Hello all, It's been a while since I've posted anything here. I was doing some organizing in my shop today and came across this saw I forgot about. Picked it up at an area tool meet last year because it looked early to me and I never heard the name before. When I got home I gave it a light cleaning and looked it up in BSSM. Long story short I was looking up Waterhouse & Co. for some reason. Not having any luck I put it in the rack with my other English saws and there it's been until this morning. Giving it a closer look I discovered my mistake. Taking out Simon's book once again I found Carr Woodhouse & Carr. The early dates of this maker prompted this post (1818-1823) and the fact that my saw is stamped only Carr Woodhouse & Co. The only other mark on the saw is cast (dot) steel. Also is this what you would consider a relaxed ampersand? The blade has a lot of life left to it, is laser straight, and is in great shape. Pretty uncommon for a saw this age I'd say. The handle is not bad either. Typical ware on the horns. Any ideas how this saw ties in with the BSSM listing? Any thoughts or comments greatly appreciated. Best regards, Scott
Hey Scott Nice Saw. I am sure your discerning eye knew it was different from all the rest of the saws at the tool meet. Screams early with the very rounded nose that we really only see on early saws. Extra time would have been put into that filing it, whereas later "cookie cutter" sharp angles would have been one less function required. All the early sales imprints such as Smith's show stylized round nose saws. Regarding the ampersand, it looks very vertical to me. "Relaxed" might be considered almost turned 45 degrees and on its side. Handle looks like it has had a finish evened out on it... a 200 year old saw would have been well worn and yet very attractive all the same. Enjoy that baby. Joe S.
Hi Joe, Thanks for the reply. I'm a little embarrassed that I mis-read the maker of this saw when I brought it home last fall. More than that my abilities to navigate websites needs some work. I somehow posted this thread twice while trying to attach pictures and had no idea how to delete one of them! At any rate I'm not that well educated on English saws. I appreciate the great information from members such as yourself and others. On great thing about saw collecting there is always a mystery to solve and always something to learn. I was fairly certain this ampersand was what you would consider vertical from looking at other posts, thanks your confirmation. Now I know for sure in the future. As to the finish on the handle. It appeared never to have been messed with when I found it. It may look a bit shiny in the photos because they were taken right after I applied a small amount of Kramer's to it as part of its light cleaning. I even left the small paint splatters. It has since toned down and evened out. As for the single Carr in this stamp. I'm guessing (and I emphasize guessing) this saw may be closer to the 1818 starting date in BSSM before the second Carr, Rylah Carr joined the firm? Regards, Scott