I spent several years on Okinawa courtesy of the US Army where I saw local carpenters using a different hand saw. At first I dismissed it as not as good as those large American made hand saws that I had grown up around and learned to use from an early age. The new hand saw I saw was smaller, much thinner that I misunderstood as weaker. There was a carpenter shop where I was working and I got to know some of the carpenters pretty well and came to really appreciate what they could do with their saws. Once I brought my "real" hand saw out to their work site so they could see what a really good had saw looked like. I was showing off again. The carpenters took one look at my saw and started to laugh at me. This hurt my feeling as you could imagine but made me want to learn more about this flimsy tool they preferred to use. As I did, I began to understand their perspective. The American saw cuts as you push forward. If the saw is not stiff, it tends to buckle as you push into the cut. This new saw cuts as you pull back. Because of this the blade can be much thinner completely eliminating the tendency to buckle. The thinner blade also makes a thinner cut requiring less force as the blade cuts the wood. It also turns out that cutting a straight line is almost automatic with this "pull" saw and takes some skill with the American hand saw. Was it possible that the Okinawan carpenter actually had a BETTER hand saw? It interested me enough to try to bring one back with me on my return home but was unable to locate one in the local markets. Of course all I could get at the PX was the American version. It seems that they were not selling so well there. Anyway, imagine my delight and surprise when a few years later, as I was browsing through my favorite toy store (Lowes) when I saw in an out-of-the-way peg board – An Okinawan style pull saw. They were now available in the United States. I bought one as if it was the rarest of finds, bragging to the sales clerk all the way through the process. I quickly re-taught myself how to use it and began telling my friends all about it. Of course they were skeptical. I even gave one as a Christmas gift to my father, who had taught me how to use the American version. I am not sure he ever tried it. If he had, he would have loved it as I do. I use mine all the time now. I found my American version a few weeks back in the work shop under some other near discarded stuff. It was rusted and clearly had not been used for some time. My pull saw is hanging on the peg board near the center and easiest section to reach. Years later now, it is still free of what I will call rust. It is some worn from the experiences we have had but no less useful. It has teeth on both edges of the blade, one for course cuts and one for fine cuts. Because the blade is so thin, both seem like fine cuts when you are comparing it to the other style saw. Because it is smaller and lighter, I have found it to be much more versatile and easier on the hand and arm. It enables me to cut quicker, cleaner and straighter than ever before. As I mentioned, it has been several years since I found my pull saw, ok – a career away. The good news is 
that these pull saws are now more popular and easier to find. I see them when I am browsing each week end, only now they are much more prominently displayed. If you are looking to add to your toy chest or just looking for a unique gift for a do it yourself type, I highly recommend this tool. You may have to tell my story to get them to try it but when they do, it will quickly become their favorite saw as well. Here is a picture to help you recognize it.
