A mysterious R W & W backsaw appeared on ebay the other day, with a CastdotSteel mark below. I couldn't think at first who would put up such a saw – hardly a memorable "name" for marketing. But some time in the Sheffield library confirmed my hunch that this might be W W & R in an earlier emanation: R W & W was the order in which they listed themselves in the 1825 and 1828 directories, changing to the more familiar order by 1837. Not surprisingly, this is a pretty beat up old thing, with a bad split in the back of the handle (not shown) and shortened – the clues to that are its length – 9 ½ inches – the makers' mark not placed quite where you'd expect it, and the toe, very crudely finished off, presumably by someone who dropped it and split the plate at the toe. But a nice update for this firm's entry. (and a PS: in following up one of Fred's purchases – a saw by Wheatcroft – I found by chance that in 1841 there is an Emanuel Wheatcroft listed as a "saw manager" (no manufacturer named) at 82 Arundel Street, which I recall was the address of no less than our trio above. Later Wheatcrofts were spring knife cutlers, a change that shows how tradesmen in Sheffield could move from one manufacture to another so easily, even if the really skilled men were valued for their one trade alone.) NOTE to Ray: can't persuade any files to be uploaded, even if less than 100KB - my problem, or something else?
I am also guilty of chasing a W&W on ebay as of recently, silly me, I was convinced, I must be the only one looking, I think the plate was 18" it had a very deep plate , perhaps nearly full, only a guess, last day left and it was still at its start price, wow, this one had to be mine, I will not drag it out, it finished well over the £100, surprise surprise , I was not the only one to see it, I did not feel the pain for long, I went and cheered myself up with rather a rash purchase of a Disston, why on earth a Disston, plus to add insult to injury, I also paid for it to be shipped from the US, I am not a fan of Disston, I have a few but I don't go out of my way to buy them, a few have been given and I have bought one or two. The cost of english back saws seems to of gone through the roof as of late. I must get along to car boots and auctions I think. I look forward to seeing your pics Barleys, I keep checking back, I hope they load up soon. The Disston is a number 4 24" plate, not arrived yet, fingers crossed it might of been measured wrong and it could even be 26, I will update in due course. Happy hunting all.
It must be the season for WW&R, as I picked my first one up, cheaply, after standing around through the rain showers at a local on-site auction this month. Its an 8" dovetail saw, in rough shape (chipped blade, chipped horns, bolts for saw screws, some rust and paint, but otherwise almost perfect). No "dot" in "cast steel" like Simon's (no pictures, doesn't exist), but an interesting design feature of my saw is that the brass back does not have the usual rounded top edge, but is faceted, with a flat top and 45 degree chamfers on each side. I don't seem to have any other brass backs like this. What other examples of this back style are out there ?
Kiwi, I never saw the pictures until after I had read your write up, what a pretty saw, I was expecting to see something well almost held with sticky tape and glue, in all fairness , I think it looks mighty fine, might not look pretty with a chip at the front edge of blade but am sure you will be able to make it look better, fantastic purchase, just shows there are plenty still out there, all the best
Wingfield & Rowbotham. At last I have a couple of pictures of a saw I was lucky enough to obtain. The condition of saw is as it was received, 16" steel back with a cast steel blade, made in Sheffield.