While browsing through a pawn shop this weekend I came across this sorry looking backsaw, I think it's a dovetail saw.. Not sure, maybe it's just been sharpened alot. It has a "Warranted Jackson Cast Steel" stamp on the back and a "Warranted Superior" medallion. It had an open handed handle which is broken. Is this one that Disston made?
http://www.backsaw.net/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=58&jfile=showthread.php&t=408 There's more than one page, read all.
Thanks for the replies Toby. I'm gonna see if I can get the rust off the blade to check if there's an etching hiding underneath.
I just purchased a very similar backsaw with exactly the same stamp as yours and the same medallion, tho not the original handle I'm sure as the medalion is on the opposite side. I purchased it as it was cheap and I could see that there was what I thought was a dot between steel and cast which now turns out to be a dash. I can see the same dash on yours. So thinking I was buying a pre 1830's saw but unsure what I have know? Any ideas anyone? Cheers....Chris
Disston stamped backsaw blades "Cast"-dot/dash-"Steel" well into the late 1800s (Phil Baker dating such saws into the 1890s), [unlike the English sawmakers, who apparently stopped using the "cast"-dot-"steel" stamp in the 1830s/40s] So it seems quite possible that your Jackson saw dates later than 1830s. (Philip Baker's Disston saw dating article is online at wkfinetools.com, and is published in the MWTCA "saws" book http://hus-saws1.wkfinetools.com/Disston/tools/Baker-DisstonDating/datDisston-01.asp) Regardless of the actual date of manufacture, the sawplate steel on Jackson saws was generally good, and if your plate is straight, you can re-handle your saw and make it into a good user or showpiece saw
I'll back what Kiwi states in that the Jackson backsaws were made by Disston and they are comparable in quality; I've never seen one in decent enough condition to ascertain the original surface finish but they had a lower level of finish (grained as opposed to polished) and the handles were beech rather than the more expensive apple that Disston used on its labelled backsaws. I've never understood Disston's pricing- when you hold say a No. 7 and a "Brown's" no. 1 (for all intents and purposes identical) it is hard to see where the catalogue price differential comes from. Jackson's file the same as other Disston backsaws so I can't believe that the steel is any different.. given the size and consistency of Disston's production I don't believe that they made "lower grade" batches of steel for the cheaper saws, it would all come from the same crucible with different levels of subsequent processing. Jackson's were working tools and they are typically found in worn and used condition - I've seen them with thumb and index finger grooves worn about 1/16" deep. Replace the plate, repair the handle and give a quality tool a new lease of life.
Oh, as for the Jackson pictured in the first post, the inset medallion indicates that it is an earlier one, the later ones typically had the Disston-style inner "string of pearls" surrounding a small stylized eagle. The face side also looks like a post Glover-patent model thus late 1880's at the oldest. There are plenty of Disston resources on the net but off hand I'd guess that the picture illustrates a Jackson from the time of Disston's last inset medallion style (late 1880's-1896). Further clues will be evident in the construction of the bolts and nut (e.g. thin vs thick shank, sand cast etc) which the net resources will fill you in on.
Thanks for the feedback kiwi and dusty, a little crest fallen as I thought I was onto old plate but not to be. As it was cheap it was a cheap lesson to learn to look a little harder next time between the dot that so much of us love and dash which for me falls into the not quite old enough range, for me anyway. Thanks again guys. Chris
Force, any saw is worth acquiring, I would have bought that saw just for the beautiful inset medallion.... nothing beats them for style I reckon.