How did Lu Ban invent the saw

The saw is still a widely used tool today, and the founder of Chinese carpenters, Lu Ban, is considered the inventor of the saw. So how did Lu Ban come up with the idea of making the saw? Lu Ban was a person over 2500 years ago when he discovered that his hand had been cut by a plant. By observing Lu Ban, he found that the edge of the plant was toothed, so after multiple experiments, he made a sharp saw blade and invented the saw. However, in terms of technology at that time, the materials that could be used to make saw blades were limited. What were saw blades made of at that time?
There is an idiom in China called ‘Ban Men Nong Axe’, which means to overestimate one’s abilities and show off one’s skills in front of experts. This idiom is sometimes used as a self deprecating phrase to indicate that one dare not show off one’s small skills in front of experts.
Lu Ban was born in 507 BC and was a native of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. He was also known as Gongshu Ban. This idiom is said to have originated in the Tang Dynasty. In a preface, Liu Zongyuan wrote, “If you wield an axe at the gate of Ban Ying, do you have a thick skin.
The reason for saying this is because Lu Ban has always been regarded as the ancestor of carpenters, and the tools used by carpenters such as saws, planes, rulers, and ink brushes were all invented by Lu Ban.
Lu Ban invented the saw process, which is said to be like this. One day, Lu Ban went up the mountain to cut wood. Although he invented an axe and mastered the skill of using an axe, it was still very difficult to chop down a large tree with the axe. While climbing the mountain, Lu Ban accidentally cut his finger with a small grass.
Like Newton, Luban was also a thoughtful person. Newton was lying under a tree resting when an apple fell and his head was hit. Newton couldn’t help but wonder, why did this apple fall to the ground or not to the sky? Because of his contemplation of this question, he discovered the law of universal gravitation, and Luban was the same. He looked at his wound cut by grass and couldn’t help but think, how could such soft grass leaves make his hand bleed?
Through careful observation, he noticed that the edges of the small grass leaves had protrusions resembling serrations. He then used the grass leaves to scratch himself again, realizing that these shaped leaves were indeed lethal and could cut his skin without too much force. Therefore, he invented a saw based on the shape of the small grass, and the problem arose. The current type of saw used was called a steel saw, but in the time of Lu Ban, what material was used for the saw?
In a tomb in Lintan County, Gansu Province, archaeologists discovered two iron bars. According to tests conducted by Tsinghua University and Oxford Instruments, these two iron bars were forged from “block smelting infiltrated carbon steel” and were actually made from smelted metal. Carbon-14 testing showed that these two iron bars were produced 3090 years ago and 3075 years ago, respectively, with a theoretical error of no more than 35 years.
The researchers ultimately determined that these two iron bars should have been produced between 1510 BC and 1310 BC, indicating that iron tools had already existed in 1310 BC, but they were not yet popularized at that time and were considered treasures buried in tombs.
In the era of Lu Ban’s life, more than 800 years have passed, and iron should no longer be regarded as a treasure. The use of iron has become very common, and steel has also appeared. In 1978, the Hunan Provincial Museum and the Changsha Railway Construction Project Cultural Relics Excavation Team excavated a steel sword from an ancient tomb. Experts in ancient studies determined that it was a tomb from the late Spring and Autumn Period based on the shape, decoration, and form of the tomb’s accompanying objects. The steel used for the steel sword, after research and analysis, was composed of medium carbon steel with a carbon content of about 0.5%. The metallographic structure was relatively uniform, and it was likely to have undergone overheating treatment, indicating that quenching technology was already available at that time.
From this, it can be inferred that the material used by Lu Ban to make saws, even if it is not steel, should be iron. In 1980, the Sichuan Provincial Museum and Majia Commune in Xindu District, Chengdu, excavated and unearthed a wooden handle copper saw. The bronze saw was embedded in the wooden handle and fixed with three threaded joints, with a bend at the handle.
According to expert research, this wooden handled copper saw was buried during the Warring States period, indicating that people were still using saws made of bronze during that time. Lu Ban lived during the Warring States period, and it is said that he also helped Chu manufacture cloud ladders around 450 BC. Mozi damaged him for this and convinced the Chu king to stop attacking Song.
But this can only indicate that bronze saws existed during the Warring States period.
From the above analysis, it can be seen that Lu Ban used iron or possibly steel when making saws. The existence of all bronze saws is because saws existed before Lu Ban. Bronze saws buried in tombs can be used as collectibles.
In fact, as early as the Stone Age, people began using toothed knives to cut things. At that time, saws had already been invented, as evidenced by the flint blade with serrated edges discovered by archaeologists. However, since there has been no written record, people attribute the invention of saws to the skilled craftsman Lu Ban.
In Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, there is a Lu Ban Memorial Hall, which includes the Holy Ancestor Hall, Public Sacrifice Hall, Woodworking Equipment Hall, Stone Tool Hall, Weapon Hall, Architecture Hall, Zhouqiao Hall, Lu Ban Descendants Achievement Hall, and other halls, showcasing Lu Ban’s diligence and wisdom as the “saint of hundreds of craftsmen”. Those interested can go and take a look.