NOKOGIRI MAKERS
Nokogiri makers are a combination of many trades because their product goes directly into the hands of the user in a finished form and ready to use.All handmade modern nokogiri are made from rolled stock steel that the nokogiri-ya (saw maker) purchases and then forms into a saw using either; all hand operations, or mostly by hand along with a limited number of steps by machine. The most common machine operations might be using a sheet metal sheer to cut the saw blank out of sheet from the supplier, or using a grinder to reduce the dimensional thickness of the sheet in the preliminary stages. Mass produced nokogiri have very few hand operations if any.
One stage in the making of a handmade nokogiri that everyone who uses a saw will notice right away is the metate or adjusting and sharpening step. If the metate is not done correctly the saw will not cut straight and true. A fine saw will come from the nokogiri-ya fully sharpened and ready to use. Most if not all nokogiri-ya conduct this step themselves and a lot of pride is expressed in this step.
