Got mine today. What a beautiful tool! Makes you wounder why someone
has never thought of such a clever manner of making a saw. The
tension is totally adjustable to a “ping” I have never had. Now I
can’t wait to use it!
Ron Kreml
My saw came today and the handle is red. Better yet–the WHOLE SAW
IS RED! I can’t wait to get to the studio tomorrow and make everybody
jealous. E
Hey All,
I really wanted to open this entry with OMG! Cuz I just got my
(K)new Concepts 5" saw frame yesterday and had to run downstairs to
my studio right away to try it out, and OMG! They are so light
weight, comfortable, easy to use, and I can cut a perfectly straight
line SO FAST! Plus, it’s easy to cut even rounded lines, curved
lines, etc. Jeeze, I could go on forever! It is well worth the
investment (not that it was expensive at all compared to MOST of the
tools I have purchased!)
I usually won’t comment about equipment I buy, I just get my new
toys and go on, but I HAD to throw my 2cents in here! Get yourself
this saw frame, at least one of the basic sizes, and you will never
go back to a cheap saw again!
I know I am starting to sound like a commercial, (and yes, Lee, if
you wanted to throw in some “kick-backs” for my commentary, it would
be welcomed, haha) but I would GLADLY recommend to everyone that they
own this tool! I will be ordering them in all the sizes I will need
them in but I just started with the basic 5" for now, but I cannot
say enough good things about this saw. I had gotten addicted to doing
piercing work in my very first metalsmithing class, but the novelty
wore off when a few years ago I had to do pierce work all over a
particularly difficult piece with compound curves. I immediately
domed another thick sheet of sterling to see how well this saw will
handle it, and is a much easier task! I have been avoiding starting a
series on this piece:
Because of the compound curves, this took me an entire semester to
complete the “locket”. The piercing work involved was VERY difficult
and I broke so many blades I lost count of them. My hands were tired
and sore at the end of every class (one of my final pieces for my BFA
thesis show), that I had to actually do it in stages. But I can now
start to complete the other two of this series! Hell, I may even go
further with it!
THANK YOU LEE!!! You may have just changed my mind back to loving
pierce work again, and even jump started me into completing a series
I have had on hold for a couple of years now! I really cannot say how
much I appreciate the work you did on the design of this saw!
Teresa
Please make sure mine has the red handle!
Yes, Virginia…all handles are now red. For those of you that have
the unpainted one, you now have a collectible! Congratulations on
being one of the first!
The unceasing order flow has caught me a bit unaware of the pent up
demand, and I am running a bit behind on order fulfillment. This is
a one person shop (or at least it used to be). I had what I thought
was a reasonable inventory of saws, and parts, but very quickly
found out that I totally missed my prognostications.
I should get pretty much everything caught up by next week. Sorry
for any delays in delivery, but you have to admit that you have been
waiting over one hundred years for it to arrive 
Lee
knew concepts dot com
I received my Knew Concept 5" saw in a timely fashion (with a sturdy
blade already inserted in it) and have enjoyed using it. I have a
question: in the more flexible saw frames, it is suggested that,
when sawing is finished for a time, the blade be loosened at one end.
Is this “necessary” or advisable with the Knew Concept frames?
Judy Bjorkman
…in the more flexible saw frames, it is suggested that, when
sawing is finished for a time, the blade be loosened at one end. Is
this “necessary” or advisable with the Knew Concept frames?
I think that this is relax the tension on the frame, not the blade.
Those frames are weak enough that they will take a “set” over time,
and lose their springiness.
Lee Marshall
knew concepts dot com
Just got my knew concepts 5 inch saw. I saw a lot and like to saw. I
like sawing with my $8 saw. This saw is amazing. It is light weight,
amazing controll, blade tension - perfect without making a dent in
myself. Thank you for re-inventing such a necessary simple tool.
Wow-what a difference.
Thanks Again Knew Concepts
Sincerely,
Joy Kruse in Wisconsin
joykruse.com
I had my own “oh my gosh, this is amazing!” moment the other night. I
was sawing out some shapes from a 6" square with the 5" saw, when I
reached that place where the saw could not go around the corner of
the metal. Normally, I would have backed out, and come in again from
the other side. However, since I had an 8" Knew Concept saw, I
figured I’d give that a try. Even though I Knew (get the pun?) that
it would work, I was STILL amazed at how easily it handled— sawing
intricate curves, with a 4/0 blade! It made me laugh and smile that
I had felt so surprised, since I was the person who had told Lee
Marshall for 3 years that he needed to develop this saw for the
masses!
Cynthia Eid
This morning I took delivery of a set of Lee Marshall’s Knew Concept
piercing saw frames. My first impressions of the frames are good. I
like the lightness and feel of them, especially the deeper eight
inch framed saw. I know that when I have pierced before using my deep
framed saw of standard steel manufacture, my saw breakage has
increased dramatically as the weight of the steel frame often works
against my hand grip and results in the saw frame tilting out of
alignment while I am sawing, which usually means saw blade breakage.
I am starting a new job next week that involves a certain amount of
decorative piercing on a five inch silver bowl and am looking forward
to testing out my Knew Concept saw frames. I will let you know how
they perform.
Peace,good health and good wealth to all.
James Miller FIPG
My new 5" saw came yesterday. Was able to use it for a short time
last night. Oh, what a saw. I can’t believe how light it is. No
wandering blade! Kudos to Lee. Needless to say, I will be ordering
one of the 8" saws in the near future.
Debbie
DeMoy Jewelry Designs
My new 5" saw came yesterday.
Mine too! I used it last night to do some piercing. It saws
beautifully-- once I threw away the blade that was in it when it
came. Very light, very easy to “steer” through the complex shapes I
like to pierce. But it drove me CRAZY messing with the little
adjustment screw each time I had to release and move the saw blade to
pierce another tiny area! (If you don’t know what I mean about tiny
piercing, look at the cover of the January Art Jewelry Magazine.)
After a while, though, I realized that the saw is NOT actually 100%
rigid, and I am able to insert the blade in the bottom clamp the same
way I do with an ordinary saw, by compressing it with my body,
tighten, then release. It may be a bit looser, I’m not sure, but I’m
doing this 30 to 50 times for a single design, so I simply cannot
take the time to manipulate that top gizmo.
So it isn’t quite perfect for my uses (yet?) but it is a much better
saw than my old ones. I just hope the pretty red finish doesn’t nick
or chip too easy.
Noel
My saw came this week, and I had been saving some complex piercing
just for this. The clamp system does take some getting used to, and
at one time I loosened it so much it came apart and I had to
reassemble the spring thing. But I’m delighted with it. I broke
about half my usual number of blades today, and I found the cutting
much easier.
Janet Kofoed
http://users.rcn.com/kkofoed
Gotta add in my experience… Received the 3" & 5" saw from Lee
within record time! (Considering he says he’s swamped?)
Spent a couple hours with them - and immediately went back to the
computer and ordered the 8" version!
Thanks Lee, great product!
Brian Marshall
jewelryartschool.com
I, also, had to figure out how to reassemble the saw after loosening
too much. It would be nice to have a diagram of the saw included. I
did go to the website and used it to figure out what I did wrong.
Have not use the saw as yet; however, it does have a nice feel.
Marie Mader
Today was a good day. I sat at my bench this morning with some nice
music playing while I started on some saw piercing. Today is the day
I will give one of Lee Marshall’s saw frames a good workshop test.
My project is to pierce a design from a five inch diameter, bowl
shaped spinning of silver. I a used the five inch saw frame, loaded
with a 4-0 size saw blade. My design has at least eighty interior
shaped holes to cut out and the silver is G25 thick. It took a little
time getting used to using the new way of fitting and tensioning the
saw blades, but I liked the feel of the saw frame, it’s lightness was
a surprise and with the simple screw tensioning system I was able to
give a higher than usual tension to the saw blade. I felt confident
that the blade would go exactly where I aimed it also. I was
piercing for nearly four hours and I did not break a single saw blade
in that time. so without going on too much, I can feel confident in
saying that the Knew Concept Saw frames performed much better than I
expected and I would also say that they would make a valuable
addition to most benchworker’s basic tool kit. The attachment is a
couple of photo of the item that I saw pierced with the Knew Concept
saw frame.
Peace and good health and happy piercing to all.
James Miller FIPG
Hello to everyone;
Has anyone from Canada purchased this new saw? If so did you
encounter any problems or fees when it crossed the border to got to
your door? I will look forward to hearing from you.
Take care, Paul LeMay, Bracebridge, Ontario. Canada.
My saw arrived to Hamilton, Ontario, within a short period of time
after my order was placed. (about a week) It was packaged well and
the customs label was clear and correct. I had it shipped by the
International Priority mail option that was offered at the time I
placed the order. For reasons that I do not understand it breezed
through customs without them adding GST, PST and the usual customs
charge for handling. My experience with the saw mirrors every good
thing that has been posted about it here…
Franklin
Hi Guys,
So I’ve had my 5" saw for about 2 weeks now. I’ve been struggling to
find something unique to say beyond the choruses of “amazingly light
& precise”, as I didn’t want to just sound like another “me too”, but
in the end, yeah: “Amazingly light and precise”. The thing works.
Well.
Lee, in the long run, I think this thing’s going to do more for the
field than the power saw. The power saw’s neat, but at $2000, there
won’t be all that many of them out there. A re-thought hand saw is
something everybody can have, and use. In the long run, that’ll do
more good, for more people.
Regards,
Brian.
Hi Paul, I have just ordered two and am expecting to pay a $5
brokerage fee from Canada Post plus GST and PST as nwell as the cost
of the saws. Can hardky wait for them to arrive!
If you have them shipped UPS the brokerage fees will be large!
Cheers,
Karen
These sawframes are quite a bit lighter than the standard German
frames I’ve used for 40 years.
For example:
My German made 3" sawframe weighs 171.6 grams - the KnewConcept 3"
weighs 94.7 grams. Difference of 76.9 grams.
German 5" weighs 194.8 grams vs KnewConcepts 105.6 grams. Difference
of 89.2 grams.
German 8" weighs 223.2 grams vs KnewConcepts 139.0 grams. Difference
of 84.2 grams.
But it’s not just about the weight difference - it’s the vertical
rigidity of the frame that is impressive!
Brian Marshall
jewelryartschool.com (Still updating the website after over a year off)