Shark 10-2204 Dowel/Dovetail/Detail Saw

I have had one of these for years. I wanted one that was not packed in my tool chest for site work. So I got a new one and a new blade. This is my go to saw for tight work or dowels, or hole plugs. There are many others, but this one works just fine without scratching the close surface. Nice bending blade.

Shark is too modest about use and applications of this saw. It should be summed-up simply by saying for all smaller jobs less appropriate than for the 12"- 2312 Shark saw. The closely stacked, sharp and slightly wider teeth design makes the 2204 the easiest to start pull-saw I've used. While it's equally capable for Dowel/dovetail cutting it's longer and slightly less flexible blade makes it very handy for just about any cross cutting of smaller lumber which doesn't require the longer 12" (inch) length. I used it recently to cut slightly curving 3/4" pine to be used as flaring ends for an Asia-look arbor and cuts were much smoother than with a jig-saw where slightest overcorrection of direction will need filling,sanding,or both.

Before "experts"start complaining about my 5 star rating,I'll admit that there are better Japanese saws out there,..but I,and many others ,can't afford them or dont want to risk the money untill they know what their getting into.If that is the situation (as it is for me) these saws are the perfect starting point. They are extremely thin and sharp.Once you get used to cutting on the pull stroke, very high accuracy is possible with very little waste and cleaner cuts than I've ever seen from a hand saw. The afforably replaceable blades are held firmly in the plastic handle by a large plastic screw that has worked perfectly so far. Would I recommend this to a freind? I already have.

I bought this to help with a current project, a custom mandolin case. There is decorative molding running around the top and bottom perimeter. I was going to buy an 80 tooth fine blade for the miter saw, but I'm always up for a new hand tool (and of course this was much less expensive) For most of the miter cuts I put these in a miter box and made the first cut with a hack saw, which made a finer cut than my backsaw, and the 15" Shark wouldn't fit in the slots. Once I had the grove cut, I removed the trim piece and used this saw to cut through the balance of it. With this tpi count there was zero tearout. Note - the blade is not long enough to work through a standard miter box. I imagine it would be fine for one of the aluminum mini miter boxes. Do not attempt to 'horse' the blade. Slow and stead, letting the teeth do the work, is best. For this price it's a great addition to a workshop.

I use this saw exclusivly.....a great design

I have a larger version of this brand, which I LOVE! This little detail saw is just as great. A bit more delicate to where you need to pay attention to your cuts, but it does what it is intended to do. Detail cuts.

This is no high quality Japanese Style pull saw, but for a low price it is sharp and the blade seems to be of reasonably good quality metal. The plastic handle is a bit on the cheap side but very functional and not surprising for a tool in this price range. Overall I think it is better than average for the price ad since a pull saw is very handy for a wide range of cutting tasks,especially when working without a vise, it is well worth the price for my needs. I even use it for rough pruning of larger bonsai tree branches on my Oak trees and it works well for that.

EDIT: since I originally wrote this review, Amazon has changed the product name. It was originally called a dovetail / flush cut saw, and it is poorly suited for both of those tasks. I rated it and reviewed it accordingly. But the new title (dowel/dovetail/detail) is closer to appropriate - it is still definitely not a good dovetail saw, but it's fine for dowels and some details, so I've upped my rating from 2 stars to 3. Just be aware that this saw has very fine crosscut teeth, not rip teeth as you'd want if you're actually cutting dovetails. Original review follows: I initially bought this saw because it's advertised as being able to cut dowels or plugs flush with a surrounding surface. I tried this a few times, and was fairly disappointed - it cut easily enough, but scratched the surrounding surface badly! After more research, I learned that a true flush-cut saw does not have any "set" on the teeth (i.e. the teeth aren't bent out from the saw plate. Some set is important to prevent the saw plate from binding in deeper cuts, but it means that the teeth will scratch the surrounding surface if it's used as a flush cut saw). I eventually bought a true flush cut saw from a popular Canadian woodworking/gardening retailer, and was amazed at how much difference that made. The teeth are truly flush with the saw plate, which means they won't scratch your workpiece when you flush cut a dowel or plug. Not so on this Shark saw - the teeth do have set and will scratch your workpiece if used for flush cutting. Some significant time spent with a sharpening stone could theoretically remove this set, but the impulse-hardened teeth would make this more difficult, and it would be hard (for me at least) to justify that time and trouble when ready-to-use flush cut saws are available for only a few dollars more. Second, this saw is advertised as "Ideal for dovetails..." While it may be strictly FUNCTIONAL for dovetails, it's far from ideal. The vast majority of saw cuts made when creating a dovetail are effectively rip cuts, which means you're cutting along or parallel to the grain of the wood. This type of cut is fastest and most efficient when done using a saw with rip style teeth. This Shark saw has teeth shaped for CROSSCUTS (perpendicular to the wood grain), so it's optimized for slicing through wood fibers in this orientation. It will still make rip cuts, but these cuts will be slower and potentially harder to control than they would be with a rip-specific saw. In other words, you could use this saw for an occasional dovetail, but again, it's definitely not "ideal". The third descriptor in Amazon's title is "detail" saw. Finally an accurate description of an appropriate use for this saw! It does a fine job with small crosscuts and general trimming tasks, and leaves a fairly smooth surface. Nicer saws are available for these general small crosscutting tasks, but this is about as good as it gets for the price. In summary: If this had been called a "Detail/fine crosscut saw", I would have given it a much higher rating. However, it's NOT a flush cutting or dovetail saw, and shouldn't be advertised as such. If you're looking for good saws for these specific tasks, look elsewhere.