No. 8 Handsaws

The No. 8 handsaw was sold from the 1840's until about 1918-23. The saw looks like a No. 7 with an applewood handle, instead of beech, and the blade is spring steel with a "grained" finish. A grained finish was done with the grinding stones that tapered the blades. Saws like the No. 12 and D-23 were polished after grinding, resulting in a shiny blade. Most saws were not polished, including the No. 8. The image above is of a No. 8 handsaw from the early 1850's. The etch to the left is from the 1865-1871 era.

This handle with the lamb's tongue is on a No. 8 from the 1871-75 era. During this time the handle design changed from the V-notch in the hand-hole back to the lamb's tongue which remained for the rest of the saw's production run. The feature had been tried before, but it was a weak-spot that often broke on the early saws. Some handles from the 1840's, like the one below, featured the lamb's tongue, but when production ramped up as Disston progressed from a shop to a factory, the V-notch was used on handsaws and eventually backsaws as well.

Notice the deep drop from the chamfer to its stop. This is found only on the earliest Disston saws. This is a No. 8 handsaw from the 1840's, the time when Henry Disston worked with one apprentice in a 400 square foot room. It is not factory work, but the labor of an individual. The detail and skillful execution of the handle is remarkable. It is not known who made handles for the saws, whether they were made in Disston's shop, or if a contractor made them to his specification. Research has not turned up any listing of saw handle makers in Philadelphia city directories from the 1840's.

Saws from several early makers feature the blank disk instead of a medallion or "label screw," as some collectors call them.