JAPANESE MOKU FOLDING SAW - NIWAKI
Small folding saw for fine work in the garden, woodworking or your Bushcraft outings.
The Ibara-me teeth are angled for pulling cutting, as with all Japanese saws. This allows very clean and precise cutting, rapid and efficient action.
Beech wood handle and locking device to hold the blade in place.
Our saws are manufactured by Shirai San, a 3rd generation saw manufacturer, for 45 years in Sanjo, Japan.
Niwaki tools represent the best of Japanese know-how. Tools with a simple and effective design, created to last, renowned for their exceptional quality.
- Weight: 113g
- Dimensions: 415 x 16 x 39 mm
- Folded length: 235 mm
- Blade: 185 mm
- Max cut: Ø60mm
- SK5 steel
- Beech wood handle
- Made by Shirai San, a 3rd-generation saw maker, for 45 years in Sanjo, Japan
Our Japanese wood saws are excellent. Their design allows for thinner blades than traditional Western saws. They cut on the pull stroke rather than the push stroke, meaning the blade undergoes less pressure while cutting and uses less energy. Compared to a Western saw, the cut is much cleaner, more precise, and faster. However, the blades are more fragile, and improper use can damage them.
- Use a gentle sawing motion, cutting on the pull and gliding on the push
- Do not let the weight of the branch pinch or catch the blade
- Do not twist the blade while sawing
- Do not use a small saw for a big job. Consider 1/3 of the blade length as the absolute maximum sensible cutting diameter
After studying sculpture in London, Jake Hobson went to Japan to investigate the Japanese relationship with nature and the environment around them.
Jake discovered that Japanese gardens were not just like gardens. They were mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, and waterfalls. They were everything he loved; these gardens told stories and referred to real landscapes in Japan.
Niwaki literally means "garden tree," it is the art of tree pruning, which is very different from that of Bonsai, as the roots are not pruned. But Niwaki is much more than that. It implies a philosophy—that of the landscape, of the re-creation of unique microcosms, the vision of a man and his connection to, his understanding of, and his learning from nature.
But all this was possible thanks to the use of tools that share the same philosophy, created slowly, simply, and by hand by local master blacksmiths with exceptional know-how.
For Jake Hobson, every tool consists of three crucial elements:
- good material, mainly high-quality carbon steel
- good design, usually as simple as possible
- good craftsmanship, passed down from generation to generation.
Japanese tools do not skimp on any of these elements: You can feel the quality of the craftsmanship as soon as you hold them in your hand; they simply and perfectly perform the job for which they were designed, and they last, holding their edge for a long time, rewarding the user with years, decades, and even lifetimes of pleasure.