I recently picked up this 10" Marples & Sons backsaw. Well today I was studying the saw with a view to working out what needed to be done to it and the order I was going to tackle the work. One thing puzzles me about this saw which I’ve not seen on any other saw before. Look at the groove highlighted by the red arrow in the following photo. The same groove is present on the reverse side of the handle and perfectly bisects the angle between the chamfer and the hook. Since I’ve not seen similar marks on other saws, my question for the esteemed panel is: What do you think caused these grooves and have you ever seen them before on a saw? The following thoughts ran through my head: Was it part of the original design of the handle? Was it caused by some kind of case that once housed the saw? Was it caused by a method of holding the saw in the lid of a toolbox? Since the handle does not bear the name of a previous owner, was it done deliberately by a previous owner as a means of identifying the saw? Was it done deliberately by a previous owner as a form of registration mark. I noticed when holding the saw that when that mark was horizontal, the pointline was angled down at about the angle you would use for ripping a piece of wood held horizontally in the vise. Similarly for a piece of wood held vertically in a vise, when that line is also vertical the pointline was angled for sawing the cheeks of a tenon? Of course this is all supposition on my part, but I wondered if anyone else has ever come across marks like these and could offer an explanation.
http://www.backsaw.net/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=58&jfile=showthread.php&t=132&highlight=Marples+Sons I was hoping to have more to add, but that's it, and that ain't much. Where are you Fred?
It is one more than I found Toby so thanks. For the benefit of others, I also posted this question on Lumberjocks and Woodnet and between the three forums, I have now seen three saw handles in addition to mine that have that mark. I therefore conclude that the marks are original and because of that I will endeavour to keep them when I get around to restoring the saw.
Hey Brit*al After you mentioned this extra mark on your saw I looked through some of mine to see if this was an anomaly, the mark of an owner to distinguish his saw and others. It seems there are few other examples that I have and from different makers and with different depths and lengths of distinction. I found examples from Biggin and Becket but all from probably the 1860-1880 period. This Marples example has this cut, extra nice detail. Enjoy your saw. Joe S.
Thanks Joe. I've now seen four saws with the mark so it obviously original to the handle design. In that case, I'll make sure I keep the mark when I get around to restoring the saw. cheers, Andy
Hi Andy, Interesting observation... seeing as similar marks appear on different saws from different makers, I'm wondering if it might be some occasional artifact of the handle manufacturing process, rather than the random marking by individual owners. Perhaps one of the Sheffield handle making firms had a machine that roughed out the shapes and every so often one slipped and got marked, but not badly enough to be considered a reject... Yes... I know it's a wild guess, but that's part of the fun. Regards Ray
I was wondering if it was handles from the same handle maker, just their unique design, or a method of identifying their handles. Or possibly Union related.
I've now seen six saws with these marks and they are all in exactly the same place. Whether by design or not, I think I'll keep it when I get around to restoring the saw if for no other reason than to let future generations ask the same question.
Hi Andy, I had a quick look at some of my saws and didn't see any marks as long as pictured on your saw (and Joe's), but I have similar shorter marks, approx 1/4 inch (6mm-ish) on several saws. Examples in pics are E Hughes, A Rosling, I&H Sorby, Wilkes, (on a variety of handle shapes)