Old Sheffield Hand Saw ID Help Requested

[Logan Kaminski]

Hi All,
Hoping for some pointers and advice. Picked this saw up recently and despite the awful condition something told me to grab it. I want to take the handle off and bathe it in some Evaporust to get to the stampings with minimal etching of the blade.

Trouble is, the handle is riveted on - unless I'm missing a clue on how to unscrew these dome nuts?! I took some Boeshield to the plate to see if I could get to an etch and uncovered what I think are a "SHEFFIELD" and "CAST STEEL" stamping but no maker's mark.

Between that and the rivets, I'm thinking this is pre-1870 at least. Would like to know if anyone recognizes the handle or what's left of it, where I could find more info, and whether or not I should try to preserve the handle/rivets or just cut them off and get on with de-rusting the blade as much as possible to see if I can get a positive ID.

Thanks!
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[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Logan and welcome to the Creek.

My guess is the saw plate is much older than the handle. This is based on how saw handles have evolved over time.

You may need to file, grind or use some other technique to remove the rivets.

In my opinion you would be better off making a new handle instead of trying to restore the old handle.

jtk

[Logan Kaminski]

Thanks Jim!

After some more scraping and careful lighting I was able to match what I can see of the mark with a listing in the appendix to Simon Barley's British Saws and Saw Makers - the saw plate was made by a John Martin & Co. who as far as I can tell were better known for their cast steel files. Saw was most likely made around 1860 - how it got to California is an entertaining question.

Anyway, I will most likely continue cleaning up the plate and am leaning toward removing the handle and replacing it although making or finding period-correct split nuts may be a challenge. I'll post a better shot of the plate and maker's mark when I've made more progress.

[Brian Deakin]

I live in the Uk and the sites below may be helpful

https://taths.org.uk/

https://taths.org.uk/queries

and

https://www.flinn-garlick-saws.co.uk/acatalog/Saw_Screws_.html#SID=432