My customer grabbed this not so nice Disston backsaw off of eBay. For a nominal investment Winsor Saw acid washed the plade sanding to 600 grit straightened the plate, set, sharpened, tuned the plate and epoxy bedded the plate to the tote. Now the saw is a finely tuned beast ready to make some serious sawdust. Blade was filed 13ppi crosscut.
Sweet! I landed this Disston Reagan No. 9 off eBay for a pretty price. Now I can get right to making a prototype to offer you folks. Stay tunes1
After shot of a Disston No. 4
There is about a 100 year gap in great saws. Disston and Atkins put out some of their best saws before the turn of the 20th century. By the 40’s everything went to hell when saw makers started mass producing saws. This is why the saw you bought at the big box store is worthless for cutting dovetails or doing precision work. Don’t throw it away use if for cutting PVC pipe, or letting your kids hack on some old tree, or chop’n up a deer carcass.
But your Grandpa’s old handsaw is worth keeping and restoring.
I recently purchased this late 19th century Disston No.4 off of ebay for around $20. I wanted to take a template off the handle for my own Tenon Saw. The No. 4 had a straight back and blade, was in needed of a good sharpening but the handles had some cracks and was missing one of the horns.
Before shot of the busted horn on a Disston No. 4
I used an epoxy sawdust recipe for filling cracks. The missing horn was cut smooth and glued on a piece of cherry and reshaped the horn. A complete sanding, some dark walnut stain, and a hand rubbed Qualasole finish gave the old saw a second life. The brass split nut and medallion can be polished up with a Dremel tool and cotton rotary tool.
As for sharpening we offer a complete kit to sharpen dovetail, carcass, and tenon saws.
For a small investment you can have a piece of history and a fabulous cutting saw.
Cheers,
Robert
WinsorSaw.com
Winsor Saw 