When saw sharpener Tom Law died, there were a lot of people who thought: Now what? Who will sharpen our saws and teach others?
Fortunately, there was a new generation of saw makers and sharpeners who have put in the hours to get to the point where sharpening saws is as easy as tying their shoes. But there aren’t many of them. I wouldn’t want them all to go on a cruise ship, which could sink and forever alter the craft.
So one of our goals here at Lost Art Press is to produce a book on saw sharpening that will preserve these skills for future generations. And after looking and listening and lots of sawing, I knew there was one person for the job, Matt Cianci.
Matt is the kind of no-BS saw sharpener that Tom Law was. He is not interested in esoteric angles and metallurgy. He is a time-served sharpener, who has filed thousands of saws and works like an automatic machine when he does it.
He is interested in making saw sharpening simple – not complex. And for the last eight years, Matt and I have bandied about a book that he should write. The roadblock to the book turned out to be the images. Matt insists that one of the keys to learning to sharpen is seeing well-filed teeth. Once you know what the goal looks like, it’s easy to get there.
Old books on saw sharpening used drawings. Those are helpful, but not as good as seeing the real thing.
So last weekend I drove 13 hours to Rhode Island to work with Matt to get the images just right. And we are determined to keep at it until the book is published.
Watching Matt work is like watching any highly experienced tradesperson do their job. He can asses a saw in seconds, and then he is immediately jointing, setting and filing the teeth with no wasted motion.
I know that he can teach you to file your own saws. And I am excited that this book is going to preserve this art for generations to come. We are on track to publish this book in early 2024. Its current title is “Set & File: A Practical Guide to Saw Sharpening.”
The book will cover all the important aspects of sharpening, including finding good saws and sharpening equipment, how to obtain the basic skills for filing, and how to deal with saws with teeth that are nice (but dull), plus how to deal with teeth that have been abused.
Like Matt’s approach to filing, his book will focus on the fundamentals. Filing to get the correct rake, fleam and pitch. After you understand these principles, you will know how to tackle all kinds of saws and all kinds of saw problems.
— Christopher Schwarz
Looking forward to this book!
Very glad to hear about this book and look forward to its release. I have his video on back saws and he is a very fine teacher.
Not going to lie- I find this exciting.
Looking forward to this book! Is there any chance of a video series? I really like your sharpening series. Bite size chunks are fantastic. I can watch, go away, do, process, and watch some more. Beats the heck out of having one big video to try (and fail) to absorb. Love your work! I’m trying to buy one of whatever you publish whether I need it or not. I want y’all to stay in business for a long time!
Looking forward to seeing it & ordering a copy.
Thank you!!! Please consider a video series. I have found the others from LAP helpful.
I am anxiously waiting its publication.
I file well enough to maintain my own saws, but I would love to learn and improve to the point of helping others.
I really look forward to owning this book.
I have several antique saws that are not really “collector-grade”, but are cadidates for good “users”. They just need some TLC and a proper sharpening. I need your book.
May the photography gods be smiling on you. Looking forward to the book!
Fabulous! I hope it covers things like “hybrid” cuts and various cuts for the tip to make starting easier. Either way, t’s on my “must buy” list.
Take my money!
Sounds great! I will be at the front of the line to buy a copy.
Thank you!
I promise to buy this book when it is published. The knowledge of saw sharpening was painfully accumulated over the centuries in the hope of saving hard physical labor. Meant for hard, soft, green, or dry wood, filed rip or cross cut, saws were once so flexible they could sing; now they are induction-hardened slabs meant to be thrown away when dull. This is a subject you can sink your teeth into.
Matt is great and I’m excited for this book.
I’ll file this in the “must own” folder…added to the set…
File…set…I saw what you did there.
My money was on Rank And File. 🙂
If there is one thing I lack in woodworking it is how to properly sharpen a hand saw. I have no idea how to go about that task. I would welcome the book.
Can’t wait. I am pretty intimidated by anything more than sharpening a panel saw for rip.
Great news! I have a boxful of handsaws that need TLC and a serious sharpening. I want to develop the skill of sharpening saws. Like wood planes, nearly all of them are “kits” until tuned up and their blades properly sharpened.
I will look forward to this book, next year!
Look forward to the book. Perhaps this is out of scope for the project but will there be a chapter on basic fixing curves or waves in a saw blade? So many old and used saws have this and I’ve been curious as to the process of straightening a blade and if there’s a point to where it just shouldn’t be done. Hate to see these tools go to waste for something that’s fixable.
Check our Instagram feed. Matt shows how he corrects wavy blades. It’s simple work.
Amazing, thanks! Can’t wait to try the technique out.
I came here to ask the same question: correcting wavy saws. I will check out the Instagram feed but also hope there is a chapter in the book on it!
There will be a section.
Any chance he’s going yo address feather files and Japanese saws?
Nope.
I would hate take away for his business- love to do it myself just the same – does Matt run an open service we can utilize?
Yes. Follow the link.
He does a great job, but I miss my saw if gone for very long and shipping is expensive.
This is great news and I’m looking forward to adding this book to my shelves (and these skills to my repertoire.)
I sort of taught myself to sharpen saws via pictures of old drawn diagrams, to solid results. (I guess filing fingernails for years paid off.) Having said that, I’m sure this book’ll teach me things I don’t know, and just be an excellent reference to have on my shelf even if it doesn’t, so it’s a sure buy when it shows up at one of your sellers this side of the pond.
The cruise ship idea is only slightly crazy, apart from the sinking part. A woodworking project or class on a cruise ship would get me, and I’m betting bunch other reluctant cruisers, on a cruise ship.
I had Matt Cianci sharpen some old saws of my Dad’s and several others I owned in real need of his professional work, all were done when he first started his business years back. He did a fine tuning and superb sharpening work on them for which I was grateful. I look forward to his new book to help me with my saw sharpening skills. But I will continue to use Matt for those important saws beyond my amateur skill set.
Cheers to Matt for writing this book and I look forward to purchasing it from LAP.
This will come at a perfect time for me. I’m looking forward to reading it and putting the new skills to use.
I would like to pre-order now! 😀
I found a decent Disston for $3 at a flea market. Sent it to Matt, who returned to me the best hand saw I’ve ever owned (or used). I had no idea sawing could be so fast and easy.
What will it cost?
If they make it in a similar size to “Workshop Wound Care,” and “Sharpen This,” I’d guess $25—give or take a few dollars—but they won’t know until it’s ready for printing.
Very good news. Thank you for moving ahead with this book.
(Joining the queue for this book, while saying to myself: “hmm, I wonder what the second Lost Art up for saving is going to be?”)
I’m in! That hint about using your finger to guide the file… brilliant. I’ve never seen that before. Worth the price the book by itself.
Excited for it! Especially if it’s a pocket sized workshop book!
Great news!
I’m very happy about the book. But I’m sad it won’t be titled “Sharpen That”
It will be a wonderful addition to my woodworking library!
I would be extremely interested in this book! When doo you think it will go to print?
Demonstrating again that “woodworking” is not about first-order working wood, but rather foremost about sharpening.
Great addition to your list. For a long time I’ve thought the perfect name for a skeevy law firm in a comedy would be Rake & Fleam. Offered here gratis if it’s not too fancy pants for Matt’s book.
Or you could go with a variation on the working title: Ready, Set, File.
I know you’re not looking for suggestions—guess I’m just excited 🙂
Thank you for your plans to offer a new book on saw sharpening. I have saw vises, files, saw set, jointer and Tom Law’s video on sharpening (also an array of sharpening guides including the Veritas model) but can’t seem to cross the Rubicon of getting to sharp. I blame poor vision, poor lighting or the price of eggs in China. When I asked my father in law (a machinist) about saw sharpening how to he says “you just do it”. Thanks Pop. Thanks Chris for a new look at a true lost art. C. Stovall
In addition to a book, I wonder if he ever teaches a hands-on class. I would gladly sign up for that.
After watching various YT vids and some doing some reading i’ve started rip filing most of my saws with almost no rake the first two inches or so and then gradually increasing rake as i file towards the heel. It seems easier to file for rip than crosscut and it’s also quicker – at least for me. In the back of my mind i have a faint memory of reading something about 18th century saws, the ones used by cabinetmakers, being mostly rip filed – maybe i’m dreaming? Although i primarily do restoration, i occasionally make some furniture. I’ll often use an 18 inch panel saw – 12 point, rip filed – for cross cutting or ripping various pieces and parts from veneers to fill pieces to drawer sides, drawer fronts, legs to length, cauls, etc. If the scope of the book permits will the question of rip – v – crosscut filing be addressed? Thank you.
Sharpening saws is one of the few things in woodworking I’ve long believed genuinely requires a fairly significant amount of muscle memory development and repetitive practice (and upkeep of said practice) to do well. If a book can be written that changes my mind about those things, I’ll be very glad to be proven wrong. I’ll buy this one.
I’m in! Looking forward to this book and learning to be a better filer.
I took a fun and wonderful class on sharpening saws with Matt at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. Learned a lot and came away with great confidence with sharpening my saws. I will be buying that book.
Look forward to this book. I’ll be a buyer.
I have recently recut a Tyzack 12″ tenon saw, removed the teeth, recut and set new ones, it looks like Matt spaces the new teeth by hand and eye, I had to mark the saw blade with blue and carefully mark the teeth centrelines before I recut the teeth, results were ok, not great, one other item of interest is Skelton saws and the set he applies to some of his saws, one particular saw the set is 0.0035″, that must be a process which requires a mechanical set and die process I would have thought to get consistent results.
I used to go and flatten my nose against that window and absorb all I could of Matt’s art. It changed my life. I saw art then as I wanted to see it.
-Mary Crosscut Cassat