The saw adds a hidden +3 bonus to the player's Construction skill. This allows the player to construct items as if their Construction level were higher by 3, although this advantage is not applicable when constructing things that do not require a saw, such as monsters, plants, or rooms. This bonus is stackable with drinking teas, sculpting chisel and spicy stews that already boost this skill, only for objects requiring a saw to make.
Once the saw has been used to construct 28 items, it reverts to its seed form where it will need to be re-enchanted by returning it to the singing bowl in either Brimstail's cave or in the Ithell clan district. If the saw is in your inventory, it will lose a charge after constructing an item regardless of whether the saw is needed to construct the item or not. With the completion of Roving Elves, Ilfeen is also able to recharge this seed.
If a player has both a normal saw and a crystal saw in their inventory when building furniture, the crystal saw will be used and a charge will be deducted, even if the player has the requisite Construction level for the piece of furniture and does not need the crystal saw's boost.
The Crystal saw can also be used in the Sawmill training area in place of a regular saw. This will not use any of its charges and gives double experience when creating the required planks (however, it will not double the reward for the completion of a job). This can give around 100,000 experience in an hour.
If you lose or destroy the saw, you can get it back by talking to Brimstail in his cave. Brimstail will not give you a seed if you have either the seed, saw, or Crystal chimes in your bank or inventory.