Rip Saws ?

[David Turner]

A friend, Tod Herrli, wants/needs a rip saw and I have 2 in my saw inventory. I want to trade one of the rips for partial payment for a small apple wood smoother he made/has.

Saw #1 is a Disston D-8, 5 1/2 TPI, with a thumb hole handle. Saw plate is stained and has some surface rust.
Saw #2 is a Sheffield saw Works No 29, 5 1/2 tpi, "Speed King" with etch of a locomotive. Saw plate is pretty clean and has a wheat carved handle.

Which one should I keep and which one should I trade?

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[Jim Koepke]

If the saws perform the same in use, my tendency would be to keep the one with the locomotive on the saw plate. I used to work for a rail system and as most of my coworkers would agree, we are just big kids who liked to play with trains.

Of course, this is just my:

320386

jtk

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Pictures would help. In terms of assessing quality, the wheat handle does not mean that much, in my experience. I have seen a lot of saws I thought were junk with wheat carvings on the handle. A taper ground blade is a significant indicator of quality, and the skew backed saws tend to be better quality from what I can tell. The saw nuts can be an indicator of quality as well, as some of the better saws have a brass medallion, while others will use a cheaper metal, or just plain fasteners with no medallion. A Disston with a thumbhole is going to be a good quality saw. If the Sheffield has a taper ground blade, a skewed back, and a good etch (not the cheapo looking modern markings that started appearing in the 50s and 60s), it is probably a good saw as well.

Not knowing those things, and assuming they are both about the same quality, my answer would depend on the kind of work you usually do. If you are going to be ripping a fair amount of 6' or 8' 8/4 stock, I would suggest you keep the D-8. I have one that is pretty much my go to on long rips with thicker material. If you are going to be doing mostly shorter/thinner stock, sometimes it is nice to have a smaller saw.

From a collector/cash value perspective I have no opinion.

[Chuck Nickerson]

As a non-collector I'd keep the "Speed King". I can always find another Disston.

This sounds like odd logic from a non-collector but the "Speed King" may be common and I just don't know it.

[Jim Davis]

If you wanted, some day, to sell your saw, the Disston will always bring more money then the Sheffield. Sheffield was just a trade name and was probably made by Disston anyway. But people don't seem to collect the off branded Disstons. Look on thebay at hand saws under the "sold items." There is an education there.

[Tom M King]

I actually like using that thumb hole.

[Stew Denton]

Hi David,

I would take a practical approach, sharpen the two saws and give them a go, keeping the one that did the best. I can say that a rough saw blade pushes harder that a slick one, so if the Disston can't be made pretty smooth, I would take the other one if everything else seems equal. Being a user, not a collector, I am more interested in how the saw does than the name on it.

Stew

[Tony Zaffuto]

Combination of all of the above, plus more importantly, the one that feels best in your hand, as well as cuts best(combo of clean saw plate and good sharpening, both done by any of a number of saw doctors in business today).

[Kent A Bathurst]

.......... we are just big kids who liked to play with trains..........

Howl........

That was good, Jim -

Trains and planes, of course......but not the flying type of planes........

I saw Fred Eaglesmith open for Robert Earl Keen in a small club in Ann Arbor many years ago - this was one of the songs he performed.........I had forgotten all about it until you said [more or less] "I like trains"..............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I_yjTzAmRg

[Jim Koepke]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I_yjTzAmRg

Okay, but not what I listen to most of the time, only at about 3:00am when pulling an all nighter. Something I haven't done since working grave yard about 20 years ago.

jtk

[Joe Bailey]

Sheffield was just a trade name and was probably made by Disston anyway.

The Sheffield Saw Works saws were manufactured by E C Atkins.

[Moses Yoder]

To eliminate that tough decision you could give him both. Find another for yourself.