Massive Groves handsaw been cut down ????.....

This saw sat neglected under a stall at Saddington boot sale for years until one morning I paid it more attention.

The secondary slope of the back is very rough and not production quality at all.

The question is just how big WAS it before being butchered.

It is a standard size handle.

The blade etch (which is normally 1/2 way) is where the pen points to.

So was it a shop display or an exhibition piece?

Andy

 

Massive Groves handsaw been cut down

Hey Andy
I would think it would probably have been a larger saw but by how much, who knows. I didn't see how long it was now to give some idea of a final length. The location of the stamp might be a clue but they aren't always in the exact same location even though this one seems to be a bit too close to the toe as is. Five screws holding the handle would also suggest a large saw because I don't know if I have seen a five screw Groves. You didn't say if it was in your possession because it certainly would be nice... just for the handle.
Joe S.

 

Yes Joe it is still mine and sorry I should have given you a reference measurement.
Just need to find it now!!
Good point about the 5 screws....

Andy

 

The all important sizes.....
32 1/2" long
9 1/4" o/a heel
15" of steel along back to cut slope
2" toe
20" from heel to trade mark

It was definitely USED as the teeth have been sharpened a good few times.

Andy

 

Maybe 42", the etch is usually centered between the handle and the tip.

Toby

 

It seems to have a nib.

Toby

 

Hi Andy,
Spear & Jackson's 1915 catalogue lists its carpenter's handsaws with plate lengths increasing in 2" increments up to 40 inches, so I expect Groves was similar. Your saw appears to be towards the upper limit of that range, and I'd guess that saws that size would have to be special order. (I've never seen one near that big)
Looks like the tooth patern is a fairly normal 4-ish ppi. I've got to think that such a large size saw would be a bitch to use for general carpentry work, and must have been used for some special task (maybe re-sawing wide planks for furniture tops ? or intimidating visitors ) I'm glad I never had to operate it to make a living !
Is the plate thicker than for smaller saws ? taper ground ?

 

Massive Groves

Apart from one 30inch miner's saw by the Hardy Patent Pick Co, the only ones I've seen of standard handsaw appearance of more than 28inches are a 36inch one with a very faint Taylor Brothers etch, and another with no mark. But as noted, some catalogues claimed to supply them up to 44 inches, implying some simian seven foot tall saw user. The strength of Sheffield's manufacturing was its willingness to supply virtually anything you asked for as a special one-off, hence the thickness of their catalogues, with different styles of knife in particular running into the high hundreds or thousands. Has anyone ever seen a zebra-wood or a satinwood handle, featured in Spear and Jackson's of 1880?