You never know whats under the grime

[Vince Sandy]

You never know whats under the rust and grime. I bought this 10" Disston backsaw a while back on FleaBay for about $20.00 including shipping. I've had it hanging near a couple other Disston backsaws since I got it. I finally got around to cleaning it up today and what a nice surprise. The handle looks like apple but it has "tiger" stripes. I probably have about 25 Disston saws, 5 of them backsaws, but this is the best looking handle of the bunch. Enjoy.

Vince in NC

[Tim Leo]

wow...


what did you do to get the steel to shine like that? I have a couple of backsaws that have turned dark brown to black. I need to clean it up, but I'm not sure what to do.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Vince, it looks wonderful! The blade cleaned up wonderfully.

Above all that handle looks perfect!!

[Vince Sandy]

Tim,

For cleaning saw blades, I use wet/dry sand paper on a felt backed sanding block lubricated with mineral spirits. The amount of rust determines which grit to begin with. I usually start with 220. This saw was covered in minor surface rust so I spent only a minute or so on each side using a fresh sheet of paper for each side. I then switched to 320 grit to finish. I have gone all the way to 600 grit on a few saws but it doesn't seem to make much difference with any grit over 400.

After the sanding is finished and the mineral spirits are wiped away a film will be left after the steel drys. I wipe it away thoroughly and then finish with a couple of coats of paste wax.

For the wood, I use a mixture of turpentine, lemon oil, and bees wax. I usually squirt Formby's lemon oil into bolt holes and other hard-to-get-to places. I let it soak a few minutes then wipe away the excess with cotton swabs, paper towels, and whatever else I can manage to squeeze in those tight spots. I usually finish the wood with at least two coats of paste wax.

Vince