Veritas Gent's Saw - Tool Review
by Jeffrey Fleisher
New Market, VA
Click on any picture to see a larger version.
This month I am reviewing the Veritas Gent's Saw. The Gent's Saw comes in either a crosscut or a rip configuration.
According to Wikipedia (the online encyclopedia) a Gent's saw or Gentleman's saw was originally developed for "gentlemen's" tool kits where good quality tools were needed but not in the full size of a typical dovetail, sash or carcass saw. They define it as "... a small dovetail saw with a straight turned handle, rather than an open one typical of most saws. The name seems to have arisen from its use by the nineteenth century dilettante who would now be called a 'hobbyist'. It is adapted for use in making joints in very small woodwork such as that in some musical instruments, dolls' furniture or other model-making."
The Veritas Gent's Saw uses the same materials as the Veritas Dovetail and Carcass Saws.
Both saws have a 7-7/8" long high-carbon steel blade that is 0.015" thick with 0.003" of teeth set per side. The 20 tpi rip saw has teeth with a 14 degree rake angle and a 60 degree included angle. The teeth on the 22 tpi crosscut saw have a rake angle of 15 degrees, an included angle of 60 degrees and have been filed with alternating 15 degree bevel angles so that they sever rather than tear wood fibers. Both saws have a cut depth of 1-5/8".
The teeth are filed as you would expect for a crosscut (alternating tooth pattern) and rip (straight tooth pattern) as shown in the graphic.
Finally, for strength and rigidity, the glass and stainless steel-filled polymer spine is molded over the blade and handle stud. The 4-1/4" long bubinga handle is secured with a brass nut.
I use my Gent's Saw for cutting molding for small boxes. Using a bench hook, you can have a lot of control when cutting a small piece of molding either at 90 degrees or at 45 degrees. It is also a much safer cut than cutting small pieces of molding on a table saw or chop saw. It just feels nicer!
As I mentioned earlier, a rip version of the Gent's Saw can be used for cutting small dovetails for doll house furniture or ripping small pieces for model-making. I use the rip cut version for cutting dovetails when I want a very fine neck on the dovetail. As you can see in the picture, you can achieve a neck with almost no thickness....just the thickness of the very thin saw blade. You can consider this the western version of a Japanese saw blade kerf!
Both versions of the Gent's Saw from Veritas are extremely well-built saws, which is what you would expect from Veritas. Although they may be considered special purpose saws, they come in handy when you happen to be dealing with small parts and either need that small kerf blade or a very safe way to cut a small piece of wood. They fill that special need just like their big brothers, the Dovetail, Dash and Carcass Saws. You will be glad that you have one of each type in your saw till.
Find out more about the Veritas Gent's Saw
Jeffrey Fleisher has been a woodworker for approximately 20 years and a professional woodworker for the past 6 years. He is the president of his local woodturning club, the Woodturners of the Virginias and past president of the Northern Virginia Carvers. You can see some of the furniture he has made at www.jeffswooddesigns.com. He can be reached by email at furnmkr@gmail.com.
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