DSPIAE | AT-HW
Aluminium Alloy Hand Saw
A 0.3 mm blade cuts where you put it — and takes almost nothing with it
⚠️ Two things every other listing gets wrong
Yes, a blade is included. Nearly every shop selling this saw carries a line saying the blades are sold separately. That line is about the spare-blade refill packs, not about the saw. DSPIAE ships the AT-HW with a Fine stainless blade already fitted. Open the box and you can cut.
The fitted blade comes in one of two widths. DSPIAE's packing list specifies the wide Fine blade, but we have seen boxes arrive with the narrow one instead. Both are genuine, both are the same Fine grade, and both cut. We would rather tell you now than have you open the box wondering. If you specifically want the other width, a refill pack contains both.
📌 The problem this solves
You want to cut a part in half. Not trim it, not sand it — genuinely separate it, on a line you have chosen, so both halves are still usable afterwards.
A knife is the usual answer and it is usually the wrong one. Scoring and snapping works on thin flat sheet and nothing else. On a curved surface the blade skates. On anything thicker than a millimetre or two you end up sawing with a knife tip, which wanders, chips and eventually snaps. On resin it does not go well at all.
A saw solves it, but only if the saw is thin enough to be worth using. A thick blade eats material as it goes, so the cut line ends up somewhere other than where you drew it and the part comes back together short. That is why this one has a 0.3 mm blade — and why that number is the entire point of the tool.
🔧 What the specifications actually mean
▪ 0.3 mm blade thickness. This is the width of material the saw destroys as it passes. At 0.3 mm you can put the cut directly against the edge you want to keep, then take the sawn face back to the line with a single pass of a file. Cut a torso in half at 0.3 mm and the two halves still meet properly when you rejoin them. That is the difference between a conversion that fits and one you have to shim.
▪ High-density tooth pattern. Fine teeth spread the cutting load across more of the blade at once. In practice this means the saw does not grab and jump when it first bites, and it does not bind halfway through a cut on soft styrene — the failure that makes people give up on modelling saws. It cuts more slowly than a coarse blade. That is the trade you want on a part you cannot replace.
▪ Magnetic cap, two jobs. On the front, it covers the teeth — protects your fingers in a toolbox and protects the teeth from everything else in there. Moved to the back of the handle, it becomes a handle extension, which gives you a longer, straighter stroke when you are cutting across something wide. It clicks on magnetically, so swapping takes a second.
▪ 142 mm long, 50 g. Short and light, held like a pen rather than swung like a tool. You are not driving this saw through the work; you are guiding it and letting the teeth do it. The aluminium body gives it just enough mass to track straight without you having to lean on it.
▪ Blades change with one screw. A single Phillips screw releases the blade. Undo, swap, retighten. No pins, no clips, no tensioning frame to reset — and no reason ever to replace the handle because the teeth have gone.
📦 What's in the box
✔ 1 × DSPIAE AT-HW aluminium alloy hand saw, blade fitted
✔ 1 × stainless steel saw blade, Fine grade
✔ Magnetic locking cap, fitted
✘ No HW-01 or HW-02 refill pack — those are separate items, and you will not need one until the fitted blade is worn
✘ No screwdriver — blade changes need a small Phillips driver, which most modellers already own
📑 Specifications
| Model | AT-HW |
| Manufacturer's product name | Aluminum Alloy Hand Saw |
| Blade thickness | 0.3 mm |
| Blade dimensions | 63 × 10 × 0.3 mm |
| Blade material | Stainless steel |
| Handle material | Aluminium alloy and ABS |
| Overall size | 142 × 20 × 15 mm |
| Net weight | 50 g |
| Blade weight | 4.5 g |
| Blade retention | Single Phillips locking screw |
| Cap | Magnetic — blade cover or handle extension |
| Compatible refill blades | HW-01 (Extra Fine), HW-02 (Fine) |
| Suitable materials | Styrene, ABS, PVC, resin |
| EAN | 6970845566167 |
| Country of manufacture | China |
Note on spelling: DSPIAE names this the "Aluminum Alloy Hand Saw" in its own literature. We list it as aluminium, because that is how it is spelled here.
🤔 Which refill blade will you want later?
| HW-01 | Extra Fine — finest teeth, slowest cut, cleanest face |
| HW-02 | Fine — the grade fitted to this saw at the factory |
| Each pack contains | Two blades — one narrow, one wide |
The numbering is back to front, and it catches people out. HW-01 is the finer of the two, not the entry level one. HW-02 is not an upgrade to HW-01 — they are alternatives. Buy HW-01 if you want the smoothest possible cut face and do not mind going slowly. Stay on HW-02 if you want a bit more speed through thicker plastic.
The two widths in each pack do different jobs. The wide blade is stiffer and tracks straighter, so it is the one for a straight cut across a part. The narrow blade is for getting into a slot, working inside an opening you have already drilled, or reaching a cut you cannot approach from the outside.
Straight answer: if you already own an AT-HW and it has stopped cutting, buy a blade pack — they cost a few pounds. The handle is the durable part of this tool and there is no sensible reason to buy a second one. And if what you actually want is to get parts off a sprue, do not buy a saw at all. A pair of nippers does that faster, cleaner and with less risk to the part.
💡 Getting a clean cut
Hold the work, not the saw. The single biggest cause of a wandering cut is a part held in the other hand. Anything that clamps the work — a vice, a block, even tape onto a bench edge — improves the result more than any technique change.
Start with a groove, not a stroke. Draw the saw backwards two or three times, lightly, to cut a shallow track. Once the teeth sit in that track the blade cannot skate off the line. Only then start sawing properly.
Let the teeth work. Pressure does not speed up a 0.3 mm blade, it flexes it — and a flexed blade cuts a curve. Long, light strokes using most of the blade length will be faster in real time than short forceful ones.
Move the cap back for wide cuts. Clipping the cap onto the rear of the handle gives you a longer grip, which makes it much easier to keep a stroke straight across a wide part.
For an internal cut, drill first. Make a hole inside the area you want to remove, then start the narrow blade in the hole. Trying to plunge a saw into a flat surface will only skate and score.
Sand the face, do not saw it flat. A sawn edge is never a finished edge. Take it back to your line on a flat sanding board or with a file — that is where the accuracy actually comes from.
⚖️ Honest limitations
Shallow cuts only. The blade is 10 mm deep and part of that depth is clamped inside the handle, so the working depth is less again. This saw separates parts, opens up seams and trims. It will not section a thick resin block or cut down a large piece of stock, and no amount of technique will change that.
It holds one blade at a time. The refill packs contain two blades and they photograph like an upgrade kit. They are not. Buying a pack gives you spares and a second width to choose from — it does not give the saw more capability.
The cap extension is a comfort feature, not a locked joint. It holds magnetically. It is genuinely useful for longer strokes, but at least one user has found it can work loose mid-cut. Treat it as a grip aid you check occasionally, not as a rigid part of the tool.
A thin blade punishes impatience. 0.3 mm stainless steel is strong for its thickness but it is still 0.3 mm. Force it and it will flex, wander off your line, and in the worst case kink. If you want to remove a lot of material quickly, this is not the tool.
Plastic and resin. DSPIAE specifies this for model materials, and that is what we will stand behind. Do not buy it expecting to cut brass rod, photo-etch fret or wood — you may get away with it once, and you will blunt the teeth doing so.
The supplied blade width is not guaranteed. As above — factory packing varies between the narrow and the wide Fine blade. Both cut well. We will not know which is in a given box until it is opened.
It is sharp, and it is not a toy. Fine saw teeth on stainless steel will take skin off. Not suitable for children under 14, and worth keeping the cap on when it is in a drawer.
🚚 Dispatch & delivery
✅ Same-day dispatch on orders placed before 3 PM, Monday to Friday
✅ Sent by Royal Mail 24 Tracked from our unit in Derby — full tracking from our door to yours, no import charges and no customs delays
✅ Packed properly. Tools travel in protective packaging, not a bare envelope
✅ Not sure whether a saw or a knife is right for the cut you have in mind? Message us and describe the part — we will tell you honestly, including when the answer is neither
Hobby Heaven
By Hobbyists. For Hobbyists.
A family-run UK model and miniature supplier. We use the tools we sell, and we will tell you when something is not right for the job you have described.
