Musical Saw History - And Future...

A musical saw is a very unique instrument.  It is basically a handsaw with a wooden handle - an ordinary handsaw can be struck or bowed to produce sound, if held a certain way, but the tone and note range will usually be very limited.  No one knows who first discovered that an ordinary handsaw could produce music, but woodworkers through the centuries have been aware that saw blades make whining, whistling noises when sawing through wood.  When a blade catches in a knot, it may twist a bit more than usual.  The combination of twisting and friction causes the metal to sing and whine!  As a musical instrument, the saw is technically considered to be an idiophone, which is an instrument that produces sound by the vibration of its whole mass, without the use of strings or membranes. The idiophone family includes chimes, bells, marimbas and xylophones, as well as rarer instruments like the glass armonica, the  crystal baschet and the Tibetan bowl.  All of these instruments can be bowed or struck, with different effects.

My own experience with musical saws goes back to when I first read about them in a library when I was sixteen.  I went to a little country hardware store and tried out their handsaws.  I bought a 26" long Disston saw with a very flexible blade.  Then I had to make a primitive bow because I didn't have access to a violin bow, and I first used some dried pine pitch instead of rosin!  I managed to get some pretty impressive sounds out of my primitive equipment...and I soon got hold of a real violin bow and rosin.  My playing really took off then.  Soon my inventive mind compelled me to add a tip handle, because I found that it was pretty painful to keep an effective grip on the blade tip, which has to be firmly grasped between the thumb and middle fingers in order to bent the blade into a slight "S" curve. With the tip handle, my discomfort ended, and I could now play an additional octave in the upper note range.  Then I found that the saw grip, which is used for sawing wood on a regular hand saw, felt pretty uncomfortable and inadequate between my thighs when the saw was played for more than a few minutes at a time.  So I got rid of the saw grip and mounted the blade in a larger, more comfortable base.  Finally, I ground off the saw teeth, after cutting myself several times.  After all of these changes, the saw was now a full-fledged instrument, and I eventually grew

into  a skilled saw-player.

In mid 2015, I decided to try my hand at building a musical saw completely from scratch.  I had no idea what  kind of metal to use, or even where to obtain specialty sheet metal in small quantities.  I researched deeply on the internet, but could not obtain any real information directly from saw-makers.  I did however find some very helpful videos on YouTube, including published work of people experimenting with musical saw making.  I ended up corresponding with some of these people.  I also got lucky and spoke at length with a metal manufacturer in Europe, who took an interest in my work.  He happened to know which metals are used in Europe for musical saws, having supplied a number of builders over the years. I ended up investing thousands of dollars in all sorts of special metals in various thicknesses and dimensions.  I also purchased metal-working equipment and decorative inlay materials and hardwoods.  I made my own blades in many sizes and materials, as I learned how to work with metals. After many months and many failures, I settled on  carbon steel 1075, which is the metal of choice for any musical saw!  I also make a limited number of bronze blades - for a very unique, rust-free alternative to steel!