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 Post subject: "Fleem" cut saw teeth
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 7:28 pm 
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I see the term "fleem cut" used to describe teeth on Japanese pull style had saws and have always wondered what that meant. Searching the web didn't turn up anything pertinent to these saws but seems to refer to how the bevels are filed on saw teeth in general. Does anyone have a better explanation?

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 9:22 pm 
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DennisS wrote:
I see the term "fleem cut" used to describe teeth on Japanese pull style had saws and have always wondered what that meant. Searching the web didn't turn up anything pertinent to these saws but seems to refer to how the bevels are filed on saw teeth in general. Does anyone have a better explanation?


No hits, because it's spelled "fleam" . You planning on sharpening your own? The term is pertinent to crosscut saws whether pull or push. But, on very fine (20tpi and up) Japanese saws it will be a high angle and tiny teeth, which makes the teeth somewhat brittle, but they also make for a very clean and fast cut. These are normally dovetail/joinery saws, not intended for rough work.

Fleam is the angle across the face of the tooth or perpendicular to the tooth line. By adding fleam you turn the teeth into little knives that slice the grain instead of chop it like a chisel. The more fleam the cleaner the cut you get but the weaker you make the teeth. As the fleam angle increases you get a smaller tooth front and the steel becomes brittle. As such high fleam saws should be used in softer woods that won’t push back so much on the more fragile teeth. The converse to this is a saw tooth with little to no fleam will leave a rougher cut and require more effort to move through the wood. The slicing action that is inherent with fleam is what makes a well tuned crosscut saw do its job without splintering and tearing across the grain.

More info on other terms and what they do: http://www.renaissancewoodworker.com/un ... -geometry/

And good illustrations here: http://blackburntools.com/articles/saw- ... index.html

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:07 pm 
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Hey Dennis,

Gene's explanation is about as complete as I've seen. Very simply put, fleam is the difference between a rip saw and a crosscut saw.

Japanese dozuki are sharpened then hardened, plus they generally have four facets per tooth, so they are generally impossible to re sharpen.

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Tom

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 12:44 pm 
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No, I don't have any intention of trying to sharpen any of my Japanese pull saws, Gene. Not to belabor the question but ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=fleem+c ... 80&bih=608

I think this shows the relation between fleam/fleem and rake with respect to sawtooth geometry. And Tom, everything I've ever read about sharpening these types of saws strongly recommends not even trying.

I was just curious what the term meant. Thanks, Gene for the detailed explanation.

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