Remove the handle and tape the plate
Remove the saw handle — every later step is easier without it. Then run a strip of packing tape or painters tape along each side of the saw plate below the tooth line to protect the steel while you work.
Mark the teeth with a sharpie
Work down the tooth line and use a sharpie to visibly mark every tooth that that leans away from you with a black dot at the base of the tooth. Flip the blade around and repeat on the other side. These marks will be used to sequence the order that teeth are filed. Mark the teeth before jointing to make sure the direction of set is easy to see.
Add set as needed
Make a test cut: if the saw binds, add set; if not, skip this step. If set is needed for joinery saws, only add a whisper: 0.05–0.08 mm per side. The teeth are already marked for the side that will be bent out by the piston within the set pliers. The piston will be pressing on the same face as the black mark. Align the anvil and piston pair so that only the top 1/3 of the tooth is being bent out. Apply set from each side.
Joint the teeth
Place your saw in the vice and run a mill file dead flat along the whole tooth line until every tooth shows at least a small flat on top. Those flats mean that every tooth now reaches the same height.
Pick your rake and fleam
Decide the geometry before the file touches steel: for rip work, 8° rake and 0° fleam; for crosscut, 15° rake and 20° fleam are dependable starting points.
Holding those angles by eye is the hard part — it’s exactly why we built the Rake & Fleam guide. Set it to your chosen angles, and use the long reference edge to guide your stroke.
File from the first side
Work your way down the saw, filing every other tooth, pushing the file with smooth strokes and medium to light pressure. On this side of the saw plate, file the face of the teeth that are leaning towards you (and, at the same time, the back of the teeth that are leaning away from you). This leaves a cleaner cutting edge when you're done.
For the rip saws, the long axis of the file is angled 90 degrees relative to the saw plate. For crosscut saws, the file is angled 20° so that your push stroke is skewed towards the heal of the saw plate.
The objective on this side to file down so that half of the flat at the top of each tooth disappears. Don't drag the file backwards through the gullet between push strokes.
Flip and file from the other side
Flip the saw around in the vice and file the remaining gullets from the other side, again filing into the face of each tooth and skewing towards the heal for crosscut saws. Watch the flats: when the last of each flat vanishes, the tooth is sharp — one more stroke past that shortens it past its neighbors
Extra credit: stone the sides
A finishing touch: lay a fine whetstone flat against each side of the tooth line and lightly hone the outsides of the teeth to remove burrs and even out the edge. Use featherlight pressure and long passes. Stop once tiny flats appear at the outside tip of each tooth. Using a fine arkansas whetstone is recommended but an ultra-fine stone works too.
Tips and tricks
Heavy jointing takes the set with it
If the teeth are need heavy jointing to achieve a uniform profile, or have to be filed off completely and cut fresh, the set disappears with the jointing. Sharpen the saw first to bring the teeth back into shape, then set them, then give the saw a light final sharpening. Setting after that last sharpening also works, but the teeth won’t come out quite as crisp.
Mark your dull file corners
A good file lasts several sharpenings. When it starts to skate instead of bite, give the file a third of a turn and carry on with a fresh corner. Keep count with a silver sharpie: one tick on to mark that the corner that no longer cuts well.
Work with your body
Stand where you can push the file straight out from your shoulder in the direction of the fleam, with file, forearm and shoulder on one line. Pushing across your body twists the file and skews your angle.
Print this page and pin it above the vise.