Auntie's Saws

[rxh]

Two saws that belonged to my wife's elderly maiden aunt:
- the Spear and Jackson had little rust and has cleaned up almost like new,
- the Sandvik was rustier but has cleaned up fairly well.
Does anyone know the age of these saws? I was pleased to receive them and they cut well but I prefer older style wooden handles like the saws of unknown make in the last photo (which did not belong to Auntie).

 

[AndyT]

I'd guess some time in the 70s or 80s, just before non-sharpenable saws took over, when you could still buy a decent ordinary saw for DIY. I don't have any evidence for that except the style of handles and a vague memory of 'work horse' as a brand.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Certainly '80s, and could well be '70s as well. The first 'decent' saw I bought (before I knew any better) was a Spear and Jackson Workhorse - just like the first picture.

The 'Workhorse' range were S&J's DIY level products - no taper grinding, rivetted handles. However, they were made of quite reasonable carbon steel (so they're resharpenable), and the handle was of wood (stained beech), even if the shape is horrible.

I've still got mine. Cost me £9.99 from Texas Homecare (how long since they disappeared?) sometime around 1985. It even gets used occasionally, if I don't want to risk a better saw.

 

[Bigus]

I've still got mine. Cost me £9.99 from Texas Homecare (how long since they disappeared?) sometime around 1985. It even gets used occasionally, if I don't want to risk a better saw.

That's a name from the past.. apparently Homebase bought them out and their stores converted to Homebase in 1999:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Homecare

 

[Cottonwood]

I would agree with the mid 80's for the S&J workhorse. I bought one from a tool shop on the Old Kent Road C1985 when I built a staircase for a mosque in Peckham. It was reasonable at the time, but very clunky compared to the Disstons I now use. Maybe Timex should of gone into saw production?

 

[rxh]

Thanks for your replies, guys. I plan to keep the saws as part of my "second division" toolkit that lives in the garage. Auntie had quite a reasonable set of DIY tools, including hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, wire cutters, chisels, a Surform, spanners, a lino knife and even a glass cutter. The mystery is what they were used for since she lived for about 50 years in a rented flat and as far as we knew her hobbies were reading and playing the piano. The only tool that showed much sign of use was a small axe that was extremely blunt and had a broken handle ....