Ken Nagrod said:
The guard mechanism on a regular circular saw should cover the blade in the event of kickback and you can easily control the saw to follow a cut line compared to using a TS saw with no guide of any kind. I've tried the TS saws with nothing else twice and I wouldn't do it again, even for a demo. That's why I tell people that I don't recommend using the TS saws freehand.
While I like the others (and apparently correctly) failed to equate the material choice with failure to use the guide rail, I don't quite follow this either: how is the guard on a traditional circ saw going to be any more effective than the housing of the saw closing over the blade as it lifts off the workpiece?
1. the user should be next to the saw and not behind it
2. should release the unlocking button above the handle after pulling the trigger and starting to plunge; that way if the blade does snap back completely into the housing, it will lock in place even if the trigger is held down
Note that I'm not commenting on the "ease" of freehand use of the saw -- I'm skeptical of the conclusion, but I'm not arguing the point either; never really had reason to prove/disprove and simply always use the rail. I'm just curious as to the implication that the plunge mechanism does not provide a level of safety that the spring-back gizmo on traditional saws somehow does.