DDW Challenge; at the movies. Sling Blade

Karl Childers;“Some folks call it a Sling Blade, I call it a Kaiser Blade”.

Me? I use a Kataba.

If Karl Childers had merely wanted to trim a few bits off Doyle Hargraves rather than kill him outright, he’d have been better off with this. I cut myself with it once so can testify to the sharpness of the blade. Not good when you're on Warfarin.

It’s a Japanese Pull Saw or Kataba Saw. It cuts on the pull stroke, rather than the push stroke, making for straighter and finer cuts than those possible with Western carpentry saws (because the blade is in tension rather than compression when cutting). It has a thin blade, about 12 inches long and a bamboo handle some 18 inches long. For maximum efficiency the handle is grasped with both hands. This also makes for a rather macho pose, which some consider attractive.

This particular Kataba was a present from Annie’s son Chris – he bought it when I was refitting our kitchen. Because the blade is so thin it’s ideal for sliding between the walls and the back of the worktops so that they can be trimmed to fit any unevenness in the walls.

(Chris had a part-time job fitting kitchens when he was at school and so learnt to do this sort of thing properly. My method, hiding the gaps with filler and quadrant, is now no longer an option).