Benjamin Seaton’s Saws

For years I tried to purchase saws just like Seaton’s, but a writer’s salary doesn’t buy many mint 18th-century saws. So I tried to get custom toolmakers interested in making copies of the Kenyon saws for me. I wanted to know what these saws were like to work with. Were they different than modern saws?

After years of searching, I found Mike Wenzloff, a cabinetmaker-turned-sawmaker who was eager to make copies of the Kenyon saws for both me and Dean Jansa, another woodworker with a saw sickness. (Wenzloff & Sons makes many kinds of beautiful handsaws. To see a selection, visit his web site at wenzloffandsons.com).

First Wenzloff built the freakishly huge tenon saw. When it arrived, I was almost afraid to use it. Like the original, the sawplate seemed flimsy for such a big saw. But after cutting my first tenon with that saw, I was hooked. The saw’s length makes fast and accurate cheek cuts, even in small workpieces.

Then he made the sash saw, which is a remarkable all-around saw, and the huge Kenyon crosscut handsaw, which just flies through the work when used properly.

Then history came full circle. Wenzloff now makes the complete line of six Kenyon saws, which are sold by The Best Things, in Herndon, Va. (thebestthings.com or 800-884-1373). They’re priced a bit more than you’d pay for a typical premium handsaw, but they’re worth it. The handles are exquisite, and the hand-filed teeth cut more smoothly than many of my Japanese saws.

Though I now own almost a complete set of these Kenyon saws, I found one way that Benjamin Seaton and I are different. Last week while cutting half-lap joints with the tenon saw, I laid the tool to rest on my now beat-up Seaton chest. When I stood up, the elegant handle hooked into my shop apron, plunging the saw to the concrete floor.

The fall splintered the horn at the top of the handle. That’s a common place for old saws to get damaged, though the horn of Seaton’s tenon saw is still pristine. I stared at my damaged tool for a moment, then I shrugged and hung the tool back above my bench. Bumps and dings are the sorts of things that happen when you actually use your tools. PW

Christopher Schwarz is the editor of Popular Woodworking and has four DVDs on using traditional tools that are available through Lie-Nielsen Toolworks (lie-nielsen.com).