Where have (vintage) handsaws been all my life!

[James Carmichael]

I just got my hands on a pre-1928 Disston D8 rip. Wow! This saw seems to glide right through wood. The handle is a revelation of ergonmics. I have a 1950s vintage D8 xcut, it's good, but the "low cost" handle is not nearly as comfortable and it just doesn't have the nice, balanced "feel".

It dawned on me after using this saw, most of us have grown up in the dark-ages of hand tools. Following WWII, power tools and low-cost manufacturing methods took over. Until recently, every handsaw I'd ever tried was a toolbox abomination that I pulled out only when it was cut I didn't care about and it was too much trouble to setup a power saw.

My electric bills should be going down now because except for my PC Router, most of my power tools are sitting on the shelf. No dust, no high-pitched whine, just lots of sweat :D

[harry strasil]

Using a properly functioning hand tool, is a joy to use and listen to. Its like savoring your favorite dessert.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Sooner or later those who try hand tools of either top quality modern manufacture or the good vintage stuff all have this epihany. I'm fortunate enough to have a few hand saws which are over 100 years old and the handles are not only ergonomic, but beautiful. Well shaped handles and those with the nice wheat grain patterns incised on the sides are a true joy. Quite often you will find that they are much faster to use and cut just as quickly as digging out the old circular saw or going over and taking the time to set up your tablesaw.

[Hank Knight]

I had the same experience a couple of months ago. Like Dave Anderson said, it was a true epiphany. I've since purchased several vintage Disstons on eBay and was fortunate enough to get Tom Law to sharpen two of them before he hung up his sharpening spurs. They are a dream; I find myself reaching for them all the time. 6 months ago I would have rather have crosscut with an axe than the two old beater 60s and 70s handsaws I owned. Ain't life grand?

[James Carmichael]

Sure is, Hank. My collection is already at 3 with a Disston 12 on the way. I bought two pre-1928 D8 Rip blades with the thumbholes on Ebay for next to nothing, the handles look awful with an owner's name carved into one and the blades are patinaed, so I guess the collectors passed them by. But both are sound, the blades are dead-straight and handles solid. Without so much as cleaning, they cut almost effortlessly, I can't walk through my garage shop without picking one up and wanting to cut something.

[Bob Smalser]

As a kid, we bought Disstons by the dozen for the boat yard...couldn't afford D-12's then.

Now they go for a song on Ebay....tapered ground blades....if you like the D-8, by all means acquire a D-12 or D-16.

And teach yourself saw filing if you haven't already...mere child's play once you've done it....commercial shops take off a quarter inch of your blade when it only needs to lose a couple thousands:

http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=009165

[James Carmichael]

Yes, I greatly appreciated your post on that subject, Bob. I've been shopping for saw files. Pete Taran recommends a 5" 2x slim taper for the 12-point #12 I'm expecting, but those are hard to come by, so I may have to order from Pete and pay the shipping.

[Mark Singer]

You have a great deal of control and it is essential for fine work. I love power tools....but there is no substitution for fine handsaws , chisels, etc!!!

[Alan Turner]

Joel, in NY, has saw sharpening files.
toolsforworkingwood.com
No affiliation, etc. He posts here on occassion.
Alan

[Bob Smalser]

Yes, I greatly appreciated your post on that subject, Bob. I've been shopping for saw files. Pete Taran recommends a 5" 2x slim taper for the 12-point #12 I'm expecting, but those are hard to come by, so I may have to order from Pete and pay the shipping.

These recent Toolcrib purchases work just dandy:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00018ADDA/102-7255823-9831346?v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00018ADDK/102-7255823-9831346?v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00018ADEE/102-7255823-9831346?v=glance

Edited to add: Gander at this site...lotsa fine catalog detail:

http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00018AEZC/102-7255823-9831346?v=glance

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

I've got a Diston D-7 lightweight crosscut 10 tpi that I bought in 1947. It is a great saw. I was in the process of filing new teeth when I discovered saw playing and found that this saw had good tone and sustain. I have been playing it for several years and lately have been wanting to finish sharpening it just on general principles. However, my eyes arent that good any more so I guess I'll have to take it to a sharpening shop and lose more metal than I would like. Such is life.(-:

[Dave Anderson NH]

I never thought I'd say this, but don't sharpen the saw or have it sharpened. The removal of the metal might just change the tone on the saw and it would be a shame to have a fine musical instrument ruined. Go to eBay or find a saw from someplace on the net and then have that one sharpened. Yours is a special circumstance so folks probably won't hear me offer that advice again. ;)

[James Carmichael]

Well, I'll be, I swear I searched Amazon for files and didn't find what I was looking for. In particular, 6" regular taper and 5" xx slim have been hard to come by. Thanks for the info, Bob.

I am a frequent visitor to the Disstonian institute. When I shop Disston saws on Ebay, I usually have one of their checklists of features open in another window, extremely helpful. Pete Taran's comments about how he started down the slippery in the early 90s was very true, there was not much of a WWW to get all this good, free information. I'm very grateful to Pete and many others, including all the folks here in the Creek (Bob, Alan & Dave in particular), for sharing so much of their time and hard-earned expertise for free. Thank you, all, you've helped make the ride on the slippery slope a lot more fun!

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

I never thought I'd say this, but don't sharpen the saw or have it sharpened. The removal of the metal might just change the tone on the saw and it would be a shame to have a fine musical instrument ruined. Go to eBay or find a saw from someplace on the net and then have that one sharpened. Yours is a special circumstance so folks probably won't hear me offer that advice again. ;)

Thanks for the response, David. From what I have been able to gather from folks with much more experience than I, removing some metal from the saw will not do much to the tone or musical quality. In a book entitled "Scratch My Back" a method of removing up to an inch of the saw to increase the range somewhat was given and a number of sawyers have done that. My reason for finishing the sharpening is that I was almost retoothing the saw before I started playing it and the teeth are extremely ragged looking. I just want to improve it's appearance as well as make it usable.

[James Carmichael]

Finally, a vendor that carries all of the sizes of saw files I need, Nicholson and Simmonds:

http://www.nolansupply.com

6" slim is easy enough to find, but this is the first place I've look that carries 7" regular taper and a 5" xx slim.