Hello all, I have had this saw for ages and have been looking at it occasionally trying to magic something out of thin air in the way of a mark. The R.P. has always been visible but this time I saw markings on the blade, and which got me quite excited - for a while. This saw to me, is as the thread title suggests. I'll start with the easy bit first. The screws are replacements If the handle is original then traditional saw wisdom has it that it should be way out of synch with the mark on the blade. There are, however, only two holes in the blade. This means that either the handle is original or the person who re-handled it was lucky enough to find a later handle whose enlarged holes to accommodate the later screws completely obliterated the original holes. This, I think is unlikely - but possible. The R.P. mark on the back looks a lot like an owners mark to me, not a manufacturer's one. I have no evidence for this though. The partial mark on the blade should make it an early (pre 1780??) saw, but there has been one suggestion made to me that the mark is not a manufacturer's name but a place mark- "Sheffield", although for the life of me I cannot make "Sheffield" out of what is there. If it is a place mark only then it may be a later mark, I don't know as I have never seen anything like it before. On looking at the mark on the blade, the best that I can make of it is the surname "LITTLE", perhaps with an initial before it (an "I" or a "T" ??). I don't even know whether the mark was put on at manufacture or bright struck later, although I would not like to risk stamping a later mark into a blade - think of the distortion that you may be letting yourself in for.. Anyway a little (pun intended) help with this would be appreciated. Fred Edit One thought has just struck me (albeit a little farfetched) which may explain everything. This saw is a bodge from start to finish and comprises a later and possibly thinned down handsaw blade (it is about 26 to 28 thou. currently) put into an alien back. If you thin the blade down by grinding the back and not the front, you keep the original maker's mark. When cut to the size of the back (eradicating the original saw screw holes in the cutting process) it needs to be re-handled with only "original" holes. In fact, the more that I think about it the more strange it seems that it is not a common practice as it would re-use saw blades without going to the expense of re-smelting the steel. Are there any technical objections/drawbacks to this process?
Fred, It is difficult to judge the stamp on the plate from pictures but my first impression was something like "...LT / ET HILL" — two words rather than LITTLE. Hope this helps a little. As to replacement plates made from panel hand saws , as you know I have one "Breadshaw & Son" (which you helped me with your suggestions) and two or three more little saws with similar plate mods. Perhaps it was a common practice to replace worn out back saw plates with something readily available and easy to cut down to size, like used handsaw... S
Thanks for the comment. It is interesting that at least one cut down handsaw plate in a backsaw is known, and possibly others. It is a shame though that there is more to indicate that my back and blade may not be an early one, but such is life and saw collecting. The more that I think about it, the more rational it seems to do this, rather than create a new blade from scratch. Does anyone else have plates in backsaws that they think are examples of this? Fred
Fred, I bought a little 8" WINGFIELD & Co which either not very old and lesser quality or the plate was replaced at some point in this one as well. The plate is quite thick for the saw this size, especially if you consider the makers name, and a little too clean under the handle as well as a crack coming from the first hole. If my suspicion is true, then the plate most likely was taken from a larger back saw, rather than handsaw. I also have couple of more recent Drabble and Sanderson back saws with replaced plates, but these are just quick fixes, I think, to elevate eBay prices of the potentially good saws and my bad luck...