Z-Saw

Teeth must be hard. The blade must be flexible. Z-Saw solved this contradiction with impulse hardening, the innovation that changed industrial Japanese saws.

Miki, Hyogo prefecture, 1943. Miki is to Japanese hardware what Solingen is to German cutlery, the city where everyone makes tools. Saws, chisels, planes, hammers, for centuries, Miki has been the beating heart of Japanese toolmaking.

Okada Hardware Mfg. Co. is founded here, in the middle of World War II. The Z-Saw brand comes later. The key innovation: impulse hardening (Hard Impulse). The principle: heat saw teeth by electric impulse to very high temperature, very briefly, then cool. The result: exceptionally hard teeth (they stay sharp long) on a blade that remains flexible (it doesn't break). Best of both worlds.

Z-Saw was the first Japanese company to industrialize this process. A technological advantage that distinguished Z-Saw from competitors for years.

Alongside Gyokucho (inventor of the replaceable blade), Z-Saw forms the reference duo of industrial Japanese saws. Both brands systematically appear in les passionnés recommendations. The distinction: Gyokucho invented the interchangeable blade, Z-Saw invented impulse hardening. Two different innovations, same segment.

Purists will note that neither Z-Saw nor Gyokucho rival handmade forged saws (Hishika/Bessho) in cutting fineness. But for 95% of uses, and at a fifth of the price, it's more than enough.

Z-Saw blades have become standard among Western woodworkers who discovered Japanese pull-cutting. The result: cleaner cuts, less effort, thinner blades. Once you try it, you don't go back.