I finally caught an estate sale early enough that it wasn't picked over, and among my finds was a nice old Disston saw for $1. I know very little about saws but knew enough to look for nicer totes. After examining the badge and comparing it with the reference on Disstonian Institute, I believe it's from 1876-1877. Other than some light pitting, it's in great shape. The other interesting feature is the name "A.C. Currier" is stamped into the tote in several places. While (carefully) sanding away the rust, I found the etching saying it was a number 9. I don't can't find much about this saw, but it seems like it might have some more value to it as a collectible than as a user. Does anyone know about this one? What do you think, do as little restoration as possible and sell it, or keep it as a nice user?
Of course, I'm kicking myself now because there were a few other nice-toted saws in the $1 pile, but I was looking for a single saw for use, not thinking about value! Even for just personal use, it would have been nice to look them over more when I got home and pick the best one or two! Lesson learned.
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