Thread: What is the story with this disston saw?

So with a bit of research it seems it is a docking saw made for large framing jobs. A few posts mention it being their favourite saw as it cuts so quick. It will be interesting to see how it goes when cleaned and sharpened.

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Mike

It looks like you have worked it out.

Disston's Docking saw was designated the No.190. In common with the other manufacturers they normally came with a cast steel handle held by two rivets, but they all offered a similar saw with a timber handle such as you have. The handle was also purely functional, without embellishment and truthfully a bit on the ugly side. They were characterised by a large handle hole to accommodate a gloved hand as they were frequently used outdoors (timber yards, farms and bridge building etc) in cold climates.

Another giveaway is that the teeth, although of a traditional pattern (compared to the similar sized crosscut logging saws) had, almost universally, 4 1/2 ppi. They were usually 30" or 24" but occasionally a longer version shows up.

Disston etches often survive well. The etched region of your saw does not seem too bad compared to the heel.

Regards
Paul

Hi Mike,

I agree with all that Paul has said about it being
a wood handled docking saw, the other feature
of it being a docking saw is the large amount of
breasting along the tooth line.

The breasting on the Disston docking saw I have
here is about 3/8".

You'll have to let us all know how it performs once
you have it cleaned up.

Graham.