This, I suspect is quite an ordinary saw hence only two images of it, and those are really only for people like me who like looking at pictures of saws. They contain no revelations. http://www.backsaw.net/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=50 The beauty of having a startling amount of ignorance about a subject is that there are always things to learn, and so it is with me and this saw. Apart from this website there is a dearth of directly relevant information when the name John Cockerill is Googled. The nearest person in time and subject matter that comes up is the John Cockerill who set up a steel works and manufacturing plant near Liege in the ninteenth century, and by building railways and rolling stock helped the Belgians when the Dutch blockaded the River Schelde. (This is such an obscure piece of history that my wife, who is Dutch and very well educated, knows little about it). Ray\'s reflections on the matter imply that John Cockerill is a secondary brand name of Spear and Jackson, but this still leaves me with some queries. Was the name a figment of the imagination of some early S and J marketing man or was there really a John Cockerill manufacturer who S and J took over and continued the name? I suspect it is the former as Ray does not give an independent mention in his \"Checklist of Sawmakers\" to a John Cockerill. If the name was a figment of someone\'s imagination, why this particular name. Were they perhaps trying to cash in on the kudos of the Belgian connection? That would be like S and J having a modern line of saws called \"Dorman Long\" or \"Head-Wrightson\" who, in the heyday of British manufacturing supplied quality steel and machine tools to the world. (Alas no more). The question may well be unanswerable but any stabs in the dark are appreciated. Fred
Hi Fred, I was under the impression that William Cockerill was somehow connected with the exporting of British weaving technology into Belgium, which was a closely guarded technology, and later moved into steel production, James and John Cockerill his sons carried on the business. I remember seeing it on a history channel documentary. The question that remains is is this the same John Cockerill? Maybe he was the European sales agent for Spear and Jackson? It would be interesting to find out some more. I\'m back home for a few weeks. after working in Austria for a while. Regards Ray PS some more research... OK, it appears that it is same John Cockerill, but still a mystery as to why Spear and Jackson named a line of saws after him. It might be just a case of using someone famous (he was quite the celebrity in his day) to promote a product line.