Hello all, One of the joys of buying unamed saws is that you never know what you are going to get, if you get anything worthwhile at all. And so it was with this. You just know that it must be named or have been named and that the seller has not seen it. When they arrive you are sometimes disappointed because never mind how hard you look there is not a name on them. And again, so it was with this one. I could not see a name anywhere until, whilst moving the saw around the house I must have caught it in the right light and saw a blemish that could have been a mark. Hence the above title. I had never heard of W I Horn and Co. before and still know little about him (them) except the dates in HSMOB which go from 1833 to 1868. Judging by the handle style I would put this at 1868 -ish rather than at the other end. Also apologies to those of you who thought that they would see a handsaw made of horn as opposed to this common or garden specimen, but it would have been so boring to give the game away too early. I suppose that it would be too much to ask if anyone has an image of a full stamp, as this one has disappeared below the name except for a couple of the letters of "steel". Fred
Nice saw Fred, I''ve also sometimes (often ? ) surrendered to the allure of various "mystery" saws, ......which generally remain as mystery saws, but occasionally reveal a little of their history after some careful cleaning and close inspection. You've been lucky with a complete name (we all deserve some good luck once in a while ). I find that partial name stamps and etches that are still unidentifiable are the real teasers ! (Too good to strip for spare parts, so still taking up space in a "prospects" pile). I can't add anything useful on your William Horn, but the lettering below looks to me like it might be part of "sheffield" rather than "steel" Rob
Hi Fred, Nothing quite like a mystery... In Simon's list of Sheffield makers, William Horn, Steel maker and Merchant was the grandson of William Ibbotson. Saw Maker and Fender Maker. They were in Bridge Street, various addresses, from 1833 to 1871, eventually taken over by Tyzack Sons and Turner. I guess it a possibility that Tyzack Sons and Turner might have used the mark after 1871, but that's just guessing... The London Pattern ( sorry flat bottomed pattern ) always looks good. Regards Ray
Thank-you both. Kiwi, I think that you are right re Sheffield. And of course I did tempt fate by buying another unamed saw and which I shall put on here soon, but this time with very frustrating results. Ray, that explains why the I in W.I. Horn stands for Ibbotson. I wondered whether they (an Ibbotson) may have been related as Ibbotson is not a popular christian name. And it also explains why the handle may be later than the late 1860's. It is probably the stamp carrying on into the 1870's/80's Fred