Talk:Sabre saw

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I don't know much about these things (my knowledge is mostly in the area of hand tools) but from what this entry says, I can't tell how a powered sabre saw is different from a Reciprocating saw. Could someone with greater knowledge of the subject explain this and, if necessary, suggest a merge? cbustapeck 19:24, 22 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

--Erlyrisa 05:14, 23 July 2006 (UTC) has changed Reciprocating saw - to be more definitive, and less like an advert. - could use drawing of the recprocating action, and a definition of reciprocating action.[reply]

A sabre saw traditionialy refers to what has become known as a jigsaw. It is a handheld saw which is gripped above or around the saw body, the blade moving up and down perpendicular to the saw body. This article is incorrect. The saw referred to as a reciprocating saw is typicaly now referred to as a "sawzaw". It is a larger and longer saw which has a blade which moves inline with the body of the saw. A jigsaw is actually a benchtop saw with a circular blade and a cast iron table, the piece being cut is rotated around the blade. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Orson1492 (talk • contribs) 01:42, 1 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

^^Nope. While the first part is right, that last thing you're talking about is now definately a scroll saw. Jigsaw is specifically handheld. Same as a sabre saw, which is an older term. If there is a difference it's that old sabre saws were bulkier than today's smaller more precise jigsaws and as stated in the article were used on jobsites for quick cutting of materials where circular sawing was impractical. Now this is done with sawzalls and the like, the jigsaw has evolved to more precision use and often incorporate a scrolling feature in the head. In fact this article should really be deleted or its content sent to the the jigsaw page. you go looking for a sabre saw you are going to get a lot of confusion and litle else. This guy gives a pretty good analysis- woodworking.about.JigsawSabreSaw. Batvette (talk) 23:17, 2 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Craftsman still makes tools that they call "Sabre Saws" and also "Jigsaws," and they are practically identical in appearance. The difference is that the Saber Saw has a blade that can be rotated with a knob and the Jigsaw does not. But they are definitely NOT a "Sawzall" style reciprocating saw. They are like subcategories of the same basic thing. So basically over the years the Jigsaw and Reciprocating Saw (Sawzall) have both been referred to with the term "Sabre Saw" at one point or another, and not always consistently by the companies that even make the things. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Gol Stoan (talk) 21:59, 19 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Sabre saw and jig saw are the same thing. The sabre saw article should be deleted. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 45.37.240.148 (talk) 18:11, 14 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Sabre saw may be a trademark. Kortoso (talk) 20:53, 20 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

In the UK at least, the Jigsaw power tool is one where the blade stands vertically to the piece being worked on. The Sabre saw is another term for a Reciprocating saw which is to say, it is used with the blade running parallel to the object being sawn in the way that a traditional hand saw is.

Reciproacting / Sabre Saw

Jigsaw CPBearfoot (talk) 14:40, 23 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

In Canada/USA, "sabre saw" is generally not used anymore. From my experience, when it was used, it mainly referred to saws that would be called a "jig saw" today. Here is an example of what I would call a vintage "jig saw" that was marketed as a "sabre saw" (by Sears, marketing on the saw and box "Craftsman Sabre Saw" - model 31527941):

Sears Craftsman Sabre Saw^[4]

In North America, the saw you show in the picture in the sabre saw article would be referred to as a "reciprocating saw" or a "sawzall" (I'll refer to them as sawzalls from here on for clarity, though I know that is a trade name). I have never heard of a sawzall referred to as a "sabre saw" here, only jigsaws have been called "sabre saws" in my experience.

As an aside (for further ambiguation/disambiguation), the term "jig saw" was also regularly used to refer to what we would now usually call a "scroll saw" (bench-top or stand mounted, not hand held).

All of these saws reciprocate to cut. The main physical differences between a sawzall and a jigsaw are the body shape/relationship of the handle to the saw (how it is held, 1 hand vs 2), and the size of the sole plate relative to the body length. The usage is also significantly different: a jigsaw is generally used for cutting relatively neat/precision curves in thin stock, whereas a sawzall is primarily used for demolition and rough cuts in thick stock (eg 2x, 4x, metal bars/beams/pipes etc).

CPBearfoot makes a good point in that there does seem to be some international variation in the terminology. If you search "sabre saw" at homedepot.ca, you get: "Search Results 0 results for "sabre saw"" but if you search "saber saw" you get 1 hit for a jigsaw blade. If you do the same at homedepot.com, you get 86 hits for powered saws, most of which are jigsaws, and none of which are sawzalls, and all blade hits were jigsaw type, not for sawzalls including Bosch. In the UK, you do get hits for both sawzalls and blades with both spellings and no jigsaws. In North America, if you asked for a "sabre saw" in a store you'd most likely be shown jig saws, but quite possibly you'd be shown sawzalls in the UK/Europe?

I would suggest that where there seem to be international differences in this naming, the international disambiguation could be added to both the jigsaw article and the reciprocating saw article. A well constructed sentence or 2 in either or both of the jig saw and reciprocating saw articles should suffice. The "sabre saw" article is probably not useful or needed and should be removed imho.

If the sabre saw article was to be continued, it should, at a minimum, include photos (like the one I linked to) showing various saws that are/were actually marketed as sabre saws... and at least in North America, that would mean vintage power tools... pictures of a variety of saws from different markets would clearly demonstrate the lack of clarity in this particular terminology.

Roscoejr (talk) 14:03, 11 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]