Cut Nails or Screws With a Woodworking Hand Saw

Imagine a situation:

You are working on your tree house. You need to cut a few nails shorter, but you realize that you forgot to take your metal saw.

You could go home to get the saw, but you don't feel like wasting time and money to go back home to get it.

You really want to cut those nails so you could move on to the next part of the house.

You do have a woodworking hand saw, but it would be stupid to use it to cut metal?!

Not at all.

In this Instructable, we look at a way to cut nails or screws with a woodworking saw and without damaging the teeth.

This Life Hack was taught to me by my dad. He saw it in 1960s when he was just a kid.

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Step 1: Take the Saw

Step 2: Find a Tool With a Sharp-ish Edge

Take a crowbar or a hammer (like a brick hammer or similar) or any other tool that could work.

It should not be too soft.

I used a file/rasp for demonstration purposes.

Step 3: Smack the Saw With a Tool of Your Choice

Smack the saw a few times from one end to another to create a tiny teeth.

Don't worry you will not damage the saw. The teeth will be so tiny, that you will hardly notice them.

Step 4: Use Other End of the Saw to Cut the Nail

Now you can cut the nail or a screw with a woodworking hand saw.

This saw will NOT replace your metal saw, but it will save you a trip back home in situations when you realize that you forgot to bring the metal saw to cut a few nails.