like a chisel, with the bevel
only on one side, but the edge is along the side like a knife. Instead
of being pushed into the wood, like a chisel, it is drawn into it by
the handles which project in advance of the cutting edge. The handles
are sometimes made to fold over the edge, and thus protect it when not
in use. The size is indicated by the length of the cutting edge. It
is particularly useful in reducing narrow surfaces and in slicing off
large pieces, but it is liable to split rather than cut the wood.

SAWS.

[Illustration: Fig. 86. Hand Saw.]

The object of the saw is to cut thru a piece of material along a
determined line. Its efficiency depends upon (1) the narrowness of the
saw cut or "kerf," and (2) upon the force required to drive it thru
the material. The thinner the blade, the less material will be cut out
and wasted, and the less force will have to be applied. In order to
have the saw as thin as possible, almost all the people of the world,
except the Anglo Saxons, have saws that cut when they are pulled
toward the worker. The blade is in tension while cutting and in
compression only when being returned for a new cut. German carpenters
use a saw like our turning-saw. English and Americans have developed
the saw on the opposite principle, namely, that it should cut on the
pushing stroke. As a matter of fact, the crosscut-saw cuts somewhat on
the back stroke. The pushing stroke necessitates a thickening of the
blade sufficient to prevent buckling,--a not uncommon occurrence
in the bands of a novice, in spite of this thickening. But tho
this requires more force, and involves more waste, there are the
compensations that the arm can exert more pressure in pushing than in
pulling, especially when the worker stands upright or stoops over his
work, and the stiffer wide blade acts as a guide to the sawyer. Each
method has its advantages. Whatever may be true of hand-saws, in
machine-saws the tension method, as illustrated by the gang-saw and
the band-saw, is steadily displacing the compression method utilized
in the circular-saw. Many kinds of work, however, can be done only on
the circular-saw.

In order to diminish the disadvantages of the thrusting stroke, the
modern hand-saw, Fig. 86, has been gradually improved as the result
of much experience and thought. The outline of the blade is tapered in
width from handle to point; it is thicker also at the heel (the handle
end) than at the point; its thicknes