Help with handsaw identification
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Hello all.
I found this old saw in a flea market last saturday. It’s a rather big saw, with 4 1/2 tpi. I bought it for 10 euro. It is not very probable that I use this saw too much, but I liked it, specially the handle, and I bought it (it was very sad to see it liying on the ground).
I want to restore it. I know that I don’t must try to dismantle the handle, since the nuts like “welded”, and the handle is not loose anyway. Since the blade is absolutely straight (!) and all the teeth are in good shape, I think that the restoration process won’t be neither complicated nor long. Handle is worn and dirty, but it is firm and has no cracks.
I would like to identify it. I’ve searched on the Internet, but I haven’t found a saw with a handle like this. I thought that it could be a Disston saw, but all of them I’ve seen on webpages don’t have the “straight line” on the bottom of the handle. It looks that it could be more than 100 years old.
I leave here some photos of my “new” tool. Perhaps somebody here knows what saw I have found.
Thank you all in advance.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.4 April 2019 at 7:10 pm #555752Several contemporary saw makers have databases of saw handle templates for those who wish to build or buy saws made to old patterns. Blackburn, Wenzlof, and TGIAG a come immediately to mind.
The best I can come up with is a saw pattern from TGIAG ( two guys in a garage) who keep a database of old saw handle patterns.
They have a saw handle pattern that closely matches the profile and saw nut pattern of your saw that is labeled as being a Richardson Bros. London pattern saw.
https://www.tgiag.com/saw-handle-scans.htmlLooking further, there were Richardson Bros saws made in London, and in Newark NJ USA made as far back as 1860.
The couple examples I see of USA made ones have the classic fishtail pattern bottom horn instead of the flat yours has.It’s a start, anyway. The marks on the plate appear to be stamped, not etched, so a good derusting and cleaning might reveal more
And while old split saw nuts do tend to be more fragile, some of these same makers offer replacements. Also, it’s not too hard to recreate split nuts from brass bolts and a sliver of brass round stock With just a drill press and hand tools.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.Wow, Larry, what a fast response! Thank you very much for your searching and for the link. It’s very very interesting.
So I’ve got another british old boy… yes, it makes sense, since the people who sold it to me were english and fairly old.
I will take here some photos of the result of the restoration if it goes well.
Thank you verh much again.
5 April 2019 at 7:44 pm #555785If it is a Richardson Bros. Saw, it might be American and has a unique place in saw history. It turns out they made flat bottom saws in Newark and some oddities.
Lee Valley has a 6 part peace on the company and its history, which spans the period from 1859 to about 1906..
Your split nuts indicate it would be towards the early part of that history, since some saws show medallions and nuts that were patented around 1878.
The article also shows a patent that looks like it may have taken off fingers.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/newsletters/Woodworking/5/1/patents.htm
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