Hi everyone, got this 24" crosscut some time ago and have never been sure of an approximate date of manufacture. There are a few Moulson bros in the checklist of saw makers, the LONDON stamp is clearly a seperate stamp from the MOULSON BROTHERS stamp which i guess is another example of the use of London as a quality speal and not necessarily a place of manufacture?? I have no idea of the * stamp, does anyone know what this signifies if anything and is it any use in dating the saw. look forward to your opinions...Chris
Hi Chris, For your handle, I usually associate the tapered nose (not hooked) and wide "U" notch over the finger hole (later handles use a narrow "U") and only 3 screws and no medallion, as an earlier saw. WAG; middle 1800s [I'm assuming this is the original handle, although the non alignment of the grinding marks on the screws shows they have been moved sometime in the past] Moulson Bros used the * mark as the centre design on their logo on plane blades, but I'm not sure when they started using this mark (maybe Goodman's latest plane book has some info ?) Its a good looking saw, and the teeth look like they've been jointed and sharpened ready for use (not like the wavy tooth line and snaggle teeth on most of my old saws ).
Thanks for the feedback Kiwi, hard to know with the handle screws as the bottom split nut is definately not in alignment however the middle and top ones are. Maybe the lower one was loose or replaced at some stage along time ago. Thanks again. Chris
Nice saw, Chris. But I'd not altogether go along with kiwi, as I think that the 3 screw, London pattern handle indicate a cheaper line, although the style is reminiscent of the earlier designs. The Moulsons first appear in 1828, and although their names stayed in the directories until 1893, the first generation of brothers had all died by the 1860s. They made a lot of tools, not just saws, and they were often of the best. They seem to have used the word London on their saws an awful lot, and although on yours they have added the word spring beside London, I'm not sure that this is really a London Spring (ie the top quality) model. The asterisk sort of mark at the bottom is a bit unusual - added by someone else later?? (Is there any sign of it being struck right through to the other side? I've seen a few where the indentation can be seen on the back). Most Sheffield saws of this period - yours in maybe 1880 or so - can be doctored up to do lovely work - all you need to do is find a first class sharpener - so much easier said than done!