The Renaissance Woodworker

I have spoken a lot about the custom filing that Mark Harrell does to make his Bad Axe tenon saws so incredible to work with. Here is an example of what I’m talking about. Ash is very hard and when you are cutting a 3.5″ thick piece like this one it can wear [...]

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I first used one of Mark Harrell’s new tenon saws at the hand tool olympics at the Woodworking in America design event last August in St Charles, IL. At the time my dovetailing skills were actually better than my tenoning skills because I had spent more time practicing dovetails. Needless to say I [...]

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This message greeted me when I unwrapped my new back saws from Bad Axe Toolworks.

It made me laugh but it is a dogma to keep close to your heart while working with hand tools. Saws run easier, planes slide nicely, bits turn smoothly. Old English cabinetmakers often used tallow to lubricate [...]

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