Vintage Hand and Panel saws for smaller hands (3 1/4" width)

[clinton cox]

I'm transitioning away from the Japanese pull saw types and am now looking for vintage hand and panel saws that better fit my smaller than average hand size. I currently have a 28" early 1900's Disston D-8 rip saw and I feel like my hand is swimming in the handle and find it difficult to use the horns adequately without turning my hand or loosening my grip more than I would like; I'm thinking of wrapping my handle in hockey tape to see if that would help any but I absolutely love the feel of the apple handle. Does anyone know of any manufacturers that used smaller handles or have any tips for their small handed brethren?

[Jim Koepke]

On many of my saws the handles have been modified to fit my hands.

Some of my handles were made in my shop. With a D8 that can be difficult due to the back of the saw being round instead of straight.

It might be possible to make an insert for the handle to fill your need.

jtk

[Brian Hale]

I've got this D8 from 1897-1917, 24" 11ppi crosscutD8.jpg

Brian

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I have a Simonds No. 62 22” panel saw. The handle is noticeably smaller than the Disstons and Atkins I have. Patrick Leach believes Simonds made the best saws. Leach knows a hell of a lot more about saws than I do, but I can attest to the fact that the one I have is excellent.

[Stew Denton]

I think Jim has a good point on the difficulty on making a handle for a D8.

However, it occurred to me that a handle could be made in two pieces, both 1/2 as thick as a regular D8 handle. You could then mortise out the outline of the heel end of the D8 blade on one of the two pieces, drill it for the saw bolts, then glue the two halves together to make the handle that would fit the D8.

You would have to be careful not to get glue in the mortised out area, and thus defeat the fit of the blade in the handle.

Just a thought.

Stew

[Richard Coers]

You are a woodworker, right? Making a new handle would not be a huge task.

[steven c newman]

Old No. 7, Panel saw #8 or #7 .JPG

No real reason to make new handles...

As for the D8 Rip saw...it's handle was designed to be used with two hands..
Resaw, half way there .JPG
Your left thumb goes into the "Thumbhole" while the rest of the hand goes over the top...there IS a groove for the right thumb to rest in
( kind of hard to show, AND work the camera, too)

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Old No. 7, Panel saw #8 or #7 .JPG

No real reason to make new handles...

As for the D8 Rip saw...it's handle was designed to be used with two hands..
Resaw, half way there .JPG
Your left thumb goes into the "Thumbhole" while the rest of the hand goes over the top...there IS a groove for the right thumb to rest in
( kind of hard to show, AND work the camera, too)

can you get a picture of you holding the saw that way? Maybe having SWMBO take the picture?

[Tony Zaffuto]

Look on Josh Clark’s site, “Hyperkitten”. He currently has a few panel saws listed, one of which is a Simonds.

[Stew Denton]

Clinton,

You may not need to make a handle. It dawned on me that Disston panel saws may have smaller handles than do their standard handsaws, so I went out to look at my Disston panel saws versus my other Disston handsaws.

I have 3 Disston panel saws, two with 16" blades, and one with a 20 inch blade. As you know the panel saws have shorter blades than their standard handsaws, and the medallion is 13/16" in diameter rather than the 1" diameter medallions in the standard handsaws.

All three of my panel saws have very significantly smaller handles than do the standard saws. I can easily and comfortably put all 4 fingers through the grip in the handle of my standard Disston hand saws, but trying to put all 4 fingers through the grip on my 3 panel saws crowds them a great deal, so much so that I can not comfortably use the saws that way, nor can I even put all 4 fingers all the way through the handle to grip it. I have to put only 3 fingers through the grip with the index finger along the side of the handle to comfortably use those saws.

If I recall, Disston panel saws were those 24" or less in length. You can easily recognize them by the length or the 13/16" medallion.

The 3 panel saws I have are older saws, probably made before the change Disston went through in 1928.

Panel saws are much less common than the standard saws, but you can find them. Two of my panel saws are #7s, and I am not sure about the other one, as it was made in the 1870s I think.

At any rate, that may be the easy way to get to where you want to go without having to make or modify a handle.

For what it's worth, I am not a big guy, and do not have big hands. I am very average height or perhaps a little on the short size and build, and if anything a little bit on the slender side, so have very average size hands.

I just looked at that auction site, and several Disston Panel saws are listed, but most of the sellers are EXTREMELY proud of the saws, and want way too much for them IMHO. That said, looking at the sold by auction listing there shows that what folks actually were willing to bid for the panel saws is WAY less than most of the sellers are asking, so if you wait a bit a few will show up to be auctions are far more reasonable prices.

However, do not believe a seller listing a saw as a "panel" saw, as I saw a few listed as "panel" saws that were 26" long. Those are NOT panel saws, as again I think the cut off length is 24 inches and shorter for Disston to call them a "Panel" saw. Also, some saws less than 26" look like they have been cut off shorter than 26 inches, but those are clearly regular handsaw with regular handle that have just been shortened at some point for what ever reasons.

Stew

PS: I went back up and reread the previous posts, and noticed that every saw listed above that has a smaller handle, including the Simons, is a panel saw.

[Jim Koepke]

Most of the panel saws in my accumulation were found in antique or second hand shops and at yard sales for very decent prices.

Make sure it is the covered top style instead of having the saw plate showing through the handle.

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Jim and others,

Do all of your panel saws also have smaller handles? I am thinking that was a standard feature, but that is just my recollection, which is why I went out to the garage to look at my panel saws and to check them. Again, on my panel saws the openings for fingers on my panel saws handles are smaller than those for my standard Stanley handsaws.

Stew

[steven c newman]

Couldn't get any help with the camera, but

Saw Question, grip size .JPG
re: Saw question. This is a D8, 28" 5.5ppi Rip saw, with the Thumbhole handle....and a Disston No. 7, 20" 10ppi Panel saw...
Panel saw grip? At least for my hand..
Saw Question, Panel saw grip .JPG
Thumb and index finger form a "U" shape around the handle, to help "steer" the cut...

As for the grip for that Thumbhole....Right Hand..
Saw Question, Rip saw, Right hand grip .JPG
Index finger has a groove to rest along, as well as the thumb....then, add in the Left hand...
Saw Question, Rip saw, Left hand grip .JPG
Left thumb goes through the "Thumbhole" and the 4 fingers go over the top of the handle...

Clear as mud?
Saw Collection hanging around .JPG
This is The Ready Rack in my shop...Inside the left hand door, there is a 18" Atkins panel saw...
Tool Chest Tour, Upper Left door.JPG