Here's a 14†Alexander Marshall backsaw that I pulled out of my box of “saws waiting for some care and attention†. Its a bit sorry looking, with its worn down blade, brass back on the saw backwards (name stamp shows on RHS instead of LHS). loose handle, missing medallion, and mismatched replacement screw. (but all that meant that I was able to buy it at a local auction last year for about the scrap value of the brass [I wanted to put a smilie here, but the darned thing only seemed to want to go at the message heading. Help. Ray ?] ) Alexander Marshall, 301 Argyle St, is listed in HSMOB for 1876-1902 I initially contemplated just using the brass back and making a frankensaw with one of my no-name no-medallion steel backed saws, (partly because I had a vague suspicion that the backwards back meant that I already had a frankensaw), but my scrapper 14â€ers have ugly handles, I'd have to shorten the brass back to fit and/or the plate thickness is way different, (maybe I could just use a donor plate of similar thickness, but the Marshall handle wouldn't cover all the existing screw holes in that plate) So, as the old back, the old saw plate, and old handle all fit each other, (and as I don't really need another user saw), I'm now thinking its better karma to just clean up this saw a bit, return the brassback to its original orientation, and replace the missing handle hardware where I can. So, questions; -Is this handle correct for a Marshall backsaw? -Did Marshall have his own named label screw or did he use some sort of “Warranted Superior†medallion ? (pictures ? )
Hi Kiwi, I'm not sure I can add much to what you already have, the clue to dating is the 301 Argyle Street Address, which HSMOB have as 1876-1902 They were at different addresses, and the latest information I've found is from Grace's Guide the following advert is from 1951. Notice the A/M logo at the top of the ad where is says established 1834. The dates in HSMOB are.. Marshall Alexander 301 Argyle Street Glasgow 1876-1902 Marshall & Co A. 227 (213) Argyle Street Glasgow 1902-1910 Marshall Alex (Glasgow) Ltd 70-74 Parnie Street 1924-1944 I wonder what was the origin of the 1834 date as shown in the ad? Anyway, back to your question, the style looks "right" to my eye for the 1876-1902 date. Given they were probably manufacturers in their own right, I would guess that they would have their own medallions, rather than the generic warranted superior. Of course, if they had their saws made elsewhere, (which is a 50/50 bet) then the chances of a generic medallion increases. But, the advert clearly says "Manufacturers of Planes, Saws, Edge Tools etc" So, I'm going to guess that it would be a custom medallion. Regards Ray
Thanks Ray I cleaned up the saw a bit, and put in a temporary medallion (coin). I might replace the sawplate sometime in the future if inspired
I recently was able to spend 3 days in the main Glasgow public library (best I've ever been in - huge [and a great cafe]) and went through every Scottish directory in the place, looking for saw makers and saw "makers" [ie dealers etc]. Came to the conclusion that probably only William Cook and Co (who later set up in Sheffield, where they still are major steel makers) and Elsworth were true saw makers in Scotland. All the rest, in my opinion, judging from their entries (addresses in big commercial rather than manufacturing areas) and from the saws of theirs I've seen, were dealers, ironmongers, saw doctors etc. That's not to say that that some of them didn't buy in the parts to make saws, and perhaps struck their own marks on saw backs, but these dealers etc could buy ready-made saws with their own names on from Sheffield saw makers so readily and cheaply that there can't have been much financial incentive to do so. I reckon that probably Alexander Marshall were dealers rather than makers; it would be wonderful if there were business documents surviving that gave us clues to allocate these names to the right category.