Lee Marshall’s Knew Concept Saw

You’re gonna LOVE IT!

What am I up to now?  Well, it’s something I hope you will enjoy as a diversion in my blog posts.  I also hope you will find it informative and useful.  I think a number of you know how much I love tools.  Yes, let me repeat that, I LOVE TOOLS!  Anything that makes the job easier, I’m in.

My father taught me the importance of the right tool for the job.  One of my goals with my Talkin’ Tools posts is to let you in on my treasure trove of tools that I love.  The ones that do the job and kick it when it comes to getting the work done.  That’s very important to me and I suspect it’s important to you too.

So how did I get this concept? The credit goes to my genius, Dan!  He’s always thinking.  He’s truly brilliant.

Last week as Dan & I were driving in the mountains, I was telling him that another person had contacted me about my blog post on Cliff Carroll’s Anvils that I called 35 lbs of Metalsmithing Joy.  It was one of my most popular posts last year and it continues to receive a lot of traffic from search engine hits.    I told Dan that I thought part of the reason for its popularity is people ‘google’ items and look for an unbiased opinion or review about a product. I know I do!  My hope is that I can fill a void by discussing those tools and pieces of equipment that help me when I’m working with metal.

Well, Dan is “always thinking” and he suggested that I start writing reviews about my favorite tools or equipment that I use when I’m metalsmithing.  I thought that was a great idea and I hope you concur.  This is my first post in a new Talkin’ Tools category which I plan on publishing every Friday.

Another nudge for me to start these Talkin’ Tools posts, was a comment I saw from my online metalsmithing friend, Sandy Cahill-Johnson.  Sandy had made a comment about breaking saw blades and wondered about a “Knew Saw”?  From her reference, I knew (no pun intended here) she was referring to Lee’s saws and I thought this would be a good tool to discuss.

Of course, Lexi (Erickson) introduced me to this wonderful tool almost a year ago.  Prior to that, I was using this German made saw that I purchased from Lexi during my first metalsmithing workshop with her.

It’s a nice saw.  And the first weekend I used it in Lexi’s workshop, I broke my share of saw blades.  Gotta feel the rhythm, get in the zone when you are sawing.  It comes with practice.

However Lee’s Knew Concept saw can turn a beginner into an intermediate and advanced saw handler in no time flat.  Sure you can still break a saw blade with this, but let me tell you, it’s pretty hard to do that.  I don’t want to say you have to work at it, but I think you really do have to try to break a blade.  Lexi was able to saw with the same blade for a month!  Wow.  I haven’t tracked my record for not breaking a blade, but the design is so good it forgives common errors with sawing.

Helen Driggs has written about this saw in her Tool Tips articles in Lapidary Journal.  Lexi has introduced people to the beauty of using this tool.  It truly is worth the investment.  It comes in several different sizes; I have the 5″ model and it is an all around work horse.  It is my go saw to when I start sawing metal.  Yes you still have to use bur-life or another lube to protect your blade.  I have found that it makes sawing metal like cutting butter!  Easy, easy, easy!!!

Plus, I met Lee Marshal last year at the Colorado Metalsmiths Conference in Salida, CO.  Lee is the nicest person and you can just tell he cares about the quality of his products.  He hit the bullseye with the Knew Concept Saw.  Thank you Lee!

Those metalsmiths in the crowd know how much fun putting a new saw blade in place can be.  With Lee’s Knew Concept, it is virtually effortless.  No more trying to find the right spot to position the saw so you can insert one end of a saw blade.  You know what I’m talking about!  This baby just lets you put the saw blade in position and you are ready to rock and roll.  Or maybe I should say you lock and load?!? 🙂  It’s a joy.

Staying on line and making the twist and turns as you cut out a design is a breeze.  I would highly recommend the Knew Concept saw.  If you have a chance to test drive (saw) one, go for it.  It’s an effortless leap of faith to purchase one in my book.  A number of suppliers have them, yet I went directly to the source, Lee Marshall and purchased mine.

I’d love to know if you have one and are using it? Or are you thinking about it?  If you do buy one, please let me know.  I hope you share my enthusiasm for this wonderful tool.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.