Thread: Saw plate etching. How important is it to buyers

Depends on the buyer...!

To me it would really depend on the scarcity of that particular model and whether or not it is being sold as a collectable or a user; they're just like woodplanes in that respect.

I would suggest you get in touch with Bushmiller by PM; if you email him photos of the items I'm confident he can advise on how each can be presented and give ballpark valuations accordingly.

SD

This is a perennial question. To my mind the etch is important as it is the only indisputable indication of exactly what a saw is. The handle and the hardware, including the medallion, can all be changed or replaced.

If a user saw is required, it probably is not so important to have an indisputable etch. I don't know why people would pay large sums of money for a saw that has had the etch obliterated as it has no identity and no provenance. If you are a collector, you really need to be able to identify the tool.

Prices you are likely to realise in Oz may be considerably lower than you would expect to get in the US or the UK. The markets there are both more buoyant and of course have much larger populations to draw upon.

I am quite happy to comment here or privately on your saws. I would need to see pix, so if private this could be done by an exchange of email addresses. However, I should point out that it would be one persons opinion only. Also we all, including me, have an inflated opinion of what we think our items are worth. There is probably a price at which items sell easily and another price that could take some time to move things along.

Regards
Paul

Hi SD. I have a Disston saw that is quite rare (according to the Disstonian Institute at least). I got in contact with a mob up your way and he initially seemed interested. I sent through some photos and told him what I had seen them advertised for overseas (Jim Bode Tools, etc) but admitted that he would have a much more realistic idea of price locally. And not a word since. My etch is a little hard to read but the right era. Handle and medallion placement is unique and all the bolt holes lined up. Like you, not sure what it is worth.

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

SD

This is a perennial question. To my mind the etch is important as it is the only indisputable indication of exactly what a saw is. The handle and the hardware, including the medallion, can all be changed or replaced.

If a user saw is required, it probably is not so important to have an indisputable etch. I don't know why people would pay large sums of money for a saw that has had the etch obliterated as it has no identity and no provenance. If you are a collector, you really need to be able to identify the tool.

Prices you are likely to realise in Oz may be considerably lower than you would expect to get in the US or the UK. The markets there are both more buoyant and of course have much larger populations to draw upon.

I am quite happy to comment here or privately on your saws. I would need to see pix, so if private this could be done by an exchange of email addresses. However, I should point out that it would be one persons opinion only. Also we all, including me, have an inflated opinion of what we think our items are worth. There is probably a price at which items sell easily and another price that could take some time to move things along.

Regards
Paul

Thx mate!!

I'll post here so others can glean your knowledge...

I literally have no knowledge regarding western saws. I've always preferred Japanese pull saws...

But I have 7 (one not shown) saws and thought I should keep a rip and a crosscut at least, so am also interested in which are the keepers. I've heard over the years the steel can vary wildly...

Back story is I bought them when I lived in the UK, all for £10 at a car boot sale. Was hard to pass up.

So!! If someone were to hold a gun to your head and say pick a rip and a crosscut... What would you go for.

I've attached a pic of the saws

Top to bottom:

Disston, 4 tooth rip, 100th anniversary saw, 1940-1947

Spear & Jackson, 3 tooth rip, cast steel, mid to late 1800s

Disston, 10 tooth crosscut, D8, 1896-1917

Disston, 10 tooth crosscut, medallion indicates 1917-1940, The issue with this one is there is no evidence of an etching on the plane to show if it's an 8 in the D, or a D-8, and no stamp on the heel for number of teeth. It's also 5 bolt instead of 4

Simonds, 6 tooth crosscut, 1887-1901

Disston, 12 tooth, D-8, 1928-1940

Overall I think I'll rehab all of them and sell what off 3 or 4.

Some other thoughts...

I was thinking how the guy in the UK was cleaning up the saw plates

I don't think he's using a handheld belt sander, as it would leave an uneven finish. He's definitely not using an orbital. So, I wonder if he's got some sort of wide belt sander he's puts them through. I certainly can't see him sanding them by hand... He'd definitely removing enough metal to make the etching vanish.

SD

Thanks for the pic. Actually, I need about three pix per saw! One for the overall look and then a close up of the etch if there is one and a close up of the medallion. My fault: I should have explained that before. Even by enlarging your pic it is difficult to see details. An example is the first saw, which looks like a D8 thumbhole saw rather than Disston's 100th anniversary saw (It resembled the D20 series and had an extensive etch.

Everything is modified by condition. If the saw has been fully restored it may be worth double the price . Things that detract are broken teeth, dents, bends in the plate, pitting in the plate, damaged handle and missing saw screws or medallions.

I really need to see close ups of the etches where they exist. Another example is the Simonds saw. The medallion indicates 1905 to 1922. It could be a No.72 or a No. 8½. At a glance it may be a No.372 as the handle is just slightly different, but I can't see the etch.


Regards
Paul

SD

Just another comment on the Disstons with only four saw screws is that the panel saws (24" or less) typically had one saw screw less. The third saw down in the pic looks to be 22" and the same for the last saw.

If I was going to select keepers from those saws I would choose a rip saw, a coarse cross cut and a fine tooth panel as indicated below. That is, assuming there are no defects present that are not evident from the pic.

SD saws.jpg


Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

SD

Thanks for the pic. Actually, I need about three pix per saw! One for the overall look and then a close up of the etch if there is one and a close up of the medallion. My fault: I should have explained that before. Even by enlarging your pic it is difficult to see details. An example is the first saw, which looks like a D8 thumbhole saw rather than Disston's 100th anniversary saw (It resembled the D20 series and had an extensive etch.

Everything is modified by condition. If the saw has been fully restored it may be worth double the price . Things that detract are broken teeth, dents, bends in the plate, pitting in the plate, damaged handle and missing saw screws or medallions.

I really need to see close ups of the etches where they exist. Another example is the Simonds saw. The medallion indicates 1905 to 1922. It could be a No.72 or a No. 8½. At a glance it may be a No.372 as the handle is just slightly different, but I can't see the etch.


Regards
Paul

Ok! Lets give this a go:

1) No etching on the plate. No evidence to suggest there ever was. Crosscut 8tpi. 27" overall
2) Very faint etching. Crosscut 8tpi. 24" overall
3) Pretty good etching. Rip 5tpi 28" overall

Part 1 of

4) Etching is 8 inside the D. Crosscut 10tpi. 26" overall
5) Faint etching. Rip 4tpi. 29 1/2" overall
6) No evidence of etching. Rip 4tpi. 30" overall