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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

Leaving all the ego baggage out of it for a bit of clarification so the 
youngsters don't drag around misinformation for years and then get egg on 
their cheeks when some bona-fide ruralite says hold up there, we need to 
point out that what is here being called a bow saw may very well be a buck 
saw. Maybe not. The two saws are different animals. The bow saw typically 
is a lighter weight tool. A bow saw is a tubular or semi-flattened tubular 
bow of steel with a skinny blade attached to each end and some kind of 
tensioning device, usually a lever handle, to make the blade tight so it 
doesn't wobble when you use it. A buck saw is a heavier wooden-framed 
device that holds the blade in the same place between two downward pointing 
ends and typically has a rod up at the top of the two end frame pieces 
which can be shortened mechanically above a pivot point created by a cross 
piece on which the two ends pivot on a bolt, which causes the blade to be 
tightened. My recollection is that a buck saw blade can be sharpened by the 
user. Bow saw blades tend to be light weight things of harder steel that 
resist the file. It is a lot easier to see the difference between the two 
saws if you do a simple search for bow saws and buck saws.