Hopkinson London

Hello all,

There is a small peninsula off the west coast of Scotland called Ardnamurchan which my wife tells me (and who am I to disbelieve her) means "nearly an island".

The same can be said about this offering, it is nearly a saw, or perhaps to be more accurate it was "once a saw".

But despite its foreshortened back and vestigial blade, it does have a very attractive mark on it. To me at least.

In HSMOB there are 4 possible makers, all from London.

George 1841 to 1852
Joseph (Sr.) 1833 to 1841. Although there is no sign of Joseph (Jr.).
Samuel 1841 to 1852.
and
Thomas 1895 to 1899.

I think that we can dispense with Thomas as the maker, but as for the other three, there is no indication as to who made it.

It currently has a 6 1/4 inch back which was probably not much more than 7 inches when whole. This would have made the stamp very asymmetrically spaced. It has 7/16ths saw screws, but with surprisingly thick shafts (see photo)

Anyone any ideas as to the maker?

Fred

 

Interesting skeletal remains Fred.
I don't know which Hopkinson it represents, but as some of them are listed as both plane and saw makers, I'd suggest a look at a Goodman's planemakers reference (I don't have one) to see if your mark matches the Hopkinson planemakers mark

 

Thanks Kiwi,

I don't have one, but if one of the others on here that does have one could do me the honours and have a look, I would greatly appreciate it.

Fred

 

Hey All
I looked at the Goodman references and there are eight representations of Hopkinson marks and none of them match Fred's mark exactly. Joseph Sr is reported to have been making planes as early as 1817 but the reference suggests that sawmaking only started in 1833. The partnerships are confusing even for Mr. Goodman so I can't offer a lot of help there.
It certainly is a "well loved " saw and most likely of very good quality to have been sharpened so many times. I like it.
Joe S.

 

There's no shortage of candidates for a mark like this!
It helps that the style is early, rather than late (the serrated border), but that's about as far as it goes.
Of the eight men with this surname in London between 1823 and 1903, I'd put my money on either Joseph (1823-1836), George (1823-1876), or Samuel (1839-1860), with the manufacture at the early end of those dates.

It's a consolation to anyone trying to write about them all that British Planemakers says "The connection between the various Hopkinsons is unclear" (which is historian-speak for "we haven't a clue" - I know what they mean).