Saw out the ribs

I had a little time in the basement yesterday and managed to saw off one strip of maple for the ribs. The chunk I have is more than two ribs wide. I'll cut a few more up and then start finishing them. First I plane the top side smooth and fairly flat. The saw doesn't cut curves well, uh, except when you don't want it to. You have to watch both sides of the board to make sure the saw is sitting flat. The saw I used is a Japanese single edge saw (Kataha Noko Giri) with a .o2" thick blade that cuts a .03 kerf. Trying to save money I bought just the blade thinking the handle I had would work for it. It didn't. The blade fit in the metal slot, but the locking part didn't work. So I made a handle for it with a wooden latch that holds the blade in place and is lashed on with string. It works. The blade seems a little dull now. I don't know if I'd by it with the handle or just use my handmade handle. That is one thing about the mass produced japanese saw. The teeth are impulse hardened and they are rather brittle. I've thought about biting the bullet and buying one of the hand forged blades that aren't as brittle and can be reset and resharpened. Any thoughts on that? Let me know.
The plane I used cuts really nice. I bought it at a flea market years ago. Took it into the shop to true it up on the surface grinder. The grinder hand, who is also a woodworker took my project over like his own baby, and did it on his lunch break. It was ground with the blade locked in, but raised above the cutting surface. I made up an extra thick chip beaker that is 3/6" x 2 3/8" x 6". It makes the blade feel like it is welded right to the plane. You have to do some modifications to get everything to tighten up in the right place but I highly recommend tweaking your planes. A simpler way would be to use the Hock chip beaker. It isn't as massive, but is the same idea. Actually it is where I came up with it. The blade itself is just the old standard Craftsman that came with it. Holds up real well and sharpens easily. The only thing I don't like about the plane is the bottom is corrugated. That is fine for the ribs and the bottom of plates, but can be a problem for the center joint.