A two-handed, or two-man saw. It has a long serrated blade with wooden handles at the ends. As the name suggests, it was used by two people to cut timber. After the tree had been felled and the bark removed, the trunk was placed on supports (sawhorses or sawbucks) for cutting.
Shipbuilding was one of the most important economic activities on the Basque coast from the Low Middle Ages to the eighteenth century. From the nineteenth century on, away from the great shipbuilding industry, riverside boat makers continued to build small and medium-sized wooden fishing vessels. Since the second half of the twentieth century the shipyards have gradually closed, and the few that are still operating use fibreglass and other plastic materials instead of wood.
This saw comes from the collection of the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa's Naval Museum.
Bibliography:
Casado, José Luis (dir). Barcos y Astilleros. La Construcción Naval en Cantabria. Santander, Navalia, 1993. 83-84
Juan-García Aguado, José María de. La carpintería de ribera en Galicia (1940-2000). A Coruña, Universidade da Coruña, 2001. 37-38
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