A modern bow saw is a metal-framed saw in the shape of a bow with a coarse wide blade. This type of saw is also known as a swede saw or a buck saw. It is a rough tool that can be used for cross-cutting branches (maybe up to 6 inches in diameter) down to size.

Traditionally, a bow saw is a woodworking tool used for straight or curved cuts. In European vocabulary it is synonymous with frame saw. In English and American vocabulary it denotes a toothed blade suspended between two long narrow handles called "cheeks" that are supported and separated by a thin stretcher in the center of the handles, making a wide H shape (the cheeks form the uprights of the H, the stretcher the crossbar of the H). The blade is kept in tension with a turnbuckle or a twisted cord that runs parallel to the blade between the two cheeks but on the opposite side of the stretcher. If a cord is used, the cord is twisted with a toggle attached to one loop of the cord, adding tension. The toggle hits the stretcher, which keeps the cord from untwisting. A finer version of the saw uses a narrow blade (1/4" or less) with handles that allow the user to hold the saw and turn the blade. In this context it is also known as a turning saw.

Bow may refer to:

A saw is a tool that uses a hard blade, wire, or chain with a toothed edge to cut through softer materials. A saw may be worked by hand, or powered by steam, water, electricity or other power. An abrasive saw uses a powered circular blade for cutting metal.

In a modern serrated saw, each tooth is bent to a precise angle called its set. The set of the teeth is determined by the kind of cut the saw is intended to make. For example, a rip saw has a tooth set that is similar to the angle used on a chisel. The idea is to have the teeth rip or tear the material apart. Some teeth are usually splayed slightly to each side of the blade so that the cut width (kerf) is wider than the blade itself and the blade does not bind in the cut. The kerf of the blade is adjusted with a tool called a saw tooth setter.

An abrasive saw uses an abrasive disc or band for cutting, rather than a serrated blade.

In ancient Egypt, saws made of copper are documented as early as the Early Dynastic Period, circa 3,000–2,800.^{[page needed]} Examples of saws and models of saws have been found in many contexts throughout Egyptian history. Particularly useful are tomb wall illustrations of carpenters at work that show sizes and the use of different types. Egyptian saws were set with the teeth projecting only on one side, rather than in the modern fashion with the more advantageous alternating set.