Hello all, Found, as often happens, on the internet, a Kenyon & Co that has a few repairs. I won't touch the old iron strap that replaces a missing lambs tongue (which, to me, has acquired the dignity of age), but I may remove the steel screw that holds the handle break together and reglue it, perhaps with a dowel in place of the screw. The rust from the screw will eventually explode the handle if I leave it in. The iron back shows some prominent flaws from the making and the handle seems to have an early shape. A nice survivor from centuries before. David
Hi David, On the original listing, the seller was quite adamant that the mark was restricted to the years 1821 to 1823. I thought at the time that the saw predated that by, at least, 40 odd years. A handle that shape must be very early. Do you. or does anyone have any thoughts on date. Fred
Hey David Great saw again. I really have to agree with Fred on the date of this saw. The Kenyon and Sykes saw I have which dates to about 1817 looks nothing like this saw. The front cheek is so robust and strong and then so subtly falls down to such a gracefully designed notch and returned "s" curve followed to the end of the handles. Wonderful stuff. You can always do what you want with this saw but for a 200 year old saw this is the cats meow. As you suggest the repairs are part of the story of the saw and I wonder if the screw rust is significant enough to cause such future destruction. I assume that this saw is not going to be used so there will be little wear and tear and won't be left on the back deck in the rain after using it on a new deck project. I so love it the way it is. Enjoy Joe S.
Hi Fred & Joe, It's too bad that it's so difficult to determine any age for this saw from just the handle. I posted a saw with a similar handle on 11/24/13 under the heading "Kenyon Green saw" It was a marriage, and we were unable to determine the saw's age because the "Green" stamp is not datable for us now. The only dates I could find for Kenyon & Co. are the ones that the seller indicated on his listing, but, then, there aren't directories for each year and so we just don't know when Kenyon & Co. started business under that name. Both of these handles do look early, but they have three screws. The saws I've seen with these handles that are dateable to the 18c all seem to have two screws. For what that's worth, I'm not sure what any of that means. I guess stamps are the truest indicator we can use, but I sure wish there were more directories. Joe, you're certainly right that the rusty screw won't break the handle anytime soon, certainly not in my lifetime. But this saw has already been around for three of our lifetimes and rust is slow, but sure. I don't feel it'd damage too much history to replace a screw with a dowel, while it would remove the inherent possibility of destructive rust. Perhaps it's silly, but I'm just being cautious here. And, Joe, how did you know we're building a back porch here? And that it's raining today? Best to all, David