Hi All, It's been 10 years since I've been on here, My collection of F Brittain saws has increased. Its not been possible to date or even put the medallions into any order, I've found this disappointing over the years. However, one of my saws, (at the top in the pic) has the plate stamped with the words improved, clearly the newest of my collection. With this information it may be possible to look at handle shape and medallion depth and put an educated guess at running order for the panel saws. The back saw is a different matter. I'm still working on this but if anyone has a panel saw to add that would help, even if its the same medallion as one above, as the more the merrier. regards Lui
Following on from the above, here is my running order from oldest to newest and my reasoning behind it. I can't put dates to the saws other than the start and end dates of the company. I am assuming that the stamps are all correct, and some stamps haven't been missed off when made, with only one example of each medallion it's impossible to say with any certainty. The earliest panel saw I have is what I call the duck head motif. The latin motto is missing, we have 1 swan stamp and 1 crown stamp. I am assuming that the motto wasn't introduced at this point.
The next saw is the 8 pointed star. We now have the latin motto, 1 crown above and 1 swan below. The swan is faint. This is the same as the next saw, however the top round on the handle is shallower and closer to the shape of the first saw than that of saw 4 (the latest).
The third saw, my favourite medallion, has the same stamps as saw 2, unfortunately they are very hard to make out. The handle has a steeper top curve and is noticeably closer to the last saw.
The Last saw and newest of this group with a six pointed star medallion, has the latin motto, 3 crowns, 1 swan and importantly the word "improved". This clearly implies it is newer, I can't see the company removing "improved" on later saws, and the addition of additional crowns adds to the improved style.
Where does my backsaw fit into the above, I don't know, one thing I have noticed is the swan stamp is different, the wing doesn't have a rounded bottom to it, most noticeable when compared to saw 1, the other swan stamps don't appear to be the same as the backsaw, but they are not very clear.
lui - Hi - re: sequencing (or not) these fun decorative F Brittain medallion-screws you might find it constructive to check out the design/pattern-books of Christopher Dresser (& perhaps his closest followers).