Got a quick question for Handsaw-ologists. I have been through the Disstonian Institute and Vintage Handsaw websites w/o finding the answer.
Is “Jackson” the same as “Jackson and Spears”? Did one predate the other? I get from the Disstonian Institute that “Jackson” was Disston’s second line of backsaws but any idea on the dates that they were produced?
Below is a photo of the little backsaw that I acquired cheap on ebay. It is 8″ by 2 1/2″ and 13 tpi, filed crosscut. I am re-filing it rip as per Tom Law’s “Hand Saw Sharpening” video, and as per a telephone conversation I had with Mr. Law a year ago, or so. It’s teeth are in bad shape, needing all steps of the procedure: jointing, reshaping, resetting, sharpening, deburring. I can confirm that it is Disston’s second line as the handle is birch, not apple, the split nuts are steel, not brass w/ no mark on the medalion and there is no trace of an etch.
It is very light and feels perfect in the hand. I have both the L-N dovetail saw and the Adria so I will let anyone who’s interested know how it compares with these when it’s ready. I can tell already that it’s going to be very light compared to the above two saws. It will also be very sharp. I am excited about using it for dovetails and joinery considering it was so cheap and I am totally responsible myself for its rehab.
Looking for an idea on the date that it was produced.
Replies
Ed,
Google knows
http://homepage.mac.com/galoot_9/eagle_talon.html
http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/openhandle.html
Cheers,
eddie
Spear & Jackson isn't related to the Jackson brand.
Thanks - was beginning to suspect that.
Ed -
I wonder if it would be advisable to run the blade through electrolysis first?? Since you are basically going to cut new teeth, I don't think it would hurt. Something to think about before you get to far along.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
Mike,
I know electrolysis is easy and anyone can do it, but I've just never learned how. Somewhere deep in the recesses of my childhood memeory, the memory of hooking up car batteries to buckets of water is a bad one for me - it seems to be associated with sparks and flames and perhaps,... explosions, but maybe I've partially blocked it. As a result, I never learned how to do this and just sand with WD-40 and automotive sandpaper until all of the visible rust is gone. I know, I know, from my helicopter days, there's microscopic rust and intergranular corrosion and all that nasty stuff you can't see, but I can get the saw to work as is. Please don't send me toward that car battery.
By the way, I finished refiling the saw to 13 tpi rip from 13 tpi crosscut. It was ugly at first, and certainly not as easy as Mr. Law made it look on the video. But the teeth that were mangled and misshapen on the first few passes "grew back" as I went along and now it's looking pretty good as a 13 tpi rip. Going to buy a magnifying glass today and "touch up" the sharpness a little bit. I've also put a new set into the new teeth.
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