Hi, Long time visitor, first time on the Forum. I recently purchased this little saw at a market in Paynesville on the Gippsland Lakes here in Victoria. Paynesville had been a boat building centre for the commercial fishing industry going back to the mid 19th century. I have searched the net on this maker and the only reference is a listing in the Sheffield trade directories for 1822 and 1823 as saw manufacturers. can anyone tell me a little more about the rarity and history of the firm? From reading forum entries I note that Drabble and Tingle each have a history of saw manufacturing in their own right as individual makers. The saw has an 8inch blade. Thanks Jim
Hi Jim Its a nice saw and a lovely mark. I can only tell you what is in BSSM and that is not a lot more than you have discovered already. BSSM has the firm down as Tingle Drabble and Sanderson and I suppose therefore that the "Co." refers in an abbreviated way to the Sanderson part of the partnership. (WAG) The dates in the book are from 1818 to 1821 and so yours are about right. You have a saw by the precursor firm to Drabble and Sanderson. As for rarity, I suspect that it is unique at the moment (until another one turns up). BSSM does not have an image of the mark which is an indicator that there are not many about at all. But then again, they only made saws for 3 or 4 years and so it is only reasonable that there would not be many left after nearly 2 centuries of use. Tingle, it appears was a steel refiner who made steel for Spear and Jackson. Fred
That's a beautiful little saw Jim, that's amazing that you found such a lovely & early saw in regional Victoria, & what a great find. I keep hoping that I might find something like that at Camberwell or Coburg market, but it looks like I should get out to Paynesville! Thanks for sharing... Regards Mari
Hi Fred, Thank you very much for your remarks. It is great to have my thoughts confirmed as to approximate date etc. As you say, a unique saw. I am thrilled to be its guardian. regards, Jim
Hi Mari, Thank you for your kind words. I was gobsmacked when I got it home and did some research on it and found out its age. I wonder as to its history and how it got to that region. Probably owned and used by a shipwright, I suspect. As the saying goes "If only it could talk!" regards, Jim
Hi Jim, What an amazing find, congratulations, I think I'm going to have to visit Paynesville. Just to add a bit more data from the London Gazette, Joseph Tingle, Thomas Tingle and Charles Bramall were in a partnership with John Spear ( Spear and Jackson ) which dissolved in November 1830. Then a few years later, Thomas Tingle was declared bankrupt in 1834 Ray
Thanks for that Ray, Paynesville had better brace itself for an influx of avid saw collectors! Do you know the significance of the stamp to the right of the makers name? It appears to be a partially stamped "K" on its side. Regards Jim
Deeply envious of your find, Jim. Unrecorded early Sheffield saws of this kind are getting more and more seldom found, and this is the first one I've heard about. Your picture is very nice, but if you could send me a big-pixel close-up of the maker's mark for my updating database I'd be very grateful (Simon Barley: barleys@mac.com) Thanks! Tingle is a Sheffield name that is still quite common here: the family were based originally in a village about 5 miles north of the town, where they were early and important people in the steel industry; the village still has a street called Cupola Lane.