diston saws question

[steven taggart]

I just bought five pretty nice hand saws at an estate sale. I must confess I bought them based mostly on looks. Turns out two are distons (sp?) Two are warrented superior, which are supposedly a subsidiary of diston,
And one says Pennsylvania saw corp. It has a medallion like the distons. My question is should I use these saws? They are all very sharp, and I would love to play with them. However I don't want to ruin a rare saw, and seeing how the other saws in my shop are Stanley's from less than five years ago, my experience with hand saws is lacking. I hope the experience this forum has can help me out.

[Sean Hughto]

http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/

[Sean Hughto]

It depends on what sorts of Disstons they are - what number and what age. A D-8 cross cut saw from 1930 - use it. A D-12 rip saw from the 19th Century in perfect condition, maybe you don't as the collector money would buy you lots of great users.

Look at the etching on the blades - a 7 or 12 is higher end -- 8 and 23, for example, not as much.

[Jim Matthews]

If the handles are intact, and the steel is straight - sharpen them and use them in your shop.

Even if you get a collector's price at a sale, you'll still need saws in your shop.
Saws from modern makers cost as much, if not more than prized antiques.

It's a tool, not a Faberge egg.

FWIW - I would freely adapt the handles to fit you, most comfortably.
That means rasps, files and sandpaper taking down the "patina" to reveal the original materials.

[David Weaver]

Almost without exception, the warranted superior medallion is the mark of death for any value in a saw. There may be an exception here are there, but they are few. They're on a lot of different brands of saws.

As for the rest of the saws, unless one of them has a sunken medallion that says "h. Disston" and has an eagle with no "sons" listed on it, they're likely not going to be worth that much that you have to worry about anything. The bulk of saws that I've seen locally in the wild are later disstons that aren't worth more than about 5 to 10 bucks unless someone sharpens them and sells them based on the sharpening process.

The others of the turn of the century type (that are nice saws, but common) are still worth a lot less than folks pay for a pete taran sharpened saw or some other gussied up common saw that will be worth $25-$50 instead of $250 once the "trick" sharpening job on them is no longer there.

The only way you're likely to find a saw of significant value is to somehow luck into one that is 1800s and super bright and clean, or to find something pre-1930 or so that's still in the wrapper.

So hack away with them, just try not to kink them if you're new to saws.

[James Conrad]

There are enough saws sitting in collections. Sharpen and put them back to work.

[steven taggart]

As always I get valuable info here fast. Thanks everyone. The two disstons are turn of the century, and I lucked out on the sharpening. They are all stamped sharpened by some service in 95. And the owner said they were his dads, and doesn't recall that they were used in his lifetime. So I guess I did Ok with cool old sharp saws for five bucks a piece.