A double-edged utility saw. A widely used saw which has rip-saw teeth on one side of the blade and crosscut teeth on the other, allowing it to cut both along and across the wood grain. Because there are teeth on both sides, the blade is wider than a single purpose saw, and the projection of the blade inserted into the handle, komi 込み is in line with the blade center.
The blade can be 30 cm, 27 cm or 24 cm long. On a 30 cm blade the cutting edge would normally measure 27 cm, the width would be 11.5 cm, and there would be 12 to 13 teeth per sun 寸, 3.03 cm. In the case of the 24 cm blade, used to make furniture and house fittings, these measurements would be 21 cm, 9 cm, and 20 teeth per sun respectively.
Records show that the double-edged saw was displayed in the National Industrial Exhibition of 1877. Then, around 1895, it began to spread throughout the country, and in about 1915/16 the production of hand-made ryōbanoko began in Miki 三木, Hyōgo Prefecture, one of the original centers for the forging of tools. Later, from around 1920, the ryōbanoko was manufactured using machine production in all parts of the country.
parts of the Double-edged utility saw：
a) cutting edge b) crosscut theeth c) ripsaw theeth
d) blade e) insertion f) handle