Where can I find oddball interesting saws....

[Chris Hachet]

I think it's important when you bring home a rusty saw to have reasonable expectations;

it will take a good deal of effort to clean and polish most of these, and some are so badly pitted that
they will never be pretty. I like to bend a saw and let it "ring" when buying.

I've found three Disston 12 saws with London Spring steel this way.
The handles were ALL shot, or in need of reconstructive surgery.

The plates were straight and the steel takes a very sharp edge.

I didn't pay more than $10 for any of them.
The catch?

The last one took me three hours to clean, Mike Allen supplied me a replacement handle and none of the holes line up.
Every drill bit I own just skates off the plate, the steel is so hard.

Were I to compute the cost against my billable rate or time lost for furniture making, this saw won't come cheap.

Three hours and several favors in, and I still don't know how well it cuts!

I've used titanium bits for stuff like this in the past, seems to work pretty good for me. How hard were those saws to sharpen? Did steel that hard dull your files?

[Chris Hachet]

Look at the old english saws. What you see common in old english saws usually leads to very nice smooth and good user saws. Older than a certain age, though, and the hardening can be inconsistent (same with US saws, the really old ones can be inconsistent).

If you get saws too weird, you're likely to find they're not very good users. There's a good reason that the designs that were successful in the late 1800s were such.

Thanks, this seems like a rational place to start!

[Richard Kee]

I have a 6 pt rip saw with a Phoenix Warranted medallion and a strong etch showing that it was bought from Schoedinger & Barr Hardware Co. in Columbus, Ohio. I don't think of it as oddball, but it sure is interesting for those who live in Ohio.

Richard

[Chris Hachet]

I have a 6 pt rip saw with a Phoenix Warranted medallion and a strong etch showing that it was bought from Schoedinger & Barr Hardware Co. in Columbus, Ohio. I don't think of it as oddball, but it sure is interesting for those who live in Ohio.

Richard

I will look forward to seeing that when we get together

[steven c newman]

I also have a Pheonix or three. One sports an Atkins tote, a Pheonix Warranted medallion, and a Plymouth Rock etch!

have a nice collection growing of short saws, all under 20" long....

[Mel Miller]

Just for the sake of conversation, here's a small brass backed saw that none of the saw people I've talked to can identify its' purpose. Made by W Cresson, Philada., great rosewood handle.
Any ideas?

[Chris Hachet]

Interesting....I wonder if it is a boat building saw of some sort.

[steven c newman]

Flooring saw, or to make the dovetails to house stair treads...

[george wilson]

It could be to saw your way out of a barrel,if you get kidnapped and put into one,and had the saw in your back pocket.