Hello backsaw.net community, my name is Timo and I am a new member from Germany. Recently I got a wonderful backsaw which I restored (www.holzprojekte.blogspot.com). I have some questions about the saw: -how old is this saw? -are there any information about the manufacturer existing? I have attached two pictures, I hope it works. Can someone help me? Regards Timo Sorry for my bad grammar - school ist out for a long time now
Hello Timo, I am sure that Ray will tell you a lot more about the saw than I can, but the makers appear in a publication called "White's Directory of Sheffield and Rotherham 1901" See the photograph below. They also appear in "Kelly's Directory of West Yorkshire 1881" page 1908 as a manufacturer of Joiners Tools at the same address - Douglas Works, 77 Arundel Street. They are also there in "Whites Directory of 1911" This time trading as a company called "Sylvester". So your saw could date from anywhere between 1881 to 1911, and possibly earlier or later depending upon what other people can find out about the company. Hope this helps Fred
Hi Timo, nice saw, Colquhoun & Cadman is also listed in "Trademarks on Base Metal Tableware" as COLQUHOUN COLQUHOUN & CADMAN Also trading as ARUNDEL & CO. Arundel St., Sheffield (1892) - (1919) Cutlery, knives and forks Ref. 1892, 1919 ARUNDEL & CO ~*G,.J GO AHEAD. so your saw's age seems to be 1892-1919 range
Hello Fred and Kiwi, thank you very much. This is a lot of very interesting information. My god, how old this wonderful saw could be! I have to build a special storage in my workshop! Regards Timo
C & c Writing from memory (6K miles away from my databases), C& C were almost certainly a "brass plate" outfit, that is they had premises with a brass plate with their name on the door, but everything they sold was made elsewhere in Sheffield, marked with their name and marketed under several different names, including Arundel [their "works" were on Arundel Street] and Go-ahead; their TM was a scroll with C&C in it. They claimed a very wide range of cutlery, razors, tools for the workshop (and for the garden at one time), including ultimatum type braces, and skates (there is a display case of their skates in the Hawley Tool Collection). Colquhoun was apprenticed as a salesman to Marsden Brothers (edge tools, skates, saws etc) and set up with Cadman, who probably just supplied the financial capital and who was related to a huge and very long-lived family of Sheffield manufacturers, chiefly of razors, but also factors and merchants, so their name can appear, like C&C, on a vast range of tools. I think C&C started in about 1870, and were bought out by Thomas Ellin after Colquhoun died in the 1890's; the name continued to be used on tools made and/or merchanted by Ellin until the 1920's. Your very pretty saw is a nice example of theirs which I would guess is around 1880-1890.
I just received a C&C COLQUHOUN & CADMAN 26" handsaw which is likely from 1900's. Apart from a little damage to the handle, the saw is in pretty good condition. There are a couple of details, I though might be interesting mentioning. First the nib on the plate. It is in the shape of a shark fin (does look authentic/not broken or filed off), rather then typical thumb-shaped nib. The other detail, which is probably users alteration, is a little deep in the rear side of the handle to accommodate sawyers pointing finger.