Firstly apologies for not contributing more. I have been very busy and have not had much time for saws sadly. Ok, well I have had a fab afternoon. I recently bought on the old Ebuy a box of 27 back saws from the uk. They range in date from 1840 - 1950. So I have spent the afternoon pouring over them. The one saw that sparked my interest intially was the one below. The handle looked much older than the others but the ebay photo was blurry so I couldnt pick out the maker. Its a Robt Sorby (no cross or Kangaroo) and is stamped. "Robt Sorby/Cast.Steel" and then Sheffield. The thing is the hand (which is obviosly missing the lambs tongue) with its 2 screw (split nut) to my ameteur eye older than Robt Sorbys satarting date. Plus there's the dot in the "Cast . Steel". or am I just getting carried away with the moment. Anyway i Would appreciate anyone elses opinion. Amongst the other saws were Closed Handled Moses Eadon - Best Refined G Musgrove - Lincoln - Silver Steel - Elastic spring temper Drabble and Sanderson - London Thomas Turner (London pattern) Refined - cast Steel Sheffield J R)?) Turner - EZE Cut J G Graves - Sheffield Cast Steel R Groves and Sons - Silver Steel Elastic Spring Temper Warranted (Use tm) Double medallion F Brittain - Ne plus ultra cast Steel (Missing medallion sadly) Charles Nurse - Invicta Disston n0 4 2 x SJ brass backs Open Handle J Robertson steel Back Wm Sykes Steel Back If anyone would like photos of these please let us know. Cheers Al
Hi Al, I am suffering separation anxiety at the moment as I don't have access to my HSMOB and therefore my comments are likely to be more inaccurate than normal but I seem to remember that Robert Sorby goes back to 1826 or 1828 and is therefore quite likely that it can be cast (dot). It is also devoid of any trade mark which may well be an indication of an early Sorby. If it is this early, then it should be one of his first saws and well worth having. i suggest that someone creates an icon for jealousy. I would use it a lot. A wonderful find. Fred ps I would love to see the Sykes.
Hey Al Nice saw. I would agree with Fred about it being a fairly early saw. The forum discussion group has talked about a few Sorby saws and back in 2011 Fred brought forward a nice Sorby and again Ray and Simon talked about some specifics so you might want to peruse this. There are other spots over the years so enjoy. http://www.backsaw.net/index.php?option=com_jfusion&Itemid=58&jfile=showthread.php&t=126. It is unfortunate about the open handle design but I would think still very functional. As for pics of the other saws, why not a show and tell. We won't complain. Cheers Joe S.
The others.... Hi Fred and Joe, Thanks for the replies. Its good to know that you both think its early. When I placed the bid I had no idea really what I was buying as the photos were a bit blurry but that was the one that caught my attention. Going by the amount of saws you post on here Fred I think we would be using a jealousy button more than you . Joe, those posts were very helpful, thank you, and I have spent nearly an hour today clicking on posts going off on a tangent. This site is excellent but can be a little too engrossing sometimes. I haven't walked the dog now. As For some of the others here you go. (Sorry Fred, I should have put &co after the william sykes so I hope you're not too disappointed) I have uploaded some of them into this gallery http://www.backsaw.net/index.php?albumid=40&jfile=album.php&option=com_jfusion&Itemid=58
Weird Robt Sorby Not weird, Al, just delightfully early, I'd say. The mark is very similar to one I've dated at about 1830 (I've got his start date as 1833), but the word Sheffield is different on the two. I have previously thought (maybe I need to change my opinion) that italic letters for the word Sheffield was not the style until about 1850, but that doesn't marry up to my other opinion (ditto) about the dot after cast, which I thought went out about 1830. But either way I wouldn't date yours at much after 1840.
Hi Al and Simon, I am not so sure that the "Sheffield" is in any form of italics as Simon suggests. If you go to Al's gallery link and look at the Moses Eadon, the "Sheffield" as stamped there is what I think of as italics post 1850 -ish. (Thanks for posting the saws, they are all worth a look at and I particularly like the Graves. The area of wood behind the cheeks looks to be tiny compared to the rest of the handle and the saw.) The stamp on Al's Sorby, when you take into account the lighting and the photo itself, (and possibly the firmness with which the mark was applied) looks almost the same as Simon's (look at the serif on the "L" of Sheffield, and the uppercase lettering generally looks uncannily similar). I have just checked with the directories and Robert Sorby existed in Pigots 1828/9 (p.1079) as an edge tool manufacturer. Where I got the 1826 date from I don't know but it is lodged in the recesses of my memory somewhere. And so whilst I very timorously disagree with Simon, disagree I do. I think that it is probably pre/circa 1830 as Simon has supposed re the dating of cast(dot) and as such is a very early and a very tasty Sorby. Fred
Good News Hi Fred and Simon, I'm inclined to agree with you Fred, Ill admit I was unsure Simon what you meant by Italics, but it is largely my fault as the photo was a bit blurry and does make the font look italic. I will post a Clearer photo of the stamp when I get back from work. Simon, you're right perhaps "weird" was a little unkind. I should have said "Interesting". Fred, I'll do the same for the Graves. Ive just cleaned up the Nurse because I mistakenly thought the blade was a replacement (There was writing on the blade saying "CUT DOWN NEW BLADE"). It was only after some over zealous blade cleaning that I saw what was left of the etch. DOH! Lesson learnt. Still very happy with the Sorby, just a shame about the handle. Also, the Thomas Turner handle seems to have an extra long Bottom Horn is this normal? Cheers Al