Thread: Atkins Four Hundred. "The Finest on Earth?"

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Me and my mouth!!

Attachment 434258

It looks to be a beauty. I am sure it will sell very well. A bit too well I'm afraid. What I want and what I can afford are too often mutually exclusive.

Regards
Paul

Just to complete the history of this G H Bishop Greyhound saw, it sold for US$199.46.

Regards
Paul

I turned up a little more information on the 400 recently. After Borg Warner bought Atkins in 1952 the saw division was subsequently bought out by Nicholson in 1966.

The 400 continued in production it would seem for most of these years, but now it is only just recogniseable. This is a saw that has been offered for sale recently. It still bears the Atkins name and the "Four Hundred."

Atkins 400 Nicholson[16636].jpgAtkins 400 Nicholson handle[16635].jpgAtkins 400 Nicholson etch[16634].jpg

But really that is the end of the resemblance. Gone is the Brazilian Rosewood handle and although it is still described as a "Perfection" handle it has lost all pretense to style and may as well be a square block of wood with a hand hole. The medallion is a Christmas cracker effort that says Warranted Superior.

The extract from a 1967 Nicholson catalogue below shows a remarkable resemblance to the saw above, although it now bears the Nicholson name. However there is no reference to Borg Warner. My conjecture is that this could have been produced in the first year and then in 1967 they dropped the Atkins name and substituted Nicholson.

Nicholson 400 1967[16637].jpg

Whatever the answer, it demonstrates vividly the depths to which handsaw production had sunk. I suppose you could say that the Atkins brand lasted longer than any of the competitors, but really euthanasia should have been employed soon after Borg Warner took over the reins back in 1952.

Regards
Paul