The best thing is a tight saw blade and when sawing keep your eye on the line (where you are going) not the blade. Also wax that blade. Good Luck
I always watch the blade (not where itās going) and I admit to rushing. I tend to grip my work and piece to the point where my knuckles go whiteā¦I guess I know what to improve on. 
Wow! Exquisite work, James! And even though Iām nowhere near your skill level, I have to agree about the Knew Concepts saw. It has made such a difference in my sawing & piercing. I am a little confused with your advice to āpierce across the bench pinā. I canāt seem to get a picture in my mind of what you mean. Could you elaborate?
For most flat piercing jobs, I hold the metal down onto the flat side of my bench pin, across the V cut out section. Then holding my sawframe at right angles to my eyeline I pierce the metal across the V. When looking at the way many are taught at college to pierce, they are told to pierce away from their face, holding the sawframe straight. Over here in the UK, they refer to this as a health and safety requirement, it supposedly means that when you break a sawblade you do not damage your hand in the process. This photo shows my bench pin with the V cut in it.
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When. I was doing my apprenticeship I broke a saw blade. No problem, agree? But the blade broke into two pieces, the broken piece got driven into my finger.
After a week I went to Emergency at a local hospital. I developed Gangrene and the surgeon asked what do I do? I asked why? Oh, I was going to cut off your finger, too much gangrene on the bone!
Two months later the broken saw-blade came out. Sounds gory, but accidents can & do happen! Play it safe with your 10 fingers!
Please go to:
gerrysdiamondsettingessays.blogspot.ca
Iām Gerry, On my iPhone!
Knew Concepts absolutely makes a difference if you are doing a lot of piercing! Its a real game changer. I also have a Green Lion and love it too for different reasons. I canāt imagine working without either one of them.
Aurora
Do you think Knew Concepts saw makes a big difference? I have
thought about buying Knew Concepts, or Green Lion. What do other
folks have to say about the saws they like the best???
Tight blade not ever a tight grip, get up every now and then
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Gerry,
I have even more respect for you than I did before, if that is even possible. Holy (unholy) poop. I shudder to think of that interim with the tiny blade segment embedded in your finger flesh until your body rejected it. Yech, and i thought a broken off sea urchin spine stuck in my foot for 6-7 years was a challenge. Some people are just lucky I guess 
Signing off as "perpetually humbled. . . "
Eileen
All the above! I would really be sure your blade is taut. Plink it with your fingernail. If you hear a āpingā good to go. If you hear a āplunkā reset the bladeāthatās the biggest cause of wobbly saw lines. As for wobbly filing: if you have wobbly saw lines and you are not filing correctly, Mr. File will only go along with the contours that exist and the wobbly edges will be enhanced. Make sure when filing (and I use the slanted side of the bench pin) the piece is held securely and not able to wiggle around. Your strokes with the file are measured and accurate. go slowly itās not a race. start at the tip of the file and stroke forward to the back of the fileāsawing back and forth like you are filing your nails is not productive. firstly the file cuts on the forward stroke and doesnāt cut on the backward stroke (diamond files cut all ways). I was taught to file by placing the tip of the file at the start of the surface to be filed, take a moment to be sure the file is in the correct position then push the file with a consistent motion to the end of the toothed area. this is the most efficient way. one sees peeps file with only a few inches of a 6" fileāwasting time and effort by sawing back and forth. maybe you need to have another jeweler who saws and files well observe you. maybe some habits of yours are hinky and you have no idea. okay Iāve spewed it out, good sawing and filing
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This has been all very helpful everyone. Thank you.
My doctor makes me get a tetanus shot. āAll that dirty metal and ways to cut yourselfā Ouch but better than what Gerry is talking about
Tim and I get one every year for the same reason. Under magnification my hands have a ton of teeny tiny black tattoos from metal cuts and pokes.
-Jo
Hi James,
Iāve tried to envision the manner youāve described of cutting perpendicular to line of sight, and Iāve attempted to cut this way without much success. Would you happen to have a video showing you employing this technique?
Thank you,
Alec
everyone here has made good points, but one thing i would like to addākeep your blade perpendicular to the surface. donāt lean into the curves (we are not riding motorcycles here)
that little bevel will give you an uneven pattern
-joanne
How do you decide which saw frame you use ? What does it depend on ?
I really like the Knew Concepts one. It is light and strong and tensions well. The new ones have levers instead of the screw mechanism on the originals. You will acquire multiple saws. You need different depths for different work. I have an antique saw i love too just because it is so nice to look at!
Cheers,
Karen
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As I have grown older, I find the comfort of holding the saw frame important, if you can only think about where the blade is cutting then the saw frame is fine. Over the years I have added to my collection of saw frames and my latest ones are KnewConcepts frames, which I find suit me very well.
If you enjoy your piercing then the frame suits you.
James
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Tetanus every 5 years and be sure to tell mri or cat scan doctor you are a metalsmith!
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I am a minimalist and hobbyist, so the Green Lion and KC saws are not in my sights if something else will work. I had a lot of trouble with the two āGermanā [style] saws I bought keeping the clamps from turning and getting them to grip the blades tightly enough not to slip, even though I tried different screws and wing nuts and filing and playing around with the clamp surfaces. So I bought a āSwissā 3 inch adjustable saw frame (#110058) from Rio and Iāve been very happy with how it works. No more trouble clamping blades, soft ergonomic handle, light weight and set screws go on either right or left sides. Price with shipping was $21.10. Just another option no one has mentioned.