Ray et al. I was betwixt and between where to place this post because the saw has now really been altered enough to almost make it a "newish" saw. It was purchased years ago at a garage sale for a song because it was really unusable. I couldn't resist cause I was aware of some of its age. It needed a new handle to make it functional and so it sat, over my bench, staring at me every time I did some work. I have never replaced a handle and have only done minor noninvasive work to old saws. I figured I had enough templates ( R. Sorby 8 inch eventually chosen ), time and so this is the result. If we were doing a full handle restore, I was going to make it with a wood I really like. The original beech was completely sheared off and I didn't have enough dry beech to play with. I had a large cut off of Honduran Rosewood (Dalbergia Stevensonii) from another project so this was used. It is dense and a pig to cut especially if only a bandsaw was used to cut the outline profile and files and rasps to cut the rest of the shape. Finished with 12 coats of french polished shellac. It being only a one off, I was surprised how long it took and can appreciate the new saw makers costs and why saw costs were once decided by the cost of the handle design. Thanks for the indulgence, enjoy Joe S.
Hi Joe, Nice work, I like your choice of Sorby for the handle design, I assume that you sized it to fit your hand, which would make it a delight to use. It looks to have plenty of sawplate left to ensure a long working life ahead. Regards Ray
Thanks for the comments. David, we may have different versions of "fun" in our experience lexicon. hahaha. I hope it survives another couple hundred years. Observation....Do not drop rosewood handles and I now know why I find so many Stanley planes with broken brazilian rosewood totes and handles. Doesn't take but a knock. Ray, it is a bit of an embarrassment that fit and size were not the first and final considerations. I had no idea how the original saw cut because the saw was unusable when I got it. The template saw was chosen on aesthetics basically and it seemed fine in my hand. It is not until everything is complete that there is a final "aha" on function. As you file and carve there is a constant fit test in the hand and palm feeling for high spots but it never reflects the cutting action and how it works in the context of a bench cutting motion. For the little I have played with it after the sharpening it is quite nice to use. If there would be any changes I might make it would be to soften the edges a little more. There are infills I have made over the years and it still one thing I wished I had done on some of them. Round edges more but I like defined bevels for aesthetics. May have to do another if I find an old unusable saw worthy of the time. Joe S.