Old Disston Hand Saws, is it a Disease?

[Stew Denton]

Hi All,

I have more old Disston hand saws than I will ever wear out, and have had them a long time, some of them more than 40 years. I bought several and inherited some too.

Yet is seems they are a draw that is hard to resist. I haven't bought one in probably 30 years, but still look at them on Ebay, have been tempted to to go to shows with my Son in Law, and at times am tempted to buy another one or two, the big draw being for the premium saws.

That said I certainly don't need any more hand saws, and haven't even restored many of the ones I already have. I need to restore a few and give them to my Son in Law, although he probably has enough of his own (and has a few of mine too) already. The truth is most don't even need any restoration as they are already good users, but it is hard to resist the urge to make them look nicer.

I think even the cheapest models of the old Disstons, and I have a few of those too, are very high quality saws. I have more D8s than anything else, and I think that they are fine quality saws, at least in my view, so I have no need at all for any premium saws.

Is it a disease?

Regards,

Stew

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Stew,

Welcome to the Creek. Where do you call home?

Is it a disease?

Yes or some call it the slippery slope.

There are plenty of saws, chisels, planes and braces in my shop. That has not deterred me from looking at and sometimes buying another. Though now days it has to be a bargain for me to pull out my wallet.

Even with what looks like a bargain one has to be careful. A #8 plane was sitting in the local Restore at $5 it caught my eye. Sure some of the parts were missing and the frog was broken. The evil temptress nestled its way into my heart. It has since become the most expensive $5 plane in my shop... and it still hasn't been put together. It will be my reminder to not fall in love with a derelict hussy again. At least I hope it does.

jtk

[Mike Allen1010]

[QUOTE=Stew Denton;2287011]

Is it a disease?

Yup- definitely a disease.

I believe the official ICD-9 diagnostic code is "pathological handsaw attraction syndrome". Cardinal symptoms are an irresistible urge to seek out, pick up and inspect old rusty handsaw's, purchase them for ridiculous prices when you already have more than you can ever use, and in the terminal stages of the disease, a compulsion to invest waaaaay more time/effort/sweat in restoring them to peak working condition than you can ever recoup.

There is no known cure, please don't tell me if one is discovered.

All the best, Mike

[Stew Denton]

Hi Jim,

I hale out of Borger, Texas, in the Texas panhandle.

Same as you, for me to buy, the price has to be really right, either that or it has to be something I THINK I really need and don't have. I will virtually always go for something that is cheaper, that I think I can restore, rather than buy something that is in perfect shape already, again unless the price is really right. Like you, I am careful, or try to be, not to buy a problem that is in search of a home.

Also, I already have quite a few hand tools, and having places to put stuff is a problem because I don't have a shop.....yet....., so think long and hard before I buy something else. My kids are grown, though, so I have more time, money isn't quite as much of a problem as it used to be, and my wife seems to approve, so I am thinking about building a "small garage" size shop, which will be more than adequate for me, room wise. That said, for now I am trying to build better way to store stuff and get things better organized, and I need to get rid of things that are junk.

Since room is a problem now though, I almost always try to figure out if I can use something I already have, even if it isn't really very ideal for the job, rather than buy something else.

Mike, I didn't know it had a name, but now that you have described it, I have some of the symptoms....so I need to be careful.

Regards,

Stew

[Jim Matthews]

If the saw ain't straight, and you can't read the plate - it's not that great.

I only by the ones with fancy handles and lots of good steel, anymore.

How many can I use? Two? Three?

A couple bucks here and there isn't a problem, until you've got
that one path through your basement that leads to your bench.

You should also be informed that enough rust gathered in a confined space
will have a warping effect on space and time in small confines.

Some people are always late for kids' birthday parties, retirement announcements and condo association meetings
as a result of too many rusty tools in a shop. Scoff if you must, but I've seen me do it.

[Judson Green]

If the saw ain't straight, and you can't read the plate - it's not that great.

Sweet!

Neanderthal wisdom FAQ material

[lowell holmes]

The D8's are fine saws, as are the D7's, D20's, D23's.

I felt the same way you do until I got a D-12.