Old disston rehab

[Stewie Simpson]

For a time in the late 1870's and early 1880's, Henry Disston and Sons exhibited their fierce protection of patents related to their saws, which were copied by other manufacturers. Patent dates were stamped into the wood of this D-8 saw and some Centennial-handled No. 7 saws.

The five dates shown are as follows:

5/12/74 #150,678 to Christopher Eisenhardt for the space in the hand hole to receive the user's left thumb for rip sawing;
1/19/75 #158,921 to Henry Disston for the cut-out in the saw blade to receive a close-up handle;
9/21/75 #167,996 to Henry Disston for the cover-top handle design that wedged the blade in a round recess in the handle;
8/29/76 #181,648 to Henry Disston for the saw nut design;
11/18/79 (it's not clear which patent is applicable to the D-8 saw).

http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/d8page.html

[Jim Davis]

If you hope to save as much of an etched logo as possible, don't use any flexible abrasive material. First scrape as some have said. Then use fine paper backed with a block of metal or other material with a perfectly flat surface. Flexible abrasive materials flex down into the etch and abrade it along with the surface.

Use a lubricant. I like light oil or even paint thinner. It's messy, but keeps the abrasive from clogging. Use long strokes parallel to the tooth line to avoid swirls and waves. That's the direction Disston ground the plate.