Well I got it up and running.

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I'm super happy with how it looks.

The handle was most of the time expenditure but was still an easy restoration. A squirt or two of glue, then considerable scraping, some LIGHT touches with a file, and some sanding, followed by four coats of oil and a wax topcoat.

I hit the blade with lathe-mounted nylon brush bit and some 600grit paper. The original etching is still totally readable, which is always great. Nothing but a bit of scrubbing for the brass.

The sharpening was a nightmare, and I'm still not happy with the results. I totally cashed out a file and I still don't have that "sticky" feel to the teeth. It's something I'll likely have to revisit. I've got some fleam on it. I don't know if that's how it was meant to be ground when Hank Disston made it and put it on a boat in Philadelphia, but that's how it was filed when I got it.

The saw needed setting and that was, without doubt, the hardest part. It reached a point where I had no choice but to use my bench vise to squeeze the set, as it was causing my wrist to cramp up. I used setting 7 on an Eclipse. I'm happy with the results, but I don't look forward to doing that again... ever.

All in all a cool tool to have, but I want to get it considerably sharper before I actually consider using it in a project. I would be open to suggestions on how to make that happen.

Cheers,
Luke