Hacksaw

Most hacksaws are hand saws with a C-shaped walking frame that holds a blade under tension.

On hacksaws, as with most frame saws, the blade can be mounted with the teeth facing toward or away from the handle, resulting in cutting action on either the push or pull stroke.

In normal use, cutting vertically downwards with work held in a bench vise, hacksaw blades are set to be facing forwards.

While saws for cutting metal had been in use for many years, significant improvements in longevity and efficiency were made in the 1880s by Max Flower-Nash.

'Low alloy' blades are still the only type available for the Junior hacksaw, which limits the usefulness of this otherwise popular saw.

For several decades now, hacksaw blades have used high speed steel for their teeth, giving greatly improved cutting and tooth life.

A softer form of high speed steel blade was also available, which wore well and resisted breakage, but was less stiff and so less accurate for precise sawing.

A strip of high speed steel along the tooth edge is electron beam welded to a softer spine.

Although potentially a useful tool for a toolbox or in confined spaces, the quality of blades in the Junior size is restricted and they are only made in the simple low alloy steels, not HSS.