Kenyon Sykes & Co - rivets, 3 crowns, leaning ampersand

Discussion in 'Forum: Saw Identification and Discussion' started by Kerry, May 27, 2020.

  1. Kerry

    Kerry Active Member

    Messages:
    28
    I picked up this Kenyon Sykes & Co this week, thinking it was just a Sykes & Co as the Kenyon stamp is much fainter than the rest. Unfortunately what was a complete saw prior to shipping ended up with a handle in 3 pieces and some dust when it arrived, so I had to complete some repairs on a saw I normally wouldn't really touch.

    A couple things interested me:
    I'm a bit surprised by the rivets on then handle. I think BSSM gives the manufacture around 1815-1820ish when Kenyon and Sykes were partnered. I thought rivets had given way to split nuts well before then... So would this be a user fix from long ago, lower quality saw, or normal?

    Also, the light Kenyon stamp was impossible to see before I cleaned up the plate, even still it's hard to see. Other examples I've seen (in photos) had a heavier Kenyon stamp compared to the Sykes & co. I'm curious if some of the Sykes & Co saws out there may actually be Kenyon Sykes & Co, but with similarly light Kenyon stamp....

    Lastly, any idea what was stamped above the upper crown? Looks like a 1 maybe.

    Anyway, it's a beauty of a saw and certainly the oldest in my collection. Here's some photos
     

    Attached Files:

  2. David

    David Most Valued Member

    Messages:
    315
    Hi Kerry,
    Congrats on a nice early saw, but too bad you received a package of parts to assemble. It looks good now, though, because we can't tell what you did. I agree with you that the rivets are likely an old user fix, but doubt that yours is a lower quality saw since I can see no difference (other than rivets) from every other example I've seen. It does appear to have been cut down at the toe a bit.
    When I saw this saw listed, the reclining ampersand was a giveaway to me that it was not a Sykes & Co., but rather a Kenyon, Sykes & Co. The Sykes & Co marks that I've seen are on much later saws and always have an upright ampersand. In the time period of your saw (the time period of the reclining ampersand) the singular mark would have just been Sykes. Having the & Co as part of the mark strongly implied that there was a Kenyon mark in front.
    I think what looks like a 1 above the crown is a remnant of the central portion of the cross that often was atop the crowns. In any event you found a nice two century old saw for your collection. Keep up the hunt and good luck!

    David
     
  3. Kerry

    Kerry Active Member

    Messages:
    28
    Thanks for the detail David. I was wondering if the toe had been trimmed as the nib was closer than what I would normally expect to see, though in the hand I could not see signs that it was filed.
    It's a wonderful thing to hold a 200 hundred year old saw in your hand, hard to describe and when I try people usually look at me pretty strangely!
    Kerry