saws and planes (the pulling cut allows for a much thinner blade) and the pulling cut of the plane allows the body to prop the work, completely different techniques demand different tools, their tools have made their way into the UK by sales people and found a niche with those who like to try something a little different, some folks swear by their chisels and some folks have completely moved over to their saws, some of their saws do have a place on the British workbench though, try one of their little dovetail saws and see the difference.
Give a Japanese a European saw and he would not know how to use it, likewise in the West Indies (St Lucia to be precise) they saw with the the teeth of the saw facing away from the body, try that if you want a challenge.
Andy
