My first post and naturally I am asking for assistance in dating a back saw. I would attach some before and after refurbishing pictures but haven't figured out how to do that. The spine of the back saw is steel and marked with "John Spear" printed in a semi-circle and below it is "Sheffield." Next to both on the right is stamped "German Steel" in a lighter and different font. The closed handle is attached with two brass split-nuts. I am not expert enough to identify the wood. The saw blade is 16" and was (and is) filed crosscut. It feels much heavier than my other back saws. Although the blade thickness varies it averages about 0.80 mm at the toe. My research (mostly from this site) suggests these attributes dates this saw to the mid-19th century. Any help?
Welcome to the forum!, Spear was the pre-cursor firm to Spear and Jackson, but Spear and Jackson used the John Spear trademark through the mid 1800's. A picture of the mark would help pin it down, also the German Steel stamp might help with a date. Here is the tutorial for uploading pictures. I hope it helps. http://www.backsaw.net/forum/index.php?threads/uploading-pictures-to-the-new-forum.595/ Ray