PDA

View Full Version : Disston Medallion Placement



Mark Wyatt
08-21-2011, 1:27 PM
I've been saving this Disston back saw for my son to use when he is a little older. It came from the Indianapolis Public School system, so I think it is an excellent choice for learning. As I moved it from place to place in the shop recently, it struck me that the medallion is on the right cheek. I don't remember seeing this placement before. Could there be any practical purpose for moving the medallion? Was this a common practice with Disston saws? I'm interested in any information.

David Keller NC
08-21-2011, 1:33 PM
That is odd - I've never seen an original Disston with the medallion on the right, though admittedly I haven't had all that much interest in Disston backsaws - I prefer the British, open-handled antiques.

Perhaps it was a way of identifying a special line of saws intended for manual training? The odd part here is that I would expect the manual training market to have gotten Disston's seconds - as "Warren and Ted Superior" branded saws.

Klaus Kretschmar
08-21-2011, 4:01 PM
Mark, is the spine stamped on the left side? My first idea was that this saw is made for left handed use. Maybe a former owner was left hander and changed the screws and the medallion. A wild guess....

Klaus

Mark Wyatt
08-21-2011, 7:02 PM
The saw is stamped on the left side of the spine like other saws of this vintage. I think the medallion dates from the 1880-1899 period. I've attached some pictures of the other side of the handle. It could be a user made replacement handle.

Mel Miller
08-21-2011, 10:59 PM
Maybe it was just a factory screwup, I've seen a number of them. The saw will work the same no matter where the medallion is, so no sense in the factory throwing it out because of the minor mistake.

Mel

John McClanahan
08-22-2011, 8:30 AM
It's a left handed saw. :D:D