Last Sunday I picked up this 14" backsaw as I didn't recognize the name (and it was cheap). I thought there might be some mystery to solve as the stamp showed only the name with no accompanying steel type mark or place of origin, but BSSM provided a ready answer, noting that this was a tradename for a secondary line saw from Sheffield's Constantine Bros (1849-1909) After a superficial cleaning I moved the spine up from where it had been jammed down at the toe, and tapped it down where it had lifted out of the mortice at the handle end. This had the affect of straightening the blade which had been curved at the toothline and also removing the slight handle wobble by holding the blade more firmly in the handle. Then a little file work on the teeth and it now cuts quite nicely. A google goggle turned up a couple of other examples of I Colbeck saws, although none with as an exaggerated hang angle for the handle [name stamp is 19mm long]
I agree, the high hang angle is more like you might find on a shorter saw. Have you noticed any tendency to bind in the cut? Looks to be pretty good for a 100 year old saw.
Ray, it seems to cut without binding in the limited cutting I've used it for. I think hang angle may affect efficiency in sawing effort but I don't think hang angle affects tendency for binding, else stick handle gent's saws would be nbg