Another Saw.

[marty brown]

Hi,cool forum.My name is Marty,I have a tool shop in Arkansas.I restore old belt driven tools,and am even more into hand saws,planes,Braces..among other things,and use them all in my work daily..I recently came into an old 28 inch 4 ppi rip saw I believe to be English..but not certain.I will post a few pics if I`m able...I think I qualify as a neanderthal when it comes to such things.

This saw has split nuts in a stylish handle,two bullet holes in the toe(.30 cal.)The nib is huge,.20 cal. front to back...Wow,2/3 the size of the bullet holes.The closest manufacturer name i`ve located online that looks very similar to the name stamped into the face of the plate is "HOLDSWORTH".The saw is at my shop,so I can`t look at it just now,but it seems like it looks more like "NOULDSWORTH".Light pitting can play tricks with such markings though.

I probably should wait till I go back to work on Tuesday and look it over again before I start posting stuff , but I get all impatient with stuff like saws...I just love them so much.

Oh yeh..anybody heard of such an animal?..Thanks,Marty.

[Tony Shea]

Don't have anything to add to the history of your saw but really like the tooth geometry. I have been on the hunt for such a saw with very little luck. 4ppi would be a blast to tear through some rips with ease. Very nice find and hope you can find out more. I'd love to come across such a beast.

[Rob Paul]

Nice old rip saw Marty (unique two nostril holes in its crocodile nose too ! )

The only HOLDSWORTH reference I found was for "Wright, Holdsworth & Co", Sheffield 1860s,
or maybe its from George HALLSWORTH, Sheffield 1870s. The saw looks suitable for that era.

Any chance of a close-up picture of the name stamp ?

[marty brown]

I`m afraid the camera I have just now won`t get in that close on the stamping.I do have a couple more pics, but can`t figure out how to ad them, but will if I can.The guy I got it from was about 60, and said his grand dad shot it.I suspect he was using pointed tip bullets at good velocity, cause the nose wasn`t bent from it at all.They are perfectly horizontal to each other as well.I got to the sale late, and he said I should have been there earlier, and some guys bought up all the Disstons and Atkins he had laid out on the floor...I always hate to hear such things.

I never saw the Wright ,Holdsworth & Co reference, have to check it out.The toe room between the nib and bullet holes is long enough that I considered cutting and reshaping the toe..but probably won`t mess with history.I worked as a gunsmith for quite a while, and gained a lot of respect for things old.

[marty brown]

Here are a few more pics, and though my cam can`t close in on it,it definitly looks more like HOULDSWORTH than it does HOLDSWORTH..and it actually looks more like NOULDSWORTH...I really have a love hate relationship with these old saws.:confused: