Fleam: The angle of the faces of the teeth relative to a line
perpendicular to the face of the saw.
Rake: The angle of the front face of the tooth relative to a line
perpendicular to the length of the saw. Teeth designed to cut with the
grain (ripping) are generally steeper than teeth designed to cut across
the grain (crosscutting)
Points per inch: The most common measurement of the frequency of teeth
on a saw blade. This is measured by setting the tip, or point, of one
tooth at the zero point on a ruler, and then counting how many points
are contained within one inch (25 mm) of length, counting inclusively.
There will always be one more point per inch than there are teeth per
inch (e.g., a saw with 14 points per inch will have 13 teeth per inch,
a saw with 10 points per inch will have 9 teeth per inch). Some saws do
not have the same number of teeth per inch throughout their entire
length, but the vast majority do.
Teeth Per inch: Another common measurement of the amount of teeth
residing in any one inch length of a saw blade. Usally abbreviated as
TPI, eg a blade cosisting of 18TPI (Teeth Per Inch).
Kerf: Width of the saw cut. On most saws the kerf is wider than the saw
blade because the teeth are flared out sideways (set). This allows the
blade to move through the cut easily without getting stuck (binding).
However, some saws are made so that the teeth have no set on one side.
This is done so that the saw can lie flat on a surface and cut along
the surface without scratching it. These are referred to as flush
cutting saws.
