Joyce’s curious grip
The tools and joinery of yacht furniture share significant overlap with other fields of woodwork, and many will recognise The Technique of Furniture Making by Ernest Joyce (Batsford, 1970) as a bible of their craft. But who has tried the curious saw grip illustrated – though not explained – by Joyce in his chapter on the mortise and tenon joint?
While sawing cheeks with the closed-handle tenon saw, Joyce has four fingers passing through the aperture and his thumb resting on the upper horn. Using a smaller open-handle dovetail saw at the bench hook, his thumb again rests on the upper horn while his pinky curls beneath the lower horn and three fingers pass through the aperture. Normally we’re taught that the forefinger should point along the saw while the thumb rests parallel to it on the opposite side. Muscle memory weighs against success with a strange grip after so long sawing the normal way, but if I ignore the discomfort of that upper horn chiselling into my thumb joint, and my pinky being exposed to danger below the horn intended to protect it, I’m inclined to think Joyce’s grip enables a lighter and more precise cutting action, perhaps lessening the influence of the heavy hand while allowing more input from the tool itself. It’s clear from the shape evolved through generations how this handle should normally be held, yet Joyce was a master of his craft and surely he would not have departed from convention without good reason.