Ship-point Handsaws | |
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Looks like a used-up saw, doesn't it? It was actually intended to be narrow when it was made. The No. 7 ship pattern or ship point saw was 26 inches long, 6-3/4 inches wide at the heel and 1-1/2 inches at the toe, about an inch narrower than the regular saw. Granted, this one is narrower than that because it's been sharpened many times, but that was seen as an advantage for boat builders, who needed their saws to form mild curves and varying-beveled angles within a single cut. This is not practical with a handsaw that is 2-1/2 inches wide at the toe. Note that most saws you find in this condition were not ship saws when they started out. The etch makes the saw interesting to a collector, but don't expect to pay more for just any old saw that's been sharpened to within an inch of its life. |
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| Disston started making ship saws in 1848. The No. 12 ship saw at the top of the page was made in the 1920's. It features a mahogany handle, has no mention of ship saw on the etch, and it never had a nib on the blade. There was also a No. 7½ model, shown here. It was a pruning saw, according to the 1914-1923 catalogs in which the saw appeared. The hand hole was enlarged to accommodate a gloved hand. You could trim branches from a tree at sea, I suppose. |
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In the early 20th century, the Disston catalogs featured the No. 7, 12, 16, D-8, and D-100 saws in ship point versions. The D-8 and D-100's were slightly narrower than the No. 7, only 6 inches at the heel. The No. 16 was 6-1/2 inches. Disston continued the ship point concept when the company began re-designing its entire line of saws in 1927, coming out with the Lightweight models. They were about the same width as the saws previously sold as ship-points, and were referred to by both names in advertising. |
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After the complete overhaul of the Disston handsaw line in 1928, no saws were marketed as ship saws; they were referred to as Lightweight saws only. Although they were not labeled as such, the D-20 and D-23 saws were, in essence, ship saws. They were much narrower than the other Disston handsaws when they were introduced in 1911. Narrower saws were more profitable than the older design. The narrower saw plate used at least 20% less steel, and the retail price of a Lightweight saw was equal to that of the same model in the regular width. |
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