Greetings, A friend has a steel backed dovetail saw marked " C. Wailes" that he may part with. The blade is 8 inches long, 2 inches at the toe, and 3 inches at the heel. The handles are supposedly pear. Can anyone give me an idea of age? Saw 1 by Scott Lance posted Oct 18, 2018 at 9:39 PM Saw 2 by Scott Lance posted Oct 18, 2018 at 9:39 PM
Scott, It's a puzzler. "C Wailes" is not a listed Sawmaker in the reference books, so it might be a Hardware Retailer name, or a custom saw, or maybe you're reading it wrong. A close up picture of the markings would help confirm the name and marking style, and if there are any additional marks of steel type and/or a location you might be able to narrow down the name search to a country or time period. The handle style looks 1800s to me, but a pear handle would be an unusual find for a period production saw. The location of the name stamp is not in the centre along the saw back (if I'm interpreting your picture correctly) which suggests that the saw may have been cut shorter at some time. It also appears that the back has been beaten down on the blade at the toe, and lifted partly out of the mortice at the handle, to give an exaggerated tapered blade look (this can likely be readily adjusted) It doesn't appear to me to be a "valuable" saw (although I'm often wrong, or told I'm wrong ), but it might be fun to have, as a conversation piece, and to use. Thanks for posting (puzzles are interesting)
Thanks kiwi. I have not seen it in person so I can't comment on any other marks, etc. He's asking $50.oo for it which I though was a bit steep for an unknown maker.