Hand saws have been around for thousands of years.

Egyptian hieroglyphics exist depicting ancient woodworkers sawing boards into pieces.

Ancient bow saws have been found in Japan. The cut patterns on ancient boards may be observed sometimes to bear the unique cutting marks left by saw blades, particularly if the wood was not ‘smoothed up’ by some method.

As for preservation of hand saws, twenty-four saws from eighteenth-century England are known to survive.