Left Handed Circular Saws – Southpaw Style

I recently had an email asking me what kind of circular saw would be ideal for a left handed person. Being right handed, I had no immediate answer to this, as it never occurred to me that a left handed circular saw was even an option. Given that around 10% of the world is left handed, it seems like this should be a bigger issue. After a little research though, I was left more confused than ever. It turns out that this is actually quite a tricky question to answer.

So is there actually an ideal solution here? And which model is best suited for a left handed person? To begin with we are going to talk about some of the different saw designs, so let’s see if we can answer that below. Otherwise you can skip straight to the recommended models section below.

Traditional Circular Saw Designs

Firstly, lets start by talking about the traditional circular saw design. Since around 90% of people are right handed, saws have been primarily designed for right handed folks. Traditionally the blade is mounted to the right on these models for two reasons.

The first is the safety aspect, as you have the blade facing away from you. This makes it safer when it comes to kickbacks, as damage is less likely with the blade facing outwards and away from your body.
The other factor is that with the blade on the other side of the handle, you get much less debris coming your way.

Enter the Circular Saw With Blade On Left

However, in recent years the demand for left handed circular saw models has increased, and some manufacturers have begun making left handed saw versions. And strangely enough, most right handed people tend to prefer this kind of design! The reason for this is that a left mounted blade allows a right handed person to have a clearer line of sight on what they are cutting, instead of having to peer over the side.

Virtually every saw now has a safety guide, so in the event of a kickback there shouldn’t be any damage anyway. This does mean you will get more dust coming your way as a right hander when using a left mounted blade model, but most right handed people see that as an acceptable trade off for getting a more accurate cut.

Circular Logic?

Using the same logic, you could say that a traditional right mounted blade model will offer the same advantage to a left handed person. So where does that leave the left handed folks? I guess it really boils down to personal preference. If you prefer the idea of having a clear line of sight on your cutting line, then a traditional “right mounted blade” model will work well for a left hander. If you want the safest option, then you will have to try to find a left handed circular saw. These can be tricky to find, but they do exist.

We should also mention the worm drive saw, which are ideal for left handed folks as the blades are mounted on the left. However, the trade-off with these kinds of saws are that they are on average around 50% heavier than standard circular saws. The extra weight is especially evident when you are doing overhead cuts. There is also the cost factor, as these models tend to cost a bit more.

We should also mention that most battery powered circular saws seem to have left mounted blades, but corded models still remain right side mounted. If anyone knows why this is, perhaps you can let us know in the comments below?

So with all that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the more popular models you will find in both the left and right mounted models.

Right Handed Saw – Dewalt DWE575SB

Left Handed Saw – Bosch CS5

Summary

So that is a quick look at some of the better models for both left and right mounted circular saws. It really comes down to personal preference to which style will suit you best. If you still can’t decide, then perhaps head down to your local diy store and try out both styles if they have them. Hopefully this will help you choose what kind you feel most comfortable with. The general opinion though seems to be that right side mounted models work best for left handers, although they were not designed that way!