Nib on a Handsaw? The Answer from Disston
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I have a copy of a Disston Hand Book printed in 1912.
On page 39 it talks about the Nib.
For those of you that are curious.But, the nib can be used as an anchor to prevent the bit of string that holds the front of a blade-guard slipping off….. which is what I usually saw it used for by the old-timers who had saws with nibs. Needless to say, new saws are sans nibs!
Otherwise, it’s a little bit like the human appendix, no practical use at all until it goes wrong ………I gladly left mine in West Africa in the summer of 1976….!
But, the nib can be used as an anchor to prevent the bit of string that holds the front of a blade-guard slipping off….. which is what I usually saw it used for by the old-timers who had saws with nibs. Needless to say, new saws are sans nibs!
Otherwise, it’s a little bit like the human appendix, no practical use at all until it goes wrong ………I gladly left mine in West Africa in the summer of 1976….!
Then what… a string to hold the opposite end I suppose? Disston made saws since the mid 1800’s, and for them to print this in 1912 , I would think that the nib generated a lot of conversation as to what it was for even in the early 1900’s. No matter what anyone thinks it is for… this book has it in print… and it comes from a very good source.
Now that you mention it, I do believe that there were actually two pieces of string….. so, there must have been one at the other end.
Anyway, it’s a huge relief to learn that Disston had understood the true lack of meaning of the nib as long ago as 1912 and were prepared to publish it.
The Disstonian institute site has a whole page on the nib up on the site as an April Fool’s spoof.
http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/nibpage.html
My favorite is the 1959 ‘cadillac’ nib.
As to what Disston says in their catalog, they have often said diametrically opposit things. When the swept back D8 came out in 1874, it was supposed to make the saw stiffer. In the 1918 catalogue, it made the saw more flexible.
I suspect the copy is from marketing, not the engineering department.
This is where I found the book.
https://archive.org/details/DisstonHandbookOnSaws1912/mode/2up
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