Australian Saws

Discussion in 'Forum: Saw Identification and Discussion' started by Underthedirt, Feb 11, 2016.

  1. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Dear all, I'm hoping that if I start a thread "Australian Saws" that we may be able to flush a few out!
    Out of the 250 or so saws in my collection only 6 are either made in Australia or factored with a Melbourne specific etch, so I think they are not common at all.
    So, I'm going to post all of the Australian made or etched saws that I have on this thread & please if any other members have Australian made saws or saws with an Australian etch- I'd love to see them on this thread...:)
    First off the rank is a little GREGSTEEL dovetail / gents saw, 7" long, it has an extremely thick folded steel spine fashioned out of 2.3mm thick steel plate, the handle could be Myrtle or a similar coloured wood, it's a 14PPI looks to be a rip profile, it's a well made little saw & the first I've seen, their saws do turn up according to the HTPAA, GregSteel were a large firm toolmaking in Melbourne producing too many products to list but including knives, wrenches, cold chisels & even saws.
    Cheers

    Mari
     

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  2. admin

    admin Administrator Staff Member

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    Hi Mari,

    Thanks for starting this thread, I hope that more Australian saws will emerge over time. I've made it a sticky

    Ray
     
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  3. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Hi Ray, many thanks for making a sticky of this thread, that's real nice of you, I'm hoping we can get a few more saws on here, here's another "Australian" saw this one has a special etch, a Simonds USA 26” Model 8, 8 point cross cut, as listed in their 1910 catalogue- "Special crucible steel, warranted, apple handle, polished edges, skew back, five screws".
    No fewer than 3 x full fancy etches including ‘Made expressly for "T.M. Davie & Co. Melbourne’ subsidiary hardware store etch.
    A superb, highly figured applewood handle, the medallion features Charles Glovers patent date for his revolutionary improved saw bolts December 27, 1887.
    Found with a lot of saws in Glen Eira, Melbourne.


    Regards

    Mari
     

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  4. hiroller

    hiroller New Member

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    Last edited: Feb 29, 2016
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  5. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Hi Hiroller, thanks for sharing that, I didn't know if there would be any information about T.M.Davie & Co around, so a catalogue is pretty cool.
    I'm wondering when they closed & if anyone could remember going there perhaps? Here is another saw, T.M.Davis etch- the etch reads: "T.M.Davie & Co, 133 & 135 Exhibition St MELBOURNE, 1910, London Spring Steel, Made in England."
    This saw came with a load of saws I found in South Melbourne, it was missing it's medallion, so I've replaced it with an English W/S medallion. It's a 26" crosscut, 6PPI.
    I thought it was a Tyzack when I first got it- beech handle & skew back- the etch wasn't visible & I was quite surprised to find a Melbourne etch, with an English made saw. The saw is well made, a well finished handle, large high quality saw bolts & very nicely taper ground blade that still retains it's tension. I've taken a close up of the 6Pts stamp, maybe that could point towards a maker?
    Regards

    Mari
     

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  6. Dusty Shed Dweller

    Dusty Shed Dweller Most Valued Member

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    Simonds saws are advertised on the back page of the catalogue mentioned by Hiroller.
     
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  7. hiroller

    hiroller New Member

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    So there is!
     
  8. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Thanks for that Dusty, on page 108- Simond #8 saws, "Ask to see & you will buy"

    Regards

    Mari
     
  9. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Hi all,

    This is an Australian made Marsden Lysaght crosscut hand saw, it is a 25.5inch / 650mm long saw, 7PPI medium crosscut profile.
    A nice hard well taper ground stiff plate, coachwood handle, fantastic heavy duty machine turned saw bolts that are slotted both sides- a great feature, & unique to this saw.
    Marsden advertised their steel as "Sword Quality Steel" & the faint etch on the blade features their trademark crossed swords.
    Found in Melbourne with a job lot of other saws.

    Regards

    Mari
     

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  10. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Hi all,

    This is a W.H.Blakeley of Melbourne 14" tenon saw, stamped in the spine, 3 x 7/16 split nut style saw bolts, the plate is 24 thou thick & is a crosscut 11PPI, a very English looking lambs tongue style handle, the handle appears to be Beech & the handle has a rather large top horn- shaped unlike any other saw in my collection, the saw is straight & in reasonable shape for an old saw.
    Henry Blakeley set up business in Melbourne in 1867 & Blakeley are still in business today producing machine knives.
    Found at Camberwell Market.
    Regards

    Mari
     

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  11. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    A Marsden Lysaght 12" backsaw, 3.5" deep plate, factory toothing, 13ppi crosscut, handle is 7/8" coachwood, 3 x brass saw bolts slotted one side, a near full etch of their trademark- two crossed swords & "Sword Quality Steel" a nice little backsaw from when Australia had a thriving manufacturing industry post WW2.
    Regards

    Mari image.jpg
     

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  12. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    John Farmer 26" 8PPI Rip Saw

    A 26" John Farmer of South Australia 8PPI factory rip saw.
    A fancy & elaborate etch featuring a tiger with 2 X shields with crossed swords (Marsden reference perhaps?) & battle axes.
    The banners read from top: "Unsurpassed for quality & workmanship" TIGER BRAND "The tradesmen's saw", "Made from finest quality Swedish steel" by "John Farmer ltd, Adelaide, South Australia" & "Perfect balance & temper" & "Guaranteed against faulty material or workmanship".
    The handle looks to be Myrtle (softwood) unlike the Marsden saws, which have a coachwood (hardwood) handle.
    Turned brass saw bolts, a slight taper grind to the blade, a rake of around 17° with zero fleam, quite unusual to find in the wild an 8PPI rip.
    It's in original condition, factory toothing, original finish to the handle, a few light spots of surface rust only, glazing strip to the top of the skewback.
    Probably dates to the 1950-60s.

    Regards

    Mari
     

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  13. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    A little Blakeley & Hartley of Melbourne 9" brass backed open handed saw.
    The back stamp is slightly off center towards the toe, the handle looks to be Beech not a native timber.
    The saw plate is 18 thou thick & it is an 11ppi worn cross cut profile.
    Bought in Melbourne in its current condition- polished spine & cracked saw plate.
    A bit has been written before about Charles H Blakeley & his saw works in Melbourne, Simon has a good bit about him in BSSM, the only information that I could find about Blakeley & Hartley with searching on the net was some 1879 advertising from some local Melbourne & Districts papers- see attached, & also the HTPAA Australian Makers Database has mention of a Blakeley & Hartley saw & Gilpin style drill bit.

    Regards

    Mari
     

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  14. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Baroba hand saw

    This saw was found in Melbourne, it's a 26" 7.5ppi crosscut, a nicely taper ground skew back plate with an etch that reads: THE "BAROBA" SAW, made in Sheffield expressly for Barry & Roberts Brisbane, warranted cast steel.
    It has a cover top beech handle with a brass Warranted Superior Eagle medallion, most likely dates to around the 1st quarter of the 20th century.
    Barry & Roberts Brisbane were a department store that was founded in 1898 by THOMAS BARRY & SAM ROBERTS.
    BARRY & ROBERTS remained a household name until the 1980s when their stores gradually closed down.


    Regards

    Mari
     

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  15. Dusty Shed Dweller

    Dusty Shed Dweller Most Valued Member

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    16" brass back tenon WH. Blakeley Melbourne .....thanks so much Mari.

    Procured with the usual dramas; hammered by a wire wheel, soaked in something acidic, smashed horns, 1-1/2" cant, bent plate and awful toothing. Now a more presentable 16" 10 ppi RIP. I found that yellow birch was a better grain match than beech when the handle was repaired.

    If anybody is considering soaking a saw in vinegar etc, please be very careful. The previous IMAG0856.jpg IMAG0858.jpg "restorer" did not neutralise under the spine, hence the trapped plate was chewed out and the brass was a thick coating of verdigris. Brass is a copper-zinc alloy and the coppery colour suggests that zinc has been leeched from the metal.
     
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  16. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Hi Dusty, that Blakeley looks HEAPS better! A nice thick heavy brass spine & thin delicate lambs tongue, I really like the simple "V" decoration that the handle maker put on the top of the chamfer, quite cool.
    Thanks for sharing, it's a beautiful & rare saw, it's certainly gone to a good home.

    Regards

    Mari
     
  17. gmac

    gmac Active Member

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    Hi Mari,

    I have finally added an Aussie saw to my collection and thought I would add it to your thread.

    I came across this saw in a junk shop in the Adelaide hills.

    It is a 14" Marsden cross cut tenon saw with 13 ppi and a similar handle and hard ware to your 12" saw.

    It's in reasonable condition, with a fair bit of the original finish and it should clean up okay.

    Also a friend has shown me a 'Farmers' saw once again similar to yours.

    So it just goes to show that the local product was marketed widely inter state.

    Graham.

    m1.jpg m2.jpg m3.jpg
     
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  18. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Hi Graham, thanks for posting...:) the Marsdens are a cool little back saw & one of them is also in my current rotation of user tenon saws, a great Aussie made product.

    Regards

    Mari
     
  19. Underthedirt

    Underthedirt Most Valued Member

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    Three Australian made River Lett saws, a 21.5" 10ppi xcut panel saw, a 26" 7.5ppi xcut saw, & a 28" 4.5ppi thumbhole rip saw.

    They won't win any beauty contests, most likely made out of recycled steel left over from the Lithgow Small Arms Factory after WW2. Tasmanian Myrtle handles I'm told, the saw bolts are awesome- slotted each side.

    These are surprisingly rare & hard to find, I've been hunting & looking for ages to find one at least with a decal still on & then found another 2 with partial decals soon after.


    Regards


    Mari
     

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  20. Force

    Force Active Member

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    Nice pick up Mari,
    The fact that one is rare and you got three, you must be blessed. I like the Lithgow connection as well.
    I was trying to see on the photos is that a ppi stamp on the heel of the top saw? And if it is it looks like it indents out the other side, or is that just my imagination?
    Once again a nice lot.
    Cheers Chris
     
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