thumb|Two members of the Forestry Corps sawing the base of a tree in the United Kingdom, 1914
thumb|Two-man saw in Oregon
thumb|Two-man saw used by carpenters to saw planks from a tree trunk by hand, Dhading, Nepal
A two-man saw (known colloquially as a "misery whip") is a saw designed for use by two sawyers. While some modern chainsaws are so large that they require two persons to control, two-man crosscut saws were primarily important when human power was used. The two applications require slightly different designs: a felling saw has a narrower blade, allowing wedges to be more easily inserted, while a bucking saw has a wider blade, giving it more strength.
Two-man saws were designed to cut in both directions. Careful tooth design was necessary to clear the sawdust during the cut.
Two-man saws were known to the ancient Romans, but first became common in Europe in the mid-15th century. In America, crosscut saws were used as early as the mid-17th century, but felling saws only began to replace axes for felling trees in the late 19th century.
Some Japanese saws are used by two persons, although they are of a different design.
See also
- Saw pit
- Whipsaw