Hello all, Another less-than-wonderful saw with the looks and feel of a late cheapie. So the questions are:- Who is John Kelly? Is he a maker or a brand? ( I suspect - brand). If a brand, of whom? I have a feeling in the back of my mind that I have heard the name before but I cannot put it in context. The name Kelly is going to be a real pain to look up in the directories, but I will have to do it if no-one comes up with an answer. Taking the lazy way out, Fred
Fred - I was a bit in two minds also, thinking that the struck name+Cast steel near the bottom of the iron back indicated an early maker, but looking at the handle (London pattern plus scanty decoration) and the lop-sided strike I'd plump for n-th quality by ANOther (probably a cutler or other secondary metalwork producer) - will try him in historicaldirectories.org if this poor broadband connection (not many miles from Silicon Valley, but never mind) will cope. Otherwise will search my database from next Monday. But whatever the result, another one for the "makers" list, so thanks a lot for posting it. I maligned the connection: but no John Kelly came up apart from a gardener in 1901 - but I wouldn't put it past a saw maker to use the name of his gardener on a brand of saws! Ken Hawley says (and it's one of the things I haven't found much evidence to agree with him) that "Sheffield" was used on tools (any kind of tools) to indicate the origin of the steel used in them, rather than indicating a place of manufacture or sale, so that by his reckoning this John Kelly could have been literally anywhere... I suspect it will end up as a brand, maker unknown.
Hi Fred, Simon, Well, nothing found so far of any substance, there was no shortage of John Kellys in Sheffield, Tailors, Fishmongers, and a cutler, and an edge too maker.. This is the edge tool maker... The fishmonger John Henry Kelly is in White's 1911 and 1919 directories.. How can I connect a fishmonger with the brand on a saw...? If I can set the scene, it's late Friday afternoon at the fishmongers of 365 Attercliffe Common, it's 1916 and wartime rationing has severely limited the supply of fresh haddock, when the manager of the nearby Taylor Brothers works is trying to buy extra fish for an upcoming special company dinner, this weekend, when John Kelly leans over the counter and whispers conspiratorily in a thick Irish Brogue, "Well now good sir, perhaps I might be seein' me way clear to be after getting a bit extra fish for you, if you could be seeing your way clear to be after namin' a saw after me, I could use a little extra advertising.... " Well, it's a theory... I suspect that some of these names for secondary lines, are chosen on even less substantial grounds... Regards Ray
Thank-you Simon, The saw is as light as a feather, It is probably not even an nth degree one but an xth degree one. But still a saw with a bit of interest and, at the moment, a bit of mystery. The stamp on the bottom of the blade had me hoping for a little while. It was either going to be old, or to be what it is. But I never really doubted (from the feel of it), that it was a late cheapie. Ray, Thank-you for the contribution. All I can say is "priceless". Fred
What fun this site is! I'm sure - is this a world first for saw attribution? - this would have been the edge tool maker - thanks for your excellent detective work, as usual, Ray.