Sharpening a Veritas carcass saw

The time finally came to sharpen my Veritas cross cut carcass saw. The saw is 14 tpi and, according to the LV website, has 15 degrees of rake and 15 degrees of fleam. Up until now I've only sharpened my full size vintage saws. So I was ever-so-slightly apprehensive about putting a file to this saw. However...with the help of my new file guide, things went smoothly (not mention quickly).

The patient, ready for sharpening.

Loaded into the saw vise. I think my vise is due for some tuning itself, I noticed a spot or two where it doesn't clamp as nicely as I'd like it to.

The file guide is set to go: 15 degrees rake, and 15 degrees fleam. This thing really is easy to use, and makes sharpening a saw a snap. Set the angle and go. Just keep in mind that for cross cut saws, you will file every other tooth, then reset the angle, and file the teeth you skipped.

First cut after sharpening, not too bad.

Straight enough for me. A swipe or two on the shooting board and we're back in business.

I mentioned in the above caption about resetting the angle of the file guide. This is not a draw back to the guide, and it fits with how many people would normally sharpen a saw. The way I first learned was to file every other tooth, then turn the saw around in the vise and go back down the tooth line. The reason behind that is that it's easier for some of us to judge the fleam angle that way. Having the guide allows me to get the angle correct on both sets of teeth without turning the saw. All you have to do is turn the angle guide.

While we're on the topic. I genuinely like these saws. Even though I'm a fan of traditional form, these saws perform very well, and they bring a little modern form into the workshop. I don't run into many back saws at the antique shops (I've seen two, and they were with mitre boxes), and the prices for some of the new saws out there aren't just expensive, they're absurd! Yeah...I said it. I'm going to stop this monologue before I get going...