An indispensable implement for shaping wood when the cut is not in the direction of the grain. Saws were probably among the first new tools to be made of metal. Still, copper, even if hardened, is soft, and bronze brittle. It was with the advent of iron that the wood saw came into its own. The ancient Egyptian saw was a difficult tool to use. It was a pull-saw, cutting when pulled. Its teeth were not bent slightly out of the blade’s plane as is the case with modern saws, which results in a cut a bit wider than the saw blade, making it easier for the saw to move: In the tomb of Ti a carpenter remarks to another: Take another. It is burning. When sawing with this kind of saw cutting vertically is easiest.