Inherited a couple Craftsman cross cut hand saws. What to do if anything with them

I inherited two older Craftsman cross cut hand saws almost 30" long including handle. The handles even have engraving on them. One has a red shield on the points the other finer cut has blue. I can see a couple uses for them and already used the rough cut once and it came in handy. But they are both dull. I'm not up on these types of tools. Are they worth spending $$$ getting them sharpened? What does sharpening saws like that cost? Can I do it myself (if it's not real difficult or terribly time consuming)? Where would I look to find someone to sharpen them?

They probably were made by Disston. I have one that is equal to my old Disstons. Mine was made by Disston. They are absolutely worth sharpening.

The last time I paid to have saws sharpened it was at Circle Saw in Houston. Ten or fifteen years ago, it cost $4 per saw.
I would sharpen them myself. What ever it cost you it's worth the cost.

Download Ron Herman's video on sharpening handsaws. You will have a better understanding of what's involved.

Or, you could sell them on Sawmill Creek classifieds.

Search for threads about saw sharpening. You can do it. The saw companies used to put out booklets telling customers how to sharpen saws. It was kind of expected of home craftsmen, though carpenter's often thought their time was worth more than they would pay a saw shop.

Craftsman saws were made by some of the big companies--Sears didn't make anything.

Jim

They are taper ground saw plates.. I'm pretty sure they are made by Disston. I value my Craftsman 10 tpi crosscut.

One of my favorite saws is a Craftsman 10 tpi CC (propably a twin to Lowell's). It too is taper ground, but to me, the steel has more of a Sandvik feel and look to it. Plate seems harder than Disston, but took a better filing(if that makes sense!).

I have a number of old Craftsman woodworking tools, and a lot of them were very high quality. It would not surprise me if the saws you have were made by Disston or one of the other major saw makers, as others have suggested. I would think the sentimental value is much higher than any monetary value, but the old Craftsman tools were not Chinese junk.

Using hand tools is not for everybody. If you just want to keep them, I would suggest a good coat of paste wax on the plate will go a long way to keeping them from rusting. You can build a saw till for them, but they can also do just fine hanging.

If you want to use them, a good saw bench makes a lot of difference. I was really surprised how much of a difference it makes, and you can easily build a good bench in a couple of hours for about $10-$15.

If you want to get them sharpened professionally, there are some folks who will do it by mail, and are very well regarded. To my way of thinking it is a little bit on the expensive side by the time you pay for their services, as well as shipping both ways. Tom Law used to be the sharpening guru around here, but unfortunately he passed away a number of years ago.

You could try your Woodcraft there in Rockville and ask if they know anyone who could help you. The Woodcraft in Leesburg advertises saw sharpening, but they they told me they really don't have anyone. I don't know why they don't just take the sign down.

I have learned enough to maintain my own, and it can certainly be done, but it is one of those things I don't have to do often enough to feel like I have gotten really good at it.

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Originally Posted by Nicholas Lawrence

I have a number of old Craftsman woodworking tools, and a lot of them were very high quality. It would not surprise me if the saws you have were made by Disston or one of the other major saw makers, as others have suggested. I would think the sentimental value is much higher than any monetary value, but the old Craftsman tools were not Chinese junk.

Using hand tools is not for everybody. If you just want to keep them, I would suggest a good coat of paste wax on the plate will go a long way to keeping them from rusting. You can build a saw till for them, but they can also do just fine hanging.

If you want to use them, a good saw bench makes a lot of difference. I was really surprised how much of a difference it makes, and you can easily build a good bench in a couple of hours for about $10-$15.

If you want to get them sharpened professionally, there are some folks who will do it by mail, and are very well regarded. To my way of thinking it is a little bit on the expensive side by the time you pay for their services, as well as shipping both ways. Tom Law used to be the sharpening guru around here, but unfortunately he passed away a number of years ago.

You could try your Woodcraft there in Rockville and ask if they know anyone who could help you. The Woodcraft in Leesburg advertises saw sharpening, but they they told me they really don't have anyone. I don't know why they don't just take the sign down.

I have learned enough to maintain my own, and it can certainly be done, but it is one of those things I don't have to do often enough to feel like I have gotten really good at it.

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Interesting that you mentioned Tom Law. He used to sharpen saws for me in the late 90's. He gave up sharpening when his reputation spread through the land via the blog-o-sphere (instead of increasing his prices!). When he gave up sharpening, he started buying every vintage saw he sold, and would sell via the mail, or at flea markets in WV and at PATINA. His prices for a sharpened saw ranged from around $15 or $20 for a run of the mill Disston, on up for saws collector value. I bought saws through the years from Tom, both through the mail and until he passed away, at PATINA. For the past several years, his widow has been selling the remaining stock of saws he bought and refurbished, and the prices are as cheap as ever. For example, at last week's PATINA gathering, I bought a 115 (a #12 with a skew back) sharpened, for $20! The priciest saws were a #95 with bakelite handle (I collect those) and a #16 short CC, both sharpened at $30 each. Several years ago, when she started selling Tom's stock of saws, she had roughly 3,500 of them. When I spoke to her last weekend, she was down to about 4 or 500 saws. She also said that this would probably be her last time at the PATINA gathering.

I can sharpen CC & rip adequately, but for anyone that has had Tom Law sharpen a saw for them, they know they have a saw from the best. I remember speaking to Tom a year or so before he passed and he was commenting on those in the sharpening business, that he felt Daryl Weir surpassed his abilities. His DVD is a great resource for anyone venturing into sharpening.

I have purchased a couple from her as well. My main cross-cut saw is an Atkins that I purchased from her at the auction last year. I was sorry to miss the auction this year. It is always a great event.