Pinocchio stirring the pot again.

[Ron Bontz]

Once upon a time in a small room with an antique drafting board, an old guy sketched up a series of saws. Later to be drawn in CAD, as the old guy was just learning to use it. The saws, fashioned after the Pat. Regan style with the sculpted handles, ranged from the smallest dovetail to the largest 18" half back. The only problem was that cheap looking, lack of a lambs tongue. Saws with out a lambs tongue always scream "Production saw" to me. er uh, that old guy. But in all fairness to the makers of old; You can't chip a lambs tongue if there isn't one, and it certainly streamlines production of same.

With that being said there have been several handles drawn up and blanked out for well over a year. Two boxes in fact. ( Some days you just get on a roll ) So I started referring to them as Pinocchio handles. Simply because they so wanted to be a real saw someday. But life gets in the way and time passes. This Pinocchio was supposed to be a 16" tenon. But grew a bit longer nose. So what goes on in that Pinocchio box stays in the box. Then one day the old guy decided enough was enough. OCD kicked in and some of those "want a be" handles began to take shape. First it was the half back with big leaf and black eyes. Then he decided this one was for an all around good guy that helps everyone from employees to people in other countries. Some day I may even make myself one. ( So I can dream, can't I? ) So with that long winded explanation this is what the first tenon one looked like. Needs some tweaks. The hang is aggressive for an 18" tenon, but supports a robust 0.032" plate to discourage deflection during the cut. 4.25" under spine, ( should have been 4.5" ) 11ppi, 8* rake, 0* fleam. The spalted tiger maple is not the most attractive wood in the world and a little punky to work with in a few spots. But certainly different looking. It cuts ok too.IMG_1934_zps3be7f3f7.jpg IMG_2306b_zpsuwo1biwl.jpgIMG_2309b_zpsipdjyiae.jpgIMG_2310b_zps5xwcghoy.jpgIMG_2314b_zps3yj8fych.jpg So the question is. Should the old guy make more?

[Stew Denton]

Ron,

Absolutely fabulous! Bet it saws as good as it looks too.

Stew

[Karl Andersson]

Hi Ron,
Beautiful work as is your standard - and I really like the more sculptural flow of your lamb's tongues compared to even historical examples. Maybe sitting in the Pinocchio box they learned Italian and roll their R's, causing a more athletic tongue? I wonder how the spalted curly maple would look if you darkened it with aqua fortis, like a gun stock?

OK, everything below this is critique/ observations - you (Ron) have been open to ideers before, so I'm not saying they aren't beautiful and can't go as-is... but if you want some feedback with your morning coffee, read on. Otherwise, treat as rambling, and please, friends of Ron, I'm not in any way attacking him:

I'm no expert in historical saw styles, so I'm not sure what the rules are for the Regan handles, but to me, the top horn above the finger groove (?) doesn't stylistically match everything to the left and south of the groove, at least on the left-hand side of these handles. The negative space of the finger groove leaves a "land" at the top that is pretty shapeless and sort of makes that area look...machine routered...compared to the wonderfully sculptured tongue. In this case, a flatter, more industrial tongue would probably not clash with that area as much, but the tongues are too good to pass up. Another thing that looked a little off to me- and it could just be distortion in the camera - is the arc of the top doesn't "associate" with those of the tongue, handle cutout, and bottom horns. The curvy tongue sort of accentuates this, and the handle to me looks a little "crushed", or maybe melted.

I was just playing with Paint on your pictures with some ideas that might make sense or you can pat me on my head and send me on my way to that island where I'll turn into a donkey:

top lowered left.jpg
This one shows how lowering the front of the top just a little, maybe 1/8 at the front, tapering to the existing arc about halfway over, makes a slightly sharper curve that's closer to the others.
horn lowered.jpg
This was just playing with that "land" left by the groove, putting a shallow dished area in the top to match the tongue better - problem is, it won't work on the right side unless the groove there is modified.
horn lift.jpg
This is just ridiculous, and would throw off the size of the grip, plus unuseable if you've already cut out the blanks - but shows what raising the back horn tip would do - not as good a visual change as the first idea.

OK, that's what my artsy eye sees - thanks for sharing your work
Karl

[Ron Bontz]

Ha. Ha. I forgot about the donkey. I have been referred to that before in my house. But I don't think that was the word used. I actually have the drawing with the swept out horn on top. Like your drawing. It is an optional ( dotted line ) on the CAD and one of my blanks was made that way. So I beat you to the punch. No turning into a donkey today. And yes it does create a problem on the back side where the index finger is. But doable. I just haven't been able to make myself finish one that way. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

It looks a bit odd to my eye just because it is not what I am used to seeing. The question in my mind is... How does it feel / work in the hand?

[Ron Bontz]

It looks a bit odd to my eye just because it is not what I am used to seeing. The question in my mind is... How does it feel / work in the hand?

Thank goodness it does not look like a Disston #4. I do try to be a bit different.
I find these handles comfortable. But I also tend to carve out the handles to my hand. This one will probably have the hang angle lowered a bit for an 18". It's a pretty aggressive hang for this size saw. But I can always relax the rake a bit as well.