Sometimes I wonder if saws that we find at flea markets were actually used for productive work back in the day. My $13 Royal Chinook falls into that category. This 42" cut off falling saw looked pretty bad but there was a good saw in there someplace. It was straight, no broken or missing teeth, had full length teeth with light rust. I could tell right off that it was quite stiff and and after measuring the teeth thickness of 0.102" and back thickness of 0.066" it likely identified the saw as a Royal Chinook. Good saw but if it was ever used as it was sharpened is the question. It had a relatively uniform set on the cutters of 0.090", yes I wrote ninety thousandths! If that was not bad enough, all the rakers were constantly 0.100" longer then the cutters, and yes I wrote 0.100" longer, not shorter then the cutters!

Did it cut like that? Yes, I did try it as found and I managed to get about 3" into a punky log before giving up. The good thing is that there was no chance of binding, as the kerf was about 3/8" wide. Anyway, I cleaned it up and sharpened with a set of 0.008" and rakers set 0.015" below the cutters. It cuts fine and as a small user saw it should last for decades to come. Another tool saved.