Thread: Diston handsaw - no carving?

bruceward

You have a Disston D8 and your time period is correct 1896 - 1917 (from memory, so check on the Disstonian institute website). The D8 was the first skewback saw in the world and never featured wheat carving. The D100 was an identical saw with the only difference that it did feature wheat carving.

Don't discount an etch being under that "patina" (with saws that is a euphemism for dirty, sh*itty grime ) as Disston etches endure well. Take a small block of hardwood wrapped in W & D paper to where you imagine the etch will be (check the D-8 section on the institute website Online Reference of Disston Saws -- D8 Model ) and work carefully away. If it were an Atkins saw I would suggest there was very little chance but Disston could be fifty/fifty.

This is what you are looking for:

d8etch4.jpg

D8 saws were probably the tradies choice of tool back in the day. It was the Disston workhorse. What is it worth? Whatever a person is prepared to pay really, but in that condition I would suggest $20 - $25 may be fair. If it was in a garage sale it would probably be $5 and if on Ebay or Gumtree more like $40. I am only guessing that out of the Disston branded saws it would have been the most common, partly because it or it's successor (D-8) was sold from around 1890 through to 1955 when Disston was sold to HK Porter, who also continued the D-8.

Regards
Paul

Thanks Paul. I plan to clean up the blade so will go carefully where the etch should be. My question on value had a point. I will probably downsize things in the next couple of years and will look to rationalize down to a couple of favorite saws. This one will be a seller when the time comes. It will be hard to fit this one in ahead of a matched pair of rip and crosscut Distons and a similar nondescript 7 pointer that was my Dad’s.
Another - unrelated saw question though. This saw came with another that has no medallion or etch (even after cleaning). But the blade shape, handle and nut placement seem to be identical to another saw I have. Assuming they are identical, is it safe to assume they are the same manufacturer? (I was able to identify the other one from a remnant etch.)
Bruce

Originally Posted by bruceward51

Another - unrelated saw question though. This saw came with another that has no medallion or etch (even after cleaning). But the blade shape, handle and nut placement seem to be identical to another saw I have. Assuming they are identical, is it safe to assume they are the same manufacturer? (I was able to identify the other one from a remnant etch.)
Bruce

Possibly, but without pix it is difficult to say. Also without an etch or medallion identification is a problem. Can you show the saws and detail of the etch remnant? A lot too depends on the age of the saw. Go back a hundred years and the major manufacturers made saws for the large hardware chains and put that chain's name on them. They were often a saw from their own range just rebadged. After, say, 1960 I don't think that happened so much primarily because of the decline in hand saw use.

Regards
Paul

Um, Bruce, I think that saw is a good deal younger than I am - at least the handle is not pre-ww2, let alone pre-ww1. The lack of wheat carving is not an issue, most of the pre-ww2 workaday Disstons I've seen have smooth handles, but the shape is far too crude & it looks like it's Beech, not Apple, which puts it in the post ww2 era. It's quite possible the blade & bolts are old & have been given a new handle at some stage.

Doesn't mean you don't have a perfectly good user - I have a 1950s era Disston that still has the attributes if a good saw. The (Beech) handle was a lot like yours but a half-hour with a rasp & sandpaper made it far more hand-friendly...

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Um, Bruce, I think that saw is a good deal younger than I am - at least the handle is not pre-ww2, let alone pre-ww1. The lack of wheat carving is not an issue, most of the pre-ww2 workaday Disstons I've seen have smooth handles, but the shape is far too crude & it looks like it's Beech, not Apple, which puts it in the post ww2 era. It's quite possible the blade & bolts are old & have been given a new handle at some stage.

Thanks Ian

I should have said that. Particularly as two of the saw screws look slightly misfit there is a possibility the medallion has been substituted. A clever substitution as it is nearly right. Unlike an etch, a medallion really only identifies the medallion itself. The grip in particular seems to be a little too "blocky" for that vintage.

After WW2 Disston used unidentified hardwoods and often coloured them. Beech or Cherry would be the first guesses, but actually it could be anything. If it is a replacement handle there will be extra or distorted holes as even among the same models holes rarely line up the same.

Regards
Paul

I did a bit more work on the saws today. Removed the plate and did a basic clean, then removed the finish and sanded the handle. Th plate seems original with no evidence of hole alterations, Same with the handle, so I think they are both the originals. There are only hints of the etch that was once there and I could not make out any details. In the photo below the handle has had a whipe with metho to remove the dust, then allowed to dry. The handle has received some brutal treatment at some point and there was a lot of deep scaring where it met the plate. The second photo has a fresh whipe of spirits to show the colour of the timber.

IMG_2287.JPG IMG_1108.JPG
Im am no timber expert, but the colour looks closer to the examples of apple on the D8 page than to the later beech, which seems to have more yellow. Not that it matters of course, just an academic interest and the small puzzle of the older medallion.

The other saw I was given seems to be very similar to one I have had for a few years. The top one in the photo of the new acquisition and the bottom is the older one.
IMG_9260.JPG
To my eye, the plate and handle shape of the two saws is almost identical. The new one is about 20mm longer, but the design and placement of the screws is identical. My older one has a visible etch from Trollhatten in Sweden - Torllhattem 100, which I believe was a trademark of Stridsberg & Biorck, Sweden.
IMG_2994.JPG
My question - is it fair to assume that these saws both came from Stridsberg & Biorck in Sweden?

Again, an academic interest only. They seem to be good quality saws with ugly handles.
Bruce

Originally Posted by bruceward51

I did a bit more work on the saws today. Removed the plate and did a basic clean, then removed the finish and sanded the handle. Th plate seems original with no evidence of hole alterations, Same with the handle, so I think they are both the originals. There are only hints of the etch that was once there and I could not make out any details. In the photo below the handle has had a whipe with metho to remove the dust, then allowed to dry. The handle has received some brutal treatment at some point and there was a lot of deep scaring where it met the plate. The second photo has a fresh whipe of spirits to show the colour of the timber.

IMG_2287.JPG IMG_1108.JPG
Im am no timber expert, but the colour looks closer to the examples of apple on the D8 page than to the later beech, which seems to have more yellow. Not that it matters of course, just an academic interest and the small puzzle of the older medallion.

Bruce

Really hard to add anything except the handle doesn't indicate any Beech characteristics. No reason why it couldn't be a good user.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by bruceward51

The other saw I was given seems to be very similar to one I have had for a few years. The top one in the photo of the new acquisition and the bottom is the older one.
IMG_9260.JPG
To my eye, the plate and handle shape of the two saws is almost identical. The new one is about 20mm longer, but the design and placement of the screws is identical. My older one has a visible etch from Trollhatten in Sweden - Torllhattem 100, which I believe was a trademark of Stridsberg & Biorck, Sweden.
IMG_2994.JPG
My question - is it fair to assume that these saws both came from Stridsberg & Biorck in Sweden?

Again, an academic interest only. They seem to be good quality saws with ugly handles.
Bruce

Bruce

I don't know anything about those saws but they certainly look the same. I agree that the handles are not the prettiest I have ever seen but as long as they are comfortable to use there is no problem and you can modify them if the shape offends you. Paul Sellers has a video on handle modifications if you search his youtube vids. If it was me I would probably get seriously stuck into the top of the handle with a rasp, but take care to be aware of where the blade kerf is located so the blade is not exposed.

Regards
Paul

I have far too many saws anyway, so will probably start to rationalise soon. I mainly use a matched pair of more recent Distons, one filed rip and the other crosscut. I will also keep my Dad's saw for sentimental sake. Next I have to find the round suit to start my workshop rationalisation.
If I was going to do something with the handles on the two Swedish saws, I would probably make new ones rather than modify. I follow Paul Sellers work closely and have seen several iterations of his handle mods.
Thanks four your help Paul, Much appreciated.

Originally Posted by bruceward51

If I was going to do something with the handles on the two Swedish saws, I would probably make new ones rather than modify.

Bruce

That is exactly what I would do, but I did not want to suggest an obsession level this early on and ruin the hand tool phenomena for ever.



Regards
Paul

PS: If you are stuck at home for any strange reason (weird flu bug, banned from the house for illicit use of SWMBO's oven etc, etc,) and feel like a bit of reading have a look at this one (starting post #153). As always when trawling through these sawlogues (similar to a travelogue, but without the associated distance), take plenty of alcohol with you, not just for wiping down hard surfaces, but more for internal stamina. :

The Simonds Saw Story

Bruce

To save some time, as when I looked, I had not posted the finished articles for....... (post #344)

The Simonds Saw Story



Regards
Paul

Thanks Paul,
I actually read some of your thread as it emerged and have to admit to a serious infection of the hand tool bug. I have made a few saw handles and re-toothed several old saws.
But I am not able to make use of the few extra days each week that the COVID isolation brings - suffering with self-inflicted (temporary) impairment. I won’t go into the gory details, but if you imagine a 25mm chisel sharpened to Paul Sellers instructions - a momentary lapse of concentration - quick trip to emergency, escalated to a larger hospital, plastic surgeon, general anesthetic - you get the picture. So 6 weeks in to a splint protecting a repaired tendon. Surprising lack of pain except to the damaged ego, but difficult to do even the simplest workshop projects.
Bruce

Originally Posted by bruceward51

Thanks Paul,
I actually read some of your thread as it emerged and have to admit to a serious infection of the hand tool bug. I have made a few saw handles and re-toothed several old saws.
But I am not able to make use of the few extra days each week that the COVID isolation brings - suffering with self-inflicted (temporary) impairment. I won’t go into the gory details, but if you imagine a 25mm chisel sharpened to Paul Sellers instructions - a momentary lapse of concentration - quick trip to emergency, escalated to a larger hospital, plastic surgeon, general anesthetic - you get the picture. So 6 weeks in to a splint protecting a repaired tendon. Surprising lack of pain except to the damaged ego, but difficult to do even the simplest workshop projects.
Bruce

Bruce

Sorry to hear of your grief. At least you are able to talk about it. Good opportunity to do some reading too. I do understand about the ego; Possibly the worst thing that can be damaged.

Regards
Paul