Rip Saw

A rip saw is a saw that is specially designed for making rip cuts. The cutting edge of each tooth has a flat front edge and it is not angled forward or backward. This design allows each tooth to act like a chisel (rather than being knife-like, as with a crosscut saw), preventing the saw from following grain lines, which could curve the path of the saw. By acting like a chisel, the saw can more easily cut across deviating grain lines, which is necessary if a straight cut is to be achieved.

On the vast majority of saws throughout the world, the teeth are designed to cut when the saw is being pushed through the wood (on the push stroke). However, some saws (such as Japanese saws and the saws used by Ancient Egyptians) are designed to cut on the pull stroke.