Abstract
According to a study conducted by the Institute for the Science of Labor in 1943，a professional carpenter uses 179 different tools on average. Among them are 12 types of saws belonging to 10 separate categories. This constitutes the standard set of saws used in modern carpentry.
What types of saws were used from the 17th to 19th centuries? My research into various reference materials concerning architectural saws has yielded the following findings.
(1) In modern times， there have been at least seven different types of saws for architectural uses (totaling over ten different units)， which can basically be classified into the following three categories :
(a) those used for felling and ripping logs，
(b) those used for cutting and processing timbers to be used for primary structures (such as pillars and beams)， and
(c) those used for cutting and processing timbers to be used for main fixtures(such as head jambs and “nageshi”， a horizontal piece of timber in the frame of a Japanese style house).
(2) In those days， the saws were named according to their sizes and “teeth differences” (in terms of their functions， such as “teeth for ripping” or “teeth for crosscutting”) .
(3) It has been generally believed that a certain change in terms of the shapes of saws occurred in the latter half of the 18th century.
(4) To our knowledge， the structure of the saws fundamentally consisted of a tang and a handle.
(5) It has been generally believed that a certain change in terms of the posture of carpenters using saws also occurred in the latter half of the 18th century.
