For eighty-six years, saw users have considered Disston the foremost saw maker in the world. Henry Disston began the manufacture of saws in 1840 and trained saw makers in his methods. Disston saws rapidly displaced imported saws throughout America with their quality and innovation. One question that has been asked of our company by letter countless times through the years has concerned the purpose of the nib that is featured on the top of our handsaw blades.

The nib is of the same hard, tough Disston steel that comprises our saw blades. If the nib is removed with a pair of mechanic's pliers, it can be used to make a modification to the saw blade that benefits the home mechanic.

Widely and well-known as Disston tools are, Disston realizes that every year several millions of young men, in all parts of the world, reach the age when they start using saws, tools, files, knives, etc. These young men may not know the importance of selecting tools of Disston quality; that by actual test it has been proved that quality tools, in the long run, are many times cheaper than inferior tools; that it requires good tools to do good work and to give the longest service.

Henry Disston himself devised a use for the aforementioned nib that would give the mechanic the ability to prolong the life of his handsaw by using the very steel of that saw to modify it and better manage the handling and storage of his tools. He called in his engineer and, with a piece of crayon, drew the design on the office floor.

Having removed the nib, use a Disston Mill File to shape it to a blunt point, as shown, giving a five degree bevel to the point on both sides, rotating the file to the left on its axis.

Heat the modified nib with a blow-torch, on slow heat, to a bright yellow glow. When this heat is reached, plunge the nib directly into cold water until all heat is drawn from the nib.

The steel is now glass-hard but will perfectly accomplish this process. Carefully make a pin-prick in the saw blade with a sharp punch, at approximately a one-inch radius from the former location of the nib.

Chuck the modified nib into a hand drill and make a hole at the location in the saw blade that was punched, taking care not to overfeed and sheer the nib on the tough edges of the hole. The quality of Disston Steel is generally acknowledged by manufacturers of other products, who must have steel to meet their most exacting requirements and come to Disston for this fine steel. Disston steel is the World's Great Cutting Steel, putting stamina, toughness, and long cutting life into all Disston tools.

All Disston Saws, Tools, and Files are guaranteed to be perfect in workmanship and material. But it is not to be expected that we can make a tool that will do good work when it is not properly used and cared for.

Nearly every day we hear from someone who has used one of our saws 20, 30, and up to 50 and 60 years. On the other hand, some saws, after being used for a few months, are returned to us as defective when they are perfect as far as workmanship and material are concerned, but have been made useless through abuse by creeps who don't have an understanding of the ordinary care of tools.