Left Hand Circular Saw VS Right Hand Circular Saw

Introduction

The new generations of circular saws are designed to be less frightening than their bigger counterparts.  These saws are smaller but they are still dangerous and no amount of safety features can replace the fact that you need to know where your fingers are at all times. The best circular saws of this year are the ones where you can keep an eye on the cut line and your digits at the same time.

Useful Key Points

For all intents and purposes, right hand saws are righties and left hand saws are for lefties but that does not mean one cannot use the other.  It is a comfort and confidence preference.  You should feel comfortable using the saw because if you aren’t comfortable with it then you most certainly won’t be using it with confidence and that is how we risk losing our important Peter pointers and Birdie flippers.

Right Hand Side

A right hand side circular saw allows you to hold the main handle with your right hand and the auxiliary handle with your left.  The blade is also on the right hand side of the tool so your arms do not need to cross over each other at any point.  The base sits over your work piece on the left side and all your material’s cut offs will fall to the right hand side.

Left Hand Side

If you are a righty using a left handed saw, your left arm will need to cross over your right to hold onto the auxiliary handle.  Considering that the blade is now aligned directly beneath your crossed arms this might not be the ideal situation.  On the other hand, even if you do use the correct hands on the handles, there is still a chance that your arm might accidently brush the blade since it is now more exposed on the left hand side.  This is not the case with a right hand sided saw.

Other Important Specs

The advantage of left hand sided saws is that you have a better view of the cut line at all times rather than having to risk your nose peeing at it from all angles.   Worm drives are typically all left handed and the majority of cordless circular saws are also left sided.

Conclusion

Left or right, the decision is yours. The best way to decide which circular saw is the better option for you is to read our reviews, or go down to the hardware store and hold a few saws in your hands. You will be able to tell which make you feel comfortable and which ones do not.