Hello Ray, You have created a fine site here. Congrats! I recently recieved a saw from a family member and I\'m curious about it. It is an open-handled 8\" backsaw with J. Collinson Sheffield stamped on the spine. Internet searches provided no info on the maker and I don\'t own the book \"Handsaw Makers of Britain\" by Erv Schaffer & Don McConnell. Maybe you or a reader can shed some light on this maker. Thanks and regards, Scott from LI
Hi Scott, Hey, it works... No Collinson listed in \"Handsaw Makers of Britain\" I will look further.. Sometimes saw makers like Spear & Jackson had secondary lines like \"John Cockerill\" etc.. this might be one of those. Thanks for being the first to post! (Should be a prize?) Regards Ray
Hi Scott, You have found a rare maker. (at least a rare mark). Not having much luck, Nothing on Sheffield Records Online, or Historical Directories Sometimes additional marks are listed in advertisments and trade marks. Might take a while to find. Another possibility is it was marked with a retailer\'s mark. I will keep digging. Nice looking saw by the way. Regards Ray
Hi Ray, Thanks for trying to turn something up in regards to my saw. From what I can tell, \"J. Collinson Sheffield\" is the only mark on the saw. Would the handle lend itself to any other maker maybe? Thanks again for your thoughts and research. The saw has got some snaggle teeth and about 1 7/8\" left. The split nuts have only a shallow recess, so I\'ll have to devise some way to get them out. Regards, Scott from LI
Hi Scott, Preliminary Conclusions, J Collinson does not appear to be a known maker, it is possible he was, and only in business for a short time, and only during a period where there are gaps in the available trade directories, but he doesn\'t show up anywhere else either. So I am more leaning towards thinking it is a trade mark rather than a makers name. The handle looks a bit like F.Constantine that is in the handle gallery. The steel back on a smaller saw makes and general appearance makes me think 1870-1920 period. But such guesses are nearly always wrong. Thanks for the comments about the site, much appreciated. Regards Ray
There are a couple of tentative possibilities:- There was a London Merchant John Collinson & Co. 1882 London Business Directory I was hoping to find out more about him, ideally he would perhaps an Ironmonger, I think it wasn\'t that uncommon to put \"Sheffield\" on saws as an indication of quality steel. Much like I guess earlier times they used to put \"London Spring\" on saws to indicate higher quality. So the Sheffield stamp might not necessarily mean made in Sheffield. There was even a US maker used \"The Sheffield Saw Works\" (EC Atkins). So given that nothing is turning up in the UK, might be worth looking at US makers. Nothing to do with your saw, but interesting a well know rocking horse maker:- J. Collinson & Co http://www.harvestmoon.co.uk/collinson-rocking-horses.html I think until we can uncover more we will have to put it into the \"Unknown Maker\" Category. Don McConnell, is working on a new Checklist, maybe he has come across it before. Regards Ray
Hi Scott, While looking for something else, I noticed a J.Collinson appears in the EAIA directory of American tool makers. Not much by way of details, The only instance is a router plane. No dates. Maybe it is American made after all? (in spite of the Sheffield Mark) Regards Ray
Hello Ray, You can sure find your way around when it comes to research! Maybe we have our man. I took a little internet tour of Furnival Street, that was fun. I wish I had some more English-made backsaws to post. I do have a neat Harvey Peace backsaw in minty condition (and a few of his handsaws). Joshua Clark maintains a great sight called The Hand Saws of Harvey W. Peace, I\'ll post the link in On-Line Saw Related Literature section. Thanks again for your efforts, Best regards, Scott from LI