A plunge saw or plunge-cut saw is a type of hand-held circular saw which differs from a regular circular saw in that it can plunge into the material to a predetermined depth during the cut. In other words, the depth-of-cut is not fixed and often can be adjusted to be just slightly over the thickness of the board being cut. This property also allows a plunge saw to cut shallow grooves into the workpiece, if necessary. Compared to traditional hand-held circular saws, plunges saws are said to increase operator safety, as well as allowing for reduced splintering and tear-out.

 A miter saw is a saw used to make accurate crosscuts and miters in a workpiece by positioning a mounted blade onto board. A miter saw in its earliest form was composed of a backsaw in a miter box, but in modern implementation consists of a powered circular saw that can be positioned at a variety of angles and lowered onto a board positioned against a backstop called the fence.

Powered miter saws also cut bevels into a workpiece by adjusting the vertical tilt axis of the upper portion of the machine while the table lats flat horizontally. Miter saws which axis can be tilted in a single direction are known as a single compound miter saw. If the axis can tilt both lefts and right it is known as a double bevel compound miter saw. Some are equipped with a sliding rail system or have a pivot arm to cut wider workpieces when laid flat on the table of the saw and flush against the fence. This is known as a sliding compound miter saw.

Miter saws are primarily used for cutting wood trim and molding, but can be used to also cut metal, masonry, and plastics as well via the appropriate type of blade is used for the material being cut.

 There are many types of a saw in the world. Hand saws typically have a relatively thick blade to make them stiff enough to cut through the material. Thin-bladed handsaws are made stiff enough either by holding them in tension in a frame or by backing them with a folded strip of steel (formerly iron) or brass (on account of which the latter are called "backsaws.") Some examples of hand saws are:   

Artillery saw, Chain saw, Portable link saw: a flexible chain saw up to four feet long, supplied to the military for clearing tree branches for gun sighting;

Butcher's saw: for cutting bone; many different designs were common, including a large one for two men, known in the USA as a beef-splitter; most were frame saws, some backsaw

Crosscut saw: for cutting wood perpendicular to the grain

• Docking saw: a large, heavy saw with an unbreakable metal handle of unique pattern, used for rough work.

 An electric hand saw is important for cutting trees and woods. In woodworking and carpentry, hand saws, also known as "panel saws", are used to cut pieces of wood into different shapes. This is usually done in order to join the pieces together and carve a wooden object. They usually operate by having a series of sharp points of some substance that is harder than the wood being cut. The hand saw is a bit like a tenon saw, but with one flat, sharp edge.

Handsaws have been around for thousands of years. Egyptian hieroglyphics exist depicting ancient woodworkers sawing boards into pieces. Ancient bow saws have been found in Japan. The cut patterns on ancient boards may be observed sometimes to bear the unique cutting marks left by saw blades, particularly if the wood was not 'smoothed up' by some method. As for the preservation of handsaws, twenty-four saws from eighteenth-century England are known to survive. 

Materials for saw blades have varied over the ages. There were probably bronze saws in the time before steel-making technology became extensively known and industrialized within the past thousand years or so.