Hand Saw (20", 65Mn)

The blade is 65Mn, a manganese spring steel, heat treated. Spring steel is the right choice for a saw plate because it flexes and returns straight: a saw that takes a set in the middle of a cut binds in the kerf and wanders, and one that is too brittle snaps. The teeth are hardened past HRC 55, which is high, and that is the headline difference between this saw and the Pro version alongside it.

Harder teeth hold their edge longer. In practice that means noticeably more cutting before the saw starts tearing rather than slicing, particularly in the dense, sometimes gritty timber that comes through a Sri Lankan yard. The trade-off is honest and worth knowing before you buy: at that hardness a file will not touch the teeth, so this is a saw you use until it is blunt and then replace, not one you set and sharpen. For most people that is the better deal, because almost nobody sharpens a hand saw any more.

The teeth are ground on two sides, giving a sharp cutting edge that clears chips quickly. Chip clearance is what stops a saw bogging down halfway through a thick section.

The handle is soft TPR. It grips when your hands are sweaty, which a bare plastic handle does not, and it takes the sting out of a long session of ripping.

Use it for cutting timber to length, sizing boards, roof and stud work, formwork and general site carpentry. Start the cut on the pull stroke with your thumb knuckle guiding the blade, then lengthen your strokes once the kerf is established — a saw that is fighting you is usually a saw being pushed too hard at too steep an angle.

The buyers are carpenters and site joiners, builders and formwork carpenters, and general maintenance staff. Households buy one because it is the saw that does everything. Hardware shops sell 20" saws faster than any other length.

If you cut a lot and want the fastest cut rather than the longest-lasting edge, look at the 20" Pro, whose teeth are ground on three sides. Ask on WhatsApp and we will price both, delivered island-wide.