Japanese pull saw vs handsaw
Updated: 21 October 2026
You already own a push saw, or you are about to buy your first fine saw, and a thin Japanese plate looks as if it will track better in a tight corner. It will, if you only pull. Push it and the same thin plate kinks. This page is that choice, mapped onto the ten amazon.co.uk listings in the [fine saw comparison](/hub/power-saws/fine-saw). It is not a price table and it is not a flush-cut essay. Peter F. used those listings, read on 19 October 2026, plus public UK explanations from International Timber and John Lloyd. It is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You already own a push saw, or you are about to buy your first fine saw, and a thin Japanese plate looks as if it will track better in a tight corner. It will, if you only pull. Push it and the same thin plate kinks.
You already own a push saw, or you are about to buy your first fine saw, and a thin Japanese plate looks as if it will track better in a tight corner. It will, if you only pull. Push it and the same thin plate kinks. This page is that choice, mapped onto the ten amazon.co.uk listings in the fine saw comparison. It is not a price table and it is not a flush-cut essay. Peter F. used those listings, read on 19 October 2026, plus public UK explanations from International Timber and John Lloyd. It is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Stroke | Tooth pitch | Weight | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  OX OX Pro toolbox saw 350 mm | Push | 15 TPI (row says 14) | 390 g | 8.4 | about £7.43 | View offer |
 SURFOU SURFOU double-sided pull saw | Pull | Not stated | 100 g | 7.5 | about £7.99 | View offer | |
| Best value |  Draper Draper Venom 80874 second-fix saw | Push | 11 TPI / 12 PPI | 340 g | 7.3 | about £6.50 | View offer |
On this page
Push compresses, pull tensions
A western handsaw cuts on the push. The plate is in compression, so it has to be stiff enough not to buckle. The toolbox saws in this set are that pattern: an open 350 mm blade, no spine, used the way most UK DIY already works. A Japanese pull saw cuts as you draw it. The plate is in tension, which is why it can be thinner and the kerf narrower. International Timber describes that difference as the reason for the thin plate. John Lloyd makes the same mechanical point, and he is clear about the failure: a thin plate that is pushed will buckle. Reviews in this set mention both results. Buyers praise a clean line once the pull stroke is familiar, and they also describe plates that feel flimsy or bend when twisted. A trade flush saw is sometimes described at around 0.4 mm, and that figure is not printed on GARTOL, SURFOU, Magicbox, SANTUO or KLRStec. SURFOU is listed at 100 g. The HAUTMEC push saws state 1.0 mm and 0.9 mm. You are choosing whether the plate is braced by a push or held straight by a pull.
What you gain and what you give up
On the pull, the start is easier and the kerf is narrow, which helps a dowel, a plug and a cut you cannot approach with a 350 mm plate. You give up stiffness in thick timber. SURFOU reviews say the plate is limited once the section gets heavy, and one buyer wanted a larger saw for a stump. You also give up any idea of filing the tooth. Axminster’s hardpoint note applies to both families in this set: impulse-hardened teeth are not a home sharpening job. A short blade is the other cost. Control in a corner is real. A long rip in a board is miserable. A ryoba, the double-edged pull saw, gives you a coarse edge and a fine edge on one plate. It is not a tenon saw. No brass-backed tenon saw is in this comparison, and no dozuki is among the ten ASINs either. This set only reaches the ryoba pattern, on GARTOL and on the double-edged SURFOU.
Which listing is which
The push group is the Draper Venom 80874, the OX Pro, both HAUTMEC models and the Vigaoc. They are 350 mm western saws. OX states 15 TPI in the title, at £7.43, with 4.7 from 356 reviews. Draper states 12 PPI on amazon and 11 TPI / 12 PPI on the maker’s page, at £6.50, with 4.5 from 832 reviews. HAUTMEC prints 12 TPI and 11 TPI, both at £13.99. Vigaoc prints 11 TPI at £14.99. The pull group is SURFOU, GARTOL, Magicbox, SANTUO and KLRStec. SURFOU is one double-sided saw at £7.99, 4.6 from 660 reviews, 100 g, with covers and no pouch. GARTOL is a 6 inch flush-cut claim plus a ryoba, at £16.99, 4.5 from 564 reviews, and the reviews do not agree that the flush saw has no set. Magicbox is four pull saws at £17.99, 4.7 from 70 reviews, with no TPI. SANTUO is four saws at £14.89 with no star line, so it does not show you how the stroke behaves. KLRStec is the 240 mm folder at £29.99, 4.4 from 553 reviews, with a lock that reviews say can be weak or missing. The folder is not the saw on which to learn the stroke.
The recommendation with a condition
If the job is skirting, a door trim or a bath panel, and you already push, choose the OX or the Draper and stay on the push. The OX is the finer stated tooth. The Draper is the cheaper second-fix saw with the larger review file, and it snags in some reviews. If the job is a dowel, a plug, or a cut you cannot approach with a 350 mm plate, choose a pull saw and only pull. Start with the SURFOU if you want one small saw and can live without a stated TPI. Read the flush cut saw page before you trust the word flush on GARTOL or Magicbox. Leave the KLRStec until the lock is something you have checked, and until the pull stroke is already familiar. A pull saw is the worse buy if you will forget and push. A 350 mm push saw is the worse buy if the gap is a stair wedge. The first strokes are on how to use a fine tooth saw.
Common questions
Which stroke should I learn if I only buy one saw?
Learn the push if your work is skirting, door trim and panels you can reach with a 350 mm blade. That is the Draper and the OX in this set. Learn the pull if your work is dowels, plugs and gaps a toolbox plate cannot enter, and if you will not push the thin plate. One saw cannot be both. Buying a pull saw and using it like a panel saw is how the plate kinks.
Why is a pull-saw blade thinner?
The cutting stroke pulls the plate in tension, so it does not need the stiffness a push saw needs to resist buckling. International Timber and John Lloyd both describe that. The narrower plate can leave a narrower kerf. These listings do not print a plate thickness for the pull saws, so do not treat a catalogue figure from another brand as a measurement of SURFOU or GARTOL.
What is a ryoba for, next to a toolbox saw?
A ryoba is a double-edged pull saw, with a coarser edge and a finer edge, for rip and crosscut on the pull. GARTOL includes one beside a short flush-cut saw. SURFOU is a small double-sided pull saw of the same idea. It does not replace a 350 mm push saw for a run of skirting, and it is not a backed tenon saw. Use it when you need two tooth patterns in a short plate.
Will I kink it?
You will if you push a thin pull plate, or if you twist it in a deep kerf. Reviews of the KLRStec and the Magicbox set both mention flex and bending. A western 350 mm saw is much harder to kink and much worse in a tight gap. If the plate has already taken a bend, it will not track straight. Retire it. Forcing it breaks teeth.
Can I sharpen either of these?
Not as a home filing job. Both the push saws and the pull saws in this set are hardpoint-style teeth. Axminster states that induction-hardened teeth are not resharpened. A traditional western saw that a saw doctor can sharpen is a different tool, and it is not in these ten listings. When the edge goes, you replace the saw. A claimed screw-in blade still needs a spare, and these boxes do not list one.
Is a dozuki in this comparison?
No. A dozuki is a Japanese backsaw with a spine, used for fine shoulders. None of the ten ASINs is described as one. There is also no brass-backed tenon saw. The pull saws here are open plates: a double-edged SURFOU, a GARTOL ryoba, two four-piece sets, and a folding KLRStec. If you need a spine, this category does not contain it.
When is the western saw the better recommendation?
When the cut is the edge of a board you can reach, and you already push. Skirting, a door lining and a bath panel suit the OX at 15 TPI or the Draper at the maker’s 11 TPI / 12 PPI. The western saw is the worse recommendation when the plate cannot physically enter the gap, or when you need the thin plate flat on a face. In that case take a pull saw, and check the teeth before you assume they have no set.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Prices captured 19 October 2026.
- RS hand saws guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Axminster hardpoint guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- BuildWiz hand saw guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE PUWER overview (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE L114 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- International Timber, western and Japanese saws (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Draper 80874 (retrieved 19 October 2026)