I was going to put as a title \"When is a Tyzack not a Tyzack\" but it seemed a little longwinded and prejudged the issue in any case. I don\'t think that it is a \"proper\" Tyzack, but the possibility is still there. http://www.backsaw.net/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=49 I first saw this backsaw in a box at auction and thought that the first initial was a fancy way of writing \"J\" and as I had never heard of a J Tyzack in London I was fascinated. However, having got it back home and after a fair degree of \"Googling\" I was a little disappointed to find that the S Tyzack in question was little more than a retailer and not a maker. He apparently retailed woodworking tools, engineering tools and household goods from the address on the saw back. I have a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that the way the \"S\" is formulated so that it can be mistaken for a \"J\" at first glance, was designed for just that purpose - or is that just me being paranoid? Anyway I still don\'t know who made the saw and probably never will. Presumably were it to have been made by one of the recognised makers they would have their trade mark on it as well as the retailer, and so I am assuming that it is a minor maker or a secondary line. Has anyone any ideas on this? I will end with a query about \"silver steel\". I understand nowadays that silver steel has nothing at all to do with the addition of silver to the steel mix. I did read however that in the 19th century silver was added to the mix at a rate of 0.02%. Can anyone confirm or refute this. Whether it is the addition of silver or not the saw buffs up to a wonderful sheen. Hope the pics are of interest and save someone from making the same mistake that I did. Fred
Hi Fred, I have a S Tyzack Catalog at home, I can look it up in a few weeks time. I\'m overseas at present, I\'m in Germany, then next week in Austria for a few weeks. The logo looks the same as the catalog, and they are a general hardware retailer. I think they also sold under the name \"Zytco\" Regards Ray PS I haven\'t forgotten the Crownshaw Chapman.
Check out www.tyzack.net/hackney.htm. S Tyzack is one of the Tyzacks and they did have a location at 345 Old St EC. That link will give you some of the family genealogy. Vince
Hi Araldite or Vince (I\'m not sure of the etiquette in these matters) Thanks for the link, although my computer didn\'t like it and wouldn\'t do it. Have I said before that I hate computers - I\'m sure I have. Anyway when I saw your link I realised that I had already given the same site although a different location within it on the \"Tyzack saw markings\" topic and so I feel a little silly having to be directed to it myself. If you go to \"the londoners\" on the Tyzack site it does as you say and gives you a brief history of the Tyzack family, but more importantly, it shows a 1920\'s photo of the premises which I suspect had changed not all that much since the 1870\'s. Absolutely fascinating and it really puts the business into perspective. Thanks Fred
The link is picking up the period after htm and giving the 404 error. If you type it in without the period you will go to a page titled \"Tyzacks of Old Street\". It\'s the same page as what they call \"The Londoners\" in the index. Anyway, at least we\'re all on the same page, so to speak.