Author Topic: Good quality vintage saw brands  (Read 3544 times)

Offline jabberwoki

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Good quality vintage saw brands
« on: August 23, 2021, 07:07:29 PM »
So i want to pick up a couple of vintage hand saws and was wondering what are some great brands to look for?
Is the need enough? Or does the want suffice?

Offline Midnitemack

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2021, 07:47:12 PM »
Disston is the first name that came to mind for me ….. 


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Offline geneg

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2021, 08:04:40 PM »
Atkins or Disston 

good site to read: http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/, lots of info
 

Offline slip knot

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2021, 08:56:43 PM »
Keen Kutter is one that comes to mind. Belknap was a house brand for one of the hardware stores that was a decent saw IIRC.

Offline hickory n Steel

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2021, 07:32:03 PM »
Keen Kutter is one that comes to mind. Belknap was a house brand for one of the hardware stores that was a decent saw IIRC.
Yes bluegrass for belknap hdw, I've seen a lot of nice tools contracted by belknap.
Their hammers were beautiful.

Some good ones were also made for Craftsman, you just gotta get an idea of how the handles looked on older better hand saws so you aren't getting a lesser more modern saw.

Disston is excellent, as is Atkins, and vintage Sandvik saws have good steel too.
The sandviks are more modern and it shows in the handle but the steel is good.

The Corsair line from great neck was once a pretty decent saw as well.

One thing to keep in mind is that as long as the steel is good a handsaw can always be tuned, you can refine the handle shape and of course you'll need to set and file the teeth so you can always give it the kind of cut you want.
If you're not taking it to a professional Sawyer of course.

It's a skill I'm not proficient at, but I have sharpened a saw or two with decent results.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2021, 07:37:37 PM by hickory n Steel »
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Offline jabberwoki

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2021, 07:26:09 PM »
Ok ta, Ill keep and eye out at estate sales.
Is the need enough? Or does the want suffice?

Offline bonneyman

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #6 on: September 28, 2022, 05:35:29 PM »
+3 on Disston.

But don't ignore vintage Craftsman.
Have a pair of old Craftsman saws from my FIL and they are nice. Teeth seem to hold an edge for a long time. Good quality steel?

Offline hickory n Steel

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #7 on: February 01, 2023, 07:51:38 PM »
I just scored these 2 disston saws at Goodwill today.

The top one is a no.7 dating from 1896-1918, a beautiful old saw that still feels pretty sharp and is surprisingly straight as an arrow.

The bottom is a post 1955 ( '55-'90 ) Disstin D8, I believe to be on the earlier end of that date range.
I have another D8 with a less fancy handle, and a much more recent looking D8 from my grandfather with an even less fancy handle.
I'm guessing my 3 D8's are '55-60, 60's, and 70's with this one being the earliest of them.


Here's the no7 cleaned up, at least what I could show well with the daylight fading.


« Last Edit: February 01, 2023, 08:03:43 PM by hickory n Steel »
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Offline hickory n Steel

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2023, 10:57:58 AM »
I would definitely describe this old Disston as a " good quality vintage saw ".
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Offline john k

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #9 on: February 04, 2023, 09:08:06 AM »
The Disston saws,and most other brands have an etch on the side shown facing up.   This is the provenance of the tool, and abrasive cleaning, even heavy wire brushing can ruin it.   Seen too many messed up.  The quick way to discover a saws age is the handle.  The loop at the bottom,  it became thicker, bulkier after wwii.  The older the saw, the thinner this bottom loop is.  Which unfortunately made it prone to breakage.   From my reading, the steel used after wwii was often remelt.   No essentially bad but often not of the quality of what was used pre-war.   Discovering all this made hand saws all the more interesting.  To the point it became hard to pass one up.   Just dont look in my shop.

Offline hickory n Steel

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Re: Good quality vintage saw brands
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2023, 10:41:08 AM »
The Disston saws,and most other brands have an etch on the side shown facing up.   This is the provenance of the tool, and abrasive cleaning, even heavy wire brushing can ruin it.   Seen too many messed up.  The quick way to discover a saws age is the handle.  The loop at the bottom,  it became thicker, bulkier after wwii.  The older the saw, the thinner this bottom loop is.  Which unfortunately made it prone to breakage.   From my reading, the steel used after wwii was often remelt.   No essentially bad but often not of the quality of what was used pre-war.   Discovering all this made hand saws all the more interesting.  To the point it became hard to pass one up.   Just dont look in my shop.
Disston saws and many others are dated by the handle medallion.
The etch is usually very hard to read if at all on older saws with decent rust.
Handles can give clues to age, but you would need to know what to look for.

I had a Craftsman saw ( broken plastic handle and missing teeth) that was very deeply etched or stamped into the steel which I've never seen before, you could actually feel it and I've never seen that before.
I don't know who made the saw for Sears, but it seems like it had been a relatively nice saw at one time in spite of the handle being plastic.

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