Buying a Coping saw
When buying a coping saw, look for a frame which is lightweight, rigid and strong as this will hold the blade securely and taut. Paul Sellers finds the wooden handles are more comfortable, the handle must be tightly secured to the frame as this will provide a more accurate cut. As the tensile strength of the frame doesn’t degrade, you can buy a second hand Coping saw and replace the blade. Bahco and Eclipse are good coping saws which cost £10-20 new, you might have to buy the blades separately to get the right ones.
Coping saw blades cannot be resharpened but it is normal to get several replacements in a pack. Paul recommends 18 PPI (you might come across ‘TPI’ which is ‘Teeth per Inch’ and will always be one less than the PPI) as it is a useful and practical size. They tend to be of a standard length. The Pegas 18 TPI blades are a good make and you get several in a pack, you can usually get these for about £5 from eBay for a pack of 6, these should last a long time. They are often shown in 2 halves in the pictures, this is for demonstrative purposes to show you the teeth on the blade and the anchor point at each end.
🇬🇧 We purchased this from eBay for £7.99 and the extra pack of blades for £3.49 with free delivery.* 🇺🇸 If you are ordering from the US, we have found it on Amazon.com.
*Prices correct as of December 2017
