Dunwood & Co saw

This is my new saw purchase. Not in great condition but I love the shape and feel of the handle. Anyone have an idea on the age of this Dunwoody & Co Sheffield steel saw please?

 

This is an interesting saw, and looks like it could be a dovetail type saw, which is actually pretty rare. There wasn't a lot of small dovetail type saws.

It's most likely from the 1800s. You don't provide too much information. What are the dimensions of the blade, thickness, length, depth?

The older saws tend to have brittle teeth, but is marked as cast steel.

The $64k question for me is what the saw plate looks like under the back? There's been a long debated discussion on folded saw backs being canted or not. I do have some saws that have the plate less deep at the toe, so I do believe it did happen, but I am firm that the toe often got knocked down when they dropped. And even if they were canted, in America we didn't seem to cant them at all. I have a few examples of American dovetail saws, which are also rare, and one saw that I will admit to collecting is the Disston 68/69/70/offset dovetail line, I have a few of those.

In the past I have pushed my saw making with components like bronze hardware, inlays in the handle, and did attempt some checkering. While these are not common, they have been copied and I haven't finished any checkered handles. Not to worry, I have something else up my sleeve to set my saws apart from the rest. Not ready to spill the beans on that until I do it, which I'm preparing to as I type. I'm a bit hesitant to make handsaws again, it seems that everyone that does it ends up getting ill and quits making them...

Nice looking little saw. What's your plans with it? If you do take the handle off, please post a pic of the top of the saw plate.

EDIT: I would guess in the late 1800s, possibly 1860-1880 timeframe. Simon might be able to give you a better idea since Dunwood & Co is not listed in the HSMB book.