My mother-in-law told me last week she had a small collection of tools that had been in the family for a number of years. To my delight she had an old Disston crosscut saw. It isn't in great condition but considering that I think it is in the 130 year old range and has seen a lot of use, it isn't in bad shape. My question is this: should I try to clean this saw up? I want to preserve this saw since it has been in the family so many years but I'm unsure if I should simply just keep it dry, clean and oiled to prevent more damage. I attached a handful of pictures including the medallion. You can see that there is a place where one of the screws has been replaced by a rivet or a homemade rivet or something so I'm not sure I could get the handle off without damaging the saw further. The rivet has caused some damage to the handle where it moves around and has kind of planed a flat spot where the screw would have been slightly recessed. There is other damage to the saw. The end of the blade has damage and the little tab at the top is missing. The blade is not straight and would need work to bring it back to straight. The red staining on the blade is red paint I think. It doesn't appear to be rust.
My goal isn't to make it usable, but rather to make it endure. Feedback appreciated.
Thanks
Rick
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