A couple of Simonds rescues.

[Bushmiller]

I recently acquired a number of handsaws, mainly Simonds, and amongst them were two Simonds saws that at first glance were beyond the pail. However, a second glance led me to believe they had potential. These are the two saws:

Simonds 001.jpgSimonds scene.JPG

The first saw, a No.8 1/2 had suffered the indignity of a painted handle in red. The second had fallen victim to a painter, whom I hope has a day job because otherwise he/she resides under a bridge somewhere. I believed this saw to be a No.72 or more likely a No.372.

Well, I could drag the saga out for ever, but nobody would read it so here is the No.8 1/2:

A couple of Simonds 002.jpgA couple of Simonds 004.jpgA couple of Simonds 006.jpgA couple of Simonds 009.jpg

And the No.372 (which it was).

A couple of Simonds 011.jpgA couple of Simonds 012.jpgA couple of Simonds 013.jpgA couple of Simonds 016.jpgA couple of Simonds 017.jpg

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Simonds Saw Manufacturing Co, who made handsaws from about 1901 (no one is quite sure of their entry into the market) until they ceased handsaw production abruptly in 1926, they are one of the big four American saw makers along with Disston, EC Atkins and GH Bishop. Like Disston, they too had their own steel mills and were a huge enterprise.

Incidentally before the 1stWW Disston employed over 3500 workers.

The No.8 1/2 saw would have equated to a Disston D8 and the No.372 would have been a rival to Disston's D-12 or just for a while the D-115 and D-15.

I was pleased that the etches were present and quite prominent on both saws. The 372, which is one of Simonds' "Blue Ribbon" saws has all three etches. The Simonds etches seem to survive well, but annoyingly the number is often missing. It's positioning means it spends more time in contact with timber.

Not in this case. The 8 1/2 is virtually full depth and the 372 probably hasn't seen much timber as it was a "narrow" saw to begin with (Disston called them "ship point" and "lightweight.")

The handles are good with both featuring wheat carving and only minor scratches and knocks in keeping with tools approaching 100 years old. The 8 1/2 is probably 1914 - 1918 while the 372 is from their last period 1922-1926 judging from the medallion. The 8 1/2 didn't appear in the 1919 catalogue, but the medallion is from the late period. So either it was one of the last 8 1/2 saws made or the medallion is wrong.

Something I have found is that model lines through that era (not just Simonds) were inconsistent and anomalies abound.

For instance I have an Atkins 400 saw, which was their top of the line skewback. The Atkins 401 was supposedly their straight back version of the same saw. I have an Atkins 401, but it is a skewback the same as it's brother. Both have the number etched on the plate!

As a consequence I am reluctant to become too pedantic .

Regards
Paul

[Bushmiller]

I have just finished preparing three Simonds saws for my son, who is a carpenter. As his name is Simon he can truly say these are Simonds/Simon's saws .

I order of ascending quality (according to Simonds) but not necessarily in appearance the No.10, which is a 9ppi 24" crosscut. It had extremely bad rust on the toes as can be seen so I cut it down from 26" and for fun stuck a nib on it .

simonds group.JPGSimonds No.10 008.jpgSimonds No.10 009.jpgSimonds No.10 010.jpg

The No.8 crosscut is 7ppi:

Simonds No.8 7ppi.jpgSimonds saw No.8 002.jpgSimonds saw No.8 003.jpgSimonds saw No.8 004.jpg

The last saw is a No.72 and a 5 1/2ppi rip. Only the third etch is visible on the No.72, but that identifies it a a No.72.

Simonds No.72 5.5 rip.jpgSimonds No.72 006.jpgSimonds No.72 007.jpgSimonds No.72 008.jpgSimonds No.72 009.jpg

Sorry about the blurred handle pic and the fly .

It was finished in a mahogany colourwood stain (Wattyl) whereas the other two were darkened with Van Dyke crystals. Simon couldn't make up his mind which he liked best when shown their appearance so did a fence sit .

Afterwards he decided he preferred the mahogany look. I will have to look into what I can colour the Van Dyke crystals with (I have read somewhere that there is a product available) as I like the mahogany colour but would prefer to see a little of the timber character (which is not great in Apple or Beech) show through. Although the truth is it will be more of age marks than grain.

Regards
Paul

[IanW]

Some very nice saws there, Paul, and very appropriately restored to service, by the looks.

Hope Simon's Simonds end up useful as well as decorative. A young chippie pulling out a saw that doesn't require a 240V outlet to hand must be a novelty these days...
Cheers,

[Bushmiller]

Hope Simon's Simonds end up useful as well as decorative. A young chippie pulling out a saw that doesn't require a 240V outlet to hand must be a novelty these days...
Cheers,

Thanks Ian

Yes. I had to promise to resharpen them as and when necessary before he would take them .

Regards
Paul

[pmcgee]

I like what you did with the handles.

Personally I like seeing the grain ... and you can stand in the corner with Ian for dismissing apple-grain.
You're spoilt, you lot.
I dunno - younger generation.



I wasn't thinking much about how the handles (of all companies) got finished ... but there's such a range there must have been different recipes employed.

I started another thread rather than drop photos in here.

Cheers,
Paul