Hello all, This saw came from the USA and so I am assuming that it is American and as I have no access to any American saw literature I would ask if anyone can give me dates and place where the aforesaid gentlemen operated from. It is interesting that most of the mark is bright struck and this makes me wonder whether the saw was one of a generic batch made and later struck with the name of the retailer/supplier. Is there also a reason why the medallion says Sears and is there any known formal relationship between Sears and Jewett etc. And just as an aside, the reason that I bought the saw is that it has a very slightly forward reclining ampersand. Now I only need an upside-down one to complete the set. Fred
Hi Fred, Jewett & Butler were a hardware firm in Chicago from, if I remember aright, about 1855 to 1865 or so. W. B Sears was a brand name of Wheeler Madden & Clemson who were major saw manufacturers in Middletown NY. There has been some speculation that W B Sears was actually an early maker whose name they were continuing, but no proof of that idea has come to light yet. It's a super example of a Sears saw. I hope you enjoy it. Regards, David
Hey Fred It is probably on the earlier side of David's dates since it has the Wheeler Madden & Bakewell ("B") medallion probably prior to 1860. There is lots of info on this company on Wictor's site, http://www.wkfinetools.com/hUS-saws/MSW-WMC/history/WMC-Hist12-jBakewell-1.asp. Very nice looking saw. Again enjoy Fred. Joe S.
Thanks Joe, There is a lot to digest in the article, but it does clear up to a certain extent one problem that I have differentiating some American saws from English ones by style alone. With some there is obviously (now) little difference at all if they were made by emigrant English makers. Without wishing to open any cans of worms, if Mr Sears as a sawmaker did not exist prior to 1853 and was therefore not subsequently acquired by Mr Bakewell and who used his mark, is there any know reason or extremely good WAG as to why the name Sears was adopted as a brand. Fred
According to the MWTCA sept 2014 article by Mike Semple "...W B Sears was Wheeler's brother in-law..." so apparently another brand name reflecting a relative/worker/supporter/aquaintance (maybe he had also provided some financial support to WMB ?)
Just got one of these at the Omaha MWTCA meet. Jewett & Butler arched over the number 4 with Warranted Spring Steel split by the arch on the back. W B Sears on the nut.
I'm still doing a bit of cleaning up on it to see if there is an etch. Does one just upload an image? Or does one put it on one's own website and post a link?
Hi Mark, You can probably do either but if you want to upload directly to this site just click the "Upload a File" box next to the Post Reply box. Fred