Reply To: Veritas Tenon Saw Too Big
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Carcase and tenon aren’t traditional descriptions for saws in the USA, as far as I can see. Disston, responsible for by far the most saws ever made, never used the terms here. Maybe they did in England, but the Disstonian institute doesn’t record that. Saws that look like modern dovetail saws with open handles were just number 70. Closed handle versions were numbered 4 or 5 just like their bigger kin.
This appears to be a European distinction adopted here by boutique saw makers.
Looking in the index of my 1147 page Hammacher Schlemmer 1906 catalogue, the word “carcase” and “tenon” don’t appear in reference to back saws at all. There wasn’t a carcase saw even in the butcher’s tools section.
The only reference to tenoners is for lathe tools.
The word “dovetail” does appear, but looking at the offering ( numbr 68), it is what is generally called a gents saw, with a straight handle like a Zona saw.. no tools with traditional open or closed handles carried the designation.
The only other distinction is a mitre back saw complete with the British spelling.
Even a saw designed to cut steel and cast iron pipe is just a Disston number 4 with an “M” after the number, presumably to indicate it was hard tempered for metal.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by Larry Geib.