Ready for another nib discussion...? Me either.

[jamie shard]

I have two apple handled panel saws. I just noticed today that they have different handles... and the cross cut has a nib. It just struck me that the nib might be a way to tell which of your identically sized saws was the cross cut and which was the rip. But I'm also wondering if the shape of the handle might also have been a indicator. Anyone ever hear of similar thinking? I doubt there is significance to either, but it was a passing thought...272902272903

[Jim Koepke]

Can't really tell, but it looks like the medallions are years apart.

jtk

[David Weaver]

I think it has to do more with one of the plates being a D series plate and one of them being a no. series plate.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Well what I notice is that the handle with the nib also has a notch, thus supporting my theory that the nib was originally for tying a blade guard onto. The other side ties into the notch in the handle. I know this is not a popular theory amongst saw purists, but that to me is better than the "just a decoration" theory. So you put a pimple as a decoration? Not a fleur de lise?

Disston claimed it was a decoration, but he actually was trying to make his saws look more like English saws which already had nibs. The nibs originally were functional. That's my theory. One day they will dig up a mummy holding a saw with a blade guard tied to the nib and I will claim victory. :D

[Bill Houghton]

Well what I notice is that the handle with the nib also has a notch, thus supporting my theory that the nib was originally for tying a blade guard onto. The other side ties into the notch in the handle. I know this is not a popular theory amongst saw purists, but that to me is better than the "just a decoration" theory. So you put a pimple as a decoration? Not a fleur de lise?

Disston claimed it was a decoration, but he actually was trying to make his saws look more like English saws which already had nibs. The nibs originally were functional. That's my theory. One day they will dig up a mummy holding a saw with a blade guard tied to the nib and I will claim victory. :D

It's actually an astronomical device. Take it out on your front lawn at equinox at dawn, sight along the sawblade just as the sun is rising, line the nib up on the leading edge of the sun just as it rises...and then look around, and you'll notice your neighbors looking at you a little nervously.

[David Weaver]

I have two apple handled panel saws. I just noticed today that they have different handles... and the cross cut has a nib. It just struck me that the nib might be a way to tell which of your identically sized saws was the cross cut and which was the rip. But I'm also wondering if the shape of the handle might also have been a indicator. Anyone ever hear of similar thinking? I doubt there is significance to either, but it was a passing thought...272902272903

(by the way, I chanced into two Disston #12s a couple of years ago that are almost the same age, one is a 7 point crosscut and one a 5 1/2 point rip. They do both have a nib. I can't figure out why disston thought the smaller thinner D-series profile on some saws - with the straight back and less deep plate - was in improvement, but I guess they marketed it as such - just as they marketed the skewback being a stronger saw than one with a straight back and then marketed something directly in conflict with that a decade or three later).

[Tony Shea]

As I'm sure you're aware of now, the difference in both designs is to do with the age and series of the saws. Which already has been pointed out. But in your case it certainly can be used as an indicator as to which saw is what. When these saws were new they had a pretty clear stamp on the heel of the plate as to what tooth count the saws were and after using them enough a person will be able to tell the difference within seconds of glancing at the teeth. I don't even hesitate as to which saw I'm grabbing just by quickly looking at the teeth, but I have become very well aquainted with the teeth on all my saws. Most of their shapes are now bearing evidence of my files and not the previous owners so as I said I know them well.

Interestingly enough, I find my D-series 5 point rip saw a bit nicer to use than the same # series full plate saw when doing heavy rips/resawing. For some reason I just preferred the D-7 over the same #7 when I was doing lots of resawing by hand, and the handle was definitely not nice at all.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I thought that the nib was so that you could use it as a fountain pen...

[Bill Houghton]

...but I have become very well acquainted with the teeth on all my saws...

I had to laugh when I read this, picturing you sitting around on the porch on a sunny afternoon, shooting the stuff with the teeth on your saws, asking them about their upbringing, trading lies, etc.