Inspired by Stewie: Saw Handle Makeover

[Chris Griggs]

Before

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After
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A week or so ago Stewie Simpson did a really great reshaping of a backsaw that really inspired me. Well, this saw has been one of my main users for a while but as you can see the handle was, well.... Crap; so I decided to reshape it. The saw is just a run of the mill 2nd line, "warrented superior". and I'm not sure who actually manufactured it. Its filed 8ppi xcut. The blade is pretty rusted, but it's pretty straight and nice and stiff so it makes a pretty good user. Really I redid as an exercise/for practice more than anythings else, but because its a user it will be nice to have it in much better shape. Interestingly, I found the reshaping actually harder to do than making a new handle from scratch would have been. This is because I had to design the new shape with the already existing shape and screw holes present so I could not use any standard saw patterns or necessarily shape the handle exactly has I wanted.

One thing to be aware of when redoing a saw handle that I initially overlooked is to be careful with how much would I planed off in cleaning it up and/or removing the old finished surface. It's amazing how quickly thin smoothing plane shaving can add up. The thickness of the handle is now about 13/16 as opposed to the 7/8 or more that is preferred. Not a huge deal, but just something to be aware of when reshaping a handle that is already a finished thickness.

Considering where it started I'm pretty happy with the result. Though I would prefer it w/o the machined carved wheat (which now has no stalk). Some of wheat actually had white paint in it that I couldn't get out so I ended up dabbing a bit of black paint in there - not thrilled with how that part looks, but it does look better than it look with some white and some dark.

Anyway, I'm pleased with how the handle looks now. Most of what I've learned about saw handles and the general aesthetic I've been going for comes from Georges stuff in the FAQs and from reading through his comments regarding handles others have posted, but I also spend a lot of time just looking at (and sometimes tracing) pictures of saw handles from various makers past and present. Lambs tongues are pretty tough to get right, but I think I got it (or very nearly got it) right on this one. Looking at it now, Ttere are a couple of other little, fairly subjective things that I think could be improved, but I'm not going to point them out. I'm going to see if George, Dave, Klaus, et al. offer any suggestions for improvement on future handles, so I can sorta measure the development of my aesthetic eye compared to those with more expertise.

Handle is finished with Watco and clear shellac. I'm currently derusting the saw plate and then will refile the teeth a bit. They teeth were sharp but this was one of the first saws I ever filed so I know I can do a much better job now. Will post pics of the completed rehab when done.

As always, comments and criticism are welcome from anyone...

[george wilson]

I think it looks like a vast improvement to the old handle.My only suggestion would be to make the central part of the outside curve of the handle (where the palm rests) more rounded,like the interior curves are. However,the wheat carving might be getting a bit too close to the edge to suit you if you round it any more ?

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks George. Yep, exactly! I didn't want to bring the round overs in too far because the wheat was in the way. However, after putting finish on it and taking another look I started thinking I could have brought them in farther.

I also kind of thought you might suggest thinning out the horns or the flats on the horns, just a little. I think that area (flats on horns) is within the realm of what I see on old and new saws, but there seems to be a lot of variation in horn thickness or at least the thickness their flats. Looking again, I've definitely seen a number of very nice saw handles where the horns/horn flats are thinner then this one. Anyway, just thinking out loud here about things I'll consider for next time I work on/or make a handle. Thanks for the input, you have no idea how much I've learned for reading your comments on the various tools others have posted over the past couple years. Always, happy to have your input on mine.

[Mike Allen1010]

Chris, you're way too modest. Your work is a huge improvement! I love the lamb's tongue. It's looking very Disston #7 like-- a true classic. I would love to see pictures of the finished product.

Thanks for sharing.

All best, Mike

[Dave Beauchesne]

Chris -

Very nice - well done - looks like some sweet figure and medullary ray fleck in one photo - Sweet!

Dave Beauchesne

[Chris Griggs]

Mike, not sure if its modesty or just OCD tendencies, but thank you very much. I love lambs tongues, and am pleased with how this one turned out. As i start making my own saws, I want to put lambs tongues on the closed handles ones, so this was good practice. Will add some pics to this thread when I get the plate cleaned up and refiled. I've got most the thick rust off the plate at this point and need to decide whether I want to keep going or just call it good.

Thanks Dave! Yeah, I was surprised to find such gorgeous wood under all that grime, it was a nice surprise. I was expecting apple, but, correct me if I'm wrong, I think that's QS Beech?

[Dave Beauchesne]

Thanks Dave! Yeah, I was surprised to find such gorgeous wood under all that grime, it was a nice surprise. I was expecting apple, but, correct me if I'm wrong, I think that's QS Beech?[/QUOTE]

Chris:

Looks like QS Beech to me - I am all about the figure in wood, and yes, it is nice to unearth a gem once in a while - nice job.

Dave B

[David Weaver]

Looks good. I notice what george pointed out, but I probably wouldn't have noticed it at a glance if george hadn't pointed it out. I would go minus the wheat on a handle that has a nice contour and crisp lines like that (it draws your eye to the wheat when the crisp lines are always much more pleasing, they're just dominated by the wheat), but that's an opinion and not a concrete design near-law like something that george will point out.

The lamb's tongue is nicely done - much better than any that I have done. Nobody will ever look at that saw the same again. Copule of years down the road, people will be trying to figure out what it is, and they won't be thinking "cheap" as their first thought like they would've with the old handle.

[Chris Griggs]

Looks good. I notice what george pointed out, but I probably wouldn't have noticed it at a glance if george hadn't pointed it out. I would go minus the wheat on a handle that has a nice contour and crisp lines like that (it draws your eye to the wheat when the crisp lines are always much more pleasing, they're just dominated by the wheat), but that's an opinion and not a concrete design near-law like something that george will point out.

The lamb's tongue is nicely done - much better than any that I have done. Nobody will ever look at that saw the same again. Copule of years down the road, people will be trying to figure out what it is, and they won't be thinking "cheap" as their first thought like they would've with the old handle.

Thanks Dave. Yeah, I don't like the carved wheat on their either, but it was already there, so there wasn't much to be done about it. I definitely think the side without it looks better. I like the idea of someone finding this saw years from now and being utterly confused. Maybe someone will try to sell it on ebay someday as a "RARE Disston" for way more than it's worth. Kinda makes me laugh.

So anyway, I worked on blade a bit more this morning and decided to call it good enough. Short of going at it with a power sander there was no way I was going to get it much better. Put the saw back together and snapped a few pics with the cell phone before leaving for work. I jointed the teeth way down so I've got a fair bit of filing ahead of me, but otherwise the old girl is good to go.

Another Before Pic
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After Pics
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[David Weaver]

Looks good. That's where I would've stopped, too. Good warm up for the next wenzloff kit, huh?

I have a prediction quote for ebay:

"Early minty disston prototype with wheat and lamb's tongue. RARE!" then whoever lists it will put a BIN on it for $349 OBO (which is equivalent to throwing a bobber in the water) and watch the bobber to see if it sinks.

That sounds like a lot of ebay now!

[george wilson]

I agree,the side without the wheat looks better.

[Chris Griggs]

Looks good. That's where I would've stopped, too. Good warm up for the next wenzloff kit, huh?

I have a prediction quote for ebay:

"Early minty disston prototype with wheat and lamb's tongue. RARE!" then whoever lists it will put a BIN on it for $349 OBO (which is equivalent to throwing a bobber in the water) and watch the bobber to see if it sinks.

That sounds like a lot of ebay now!

Hah! That's great Dave! You nailed the ebay quote! I feel like I've read that near exact statement countless times on the Bay.

Yep, definitely good practice for the kits. I'm getting antsy, which is kinda why I decided to so this. I'm hoping the kits will arrive some time next week. I'm getting more confident with my shaping at this point and now that I have a bow saw roughing out the blanks will be sooooooooo much easier (I've made a couple practice handles in the past with a coping saw, which was not fun). I'm just hoping I won't go through a bunch of ruffed out handles when letting letting in the mortise and kerfing them for the brass back and plate. Come to think of it, I just realized I might need a narrower chisel for the mortise for the back. My narrowest is 1/4" - seems like a good excuse to buy something new!

[Chris Griggs]

And to prove just how right on the money Dave's Ebay prediction was, go to ebay and search 150754565598

[Klaus Kretschmar]

Pretty cool job, Chris!!

There's a world of difference between before and after. You've done the lambs tongue in a way that I really love. The light touch the filigrane lambs tongue has with the cheeks adds so much of visual attraction to the handle. Well done!

Not as critizism by any means just as my personal preference I probably would have downsized the nose of the handle a little bit to reduce the visual heft of the handle top. But there is nothing wrong with your shape, not at all!

Klaus

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks Klaus! I appreciate your feedback, and given how great your handles look am happy to know your personal preference. I just looked at the panel saw handles on your site again and think I see what you mean. By bringing the concavity on the front in and up a little, it does slim out the look of the handle's top. I also notice that it kind of makes the very tip of the handle's nose appear to widen out at the bevels where it meets the plate, which is a cool visual effect.

I think I spent a good amount of time looking at your handles in trying to figure out how to do the lambs tongue. I like the way your lambs tongues curve vertical and even in a little bit before turning forward (as opposed to the more gradual slope up and less extreme turn that you sometimes see), so I tried to do the same with mine. Another thing I like on yours, that I didn't pull off is how the front part of the lambs tongue actually continues to curve down a bit all the way to the end, instead of just turning straight and pointing slightly downward. I think I'll try to replicate that aspect in the future.

[David Weaver]

And to prove just how right on the money Dave's Ebay prediction was, go to ebay and search 150754565598


Wow...that's an exceptionally clean saw that guy has! I put it on watch to see if anyone buys it (not my kind of thing, but it's interesting!). Someone sure went to a lot of care to make sure that a "defective" saw was taken care of like almost no non-defective saws have been.

My favorite auctions on ebay are the ones where someone says they don't know anything about their particular tool, and then they proceed to describe obscure and value-enhancing details only a collector would know - even though such things are almost certainly false about their listed tool.

[Chris Griggs]

Sounds like the nutty antique dealers down her in NOLA who try to sell "Rare Wooden Planers" that are cracked, bladeless, and missing half their totes for $70+ a piece. I saw some of that last time I went dumpster diving (read: vintage tool hunting) in PA, but for the most part people up there seemed to know what they had and what was a reasonable (though typically still highish) price. Vintage tools down here are a lot harder to find and when you find them, they are often in horrible shape, the dealers know less than nothing about them, and want insane $$$ for them. Archie has even told me stories of one place he goes where, when you bring an item up to the counter they literally log into ebay and ask the price of whatever similar thing they see is going for.

[David Weaver]

I don't get too much up here, even, and adamstown and new oxford are pretty close to me when I'm visiting my parents (both places have a lot of antiques). Ebay has really throttled the ability to go into a shop and get a tool for a deal. There's no reason as a shop owner to even try to sell a tool locally when it'll go easy on ebay.

There is one guy near my parents who is the exception (he buys at auctions and only sells from an antique mall) but he's the only one. The rest of the places that do have nice tools are a lot higher than ebay, and ebay is plenty high on its own.

[Chris Griggs]

I'm kinda surprised you haven't found more that far east. My finds were more east though - northeast of Philly in/near bucks county. IIRC, my best finds (e.g $20 Bell System Brace) were in a strip of antique stores in Quakertown. I also found few nice saws in some small ma and pop stores in NJ right on boarder of PA (e.g. a D8 for <$5).

I didn't strike gold, but did run across some shelves full of decent planes that weren't a steal, but a number were nice and reasonably priced - prices comparable to what Walt and Sandy sell their stuff for. There was definitly some junk for ridiculouis prices as well, but it was a lot better than I find down here. When I get back there, I'd like to dig around in the Lehigh Valley a bit, since I figure with the former steel industry being there, I might find me goodies. I don't recall where, but theres also a weekley flea market in Bucks County near my future in-laws that they tell me always has nice looking old tools - no idea how they're priced though.