Hello All, I got this 20" saw at a tool meet recently. I think it was made by John Woodhouse who is listed in BSSM as belonging to two different partnerships; Carr, Woodhouse & Carr from 1818-1823 and Woodhouse & Caterer from 1833-1847. The German Steel mark on this saw suggests it was made sometime after 1820 or so, and the stamp being low down on the back might suggest it was made before 1830-35 or so. If those speculations are correct, it would place this saw's date sometime between JW's two other partnerships, between 1823 and 1833. It's too bad about the hang hole. I find that to be perhaps the most annoying owner modification of all. And on such a good old saw. But, still, it's always nice to find them. David
Wow, another nice early saw, congratulations David, you got a real gem. Trying to guess the second name, the possibilities I found are.. 1833 Whites WOODHOUSE John Merchant, saw mfr. &c. h. Springfield Place 1833 Whites WOODHOUSE & Caterer, Merchants,saw mfrs,steel refiners Broad Works, Brook Hill 1841 Pigots WOODHOUSE & CARTER CATERER Saw manufacturers Brook Street 1822 Baines CARR, WOODHOUSE AND CARR Manufacturers of saws, fenders, steel and composition doctor Bailey Lane I'd be thinking WOODHOUSE & CARR, just because of the amount of space between the mark and the German Steel Mark, doesn't seem like enough room for CARTER CATERER Ray
Hi Ray, Well, I didn't even consider those possibilities, since I read the name as Woodhouse & Co. But, of course, all those names are possibilities. I do think that the letters would continue to be all capitals if it were Carr or Carter, and it's hard to make a capital letter out of what I think is an "o" following the "C". I'll have to take a much closer look at the stamp in that light and look for traces of more letters. Thank you for widening my tunnel vision here. David
Hi David, Just a minor correction, Simon Notes in BSSM that the WOODHOUSE and CARTER entry in Pigots 1841 directory, is a misprint in the original directory, it should have read CATERER. Ray
I don't know how this saw fits in with Woodhouse and Co, if it does at all, but I think that this thread is probably the right place to put it. The cast (hyphen) should put this saw at the earlier end of BSSM's dates for this company. Anyway, here it is. Fred