Hello all, I couldn't place the age of this saw when I first saw it on Ebay - and I still can't now!! The mark "Alfred Ridge and Sons" goes from 1790 to 1911. It isn't "cast dot" and so it probably does not come from his earliest period, but the saw does have a chamfer of sorts on the back and there is a fair bit of back poking beyond the blade at the front. Which could make it earlier rather than later. It is the lettering that I cannot make head nor tail of. The Alfred Ridge bit is quite plain, but I don't think that it is quite plain enough to put it in the last 20 years of his existence. The "Sheffield" is straightforward but has serifs. If it is between say, 1835 and 1890 where does it fit in. Help Fred
I think you've nailed it Fred 1835-1890 ! (to 97% accuracy, 17 times out of 20) I find it extremely difficult to date backsaws by style with any degree of accuracy as different features come and go with long overlap periods for changes, and there seems to be so much variation in different models being issued in the same time period, even by the same manufacturer. [There was some earlier discussion on this, re S&J handles, at http://www.backsaw.net/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=58&jfile=showthread.php&t=111 ] nevertheless, time tabulating the various micro features on my saws is still on my to do list , although not at the top If I was to WAG to reduce the time period for your saw to only 50yrs, I'd opt for 1840-90 Nice saw, whatever its birthdate