The big news here is not that Lie-Nielsen is selling a new dovetail saw, but that the saw’s blade is just 0.015 in. thick. That’s not much thinner than Lie-Nielsen’s standard dovetail saw (0.020 in. thick), but the difference is noticeable.

Less effort is needed to use the thinner saw and it cuts quicker. I hand-cut dovetails with tiny, delicate pins—there is usually less than 1/8 in. between the tails. After cutting one side of the pin socket with a normal dovetail saw, I’m left with no end grain to cut into, which makes it tricky to start the cut. However, with Lie-Nielsen’s thinner saw, I can easily fit two kerfs into the end grain between the tails. That makes for more accurate and less finicky dovetailing. Note that because the saw’s blade is so thin, it’s critical that you use solid sawing technique with it. If you use a gorilla touch, you could kink the blade and ruin it. You can buy the Thin-Plate Dovetail Saw at Lie-Nielsen.com ($125).

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