Dovetail saw. Who was Mr Grimes?

[RogerP]

Impossible to know now

Car boot find this morning £3. Dovetail saw (I think) blade is 10" and 12 tpi rip. Cleaned it up a bit but I hope not overdone.
Straight and true, cuts okay but will be better when it's resharpened.

Be interesting to find approximate date as all I can find is ...

1849 Henry Godfrey Long & Co., Merchants & Steel, File, Saw and Cutlery manufacturers
of 220 Rockingham Street, home was 141 Devonshire Street

After that, in early 20th century, they are listed as cutlery and knife makers with no mention of saws.

 

[adidat]

a lovely saw the grain in the handle is great, beech?

adidat

 

[Fat ferret]

Very nice, handle looks like beech. Get it sharpened and use it. I'm sure it will prove to be an excellent saw.

 

[condeesteso]

Looks really nice, a great find. 12tpi sounds rather coarse for a dovetail...yet it's rip cut / set. I know you plan to re-sharpen it, but how does it cut at the moment? Looks a gem though. Personally I don't think it matters what it was originally intended for - it sounds to me like a great small rip saw... tenon cheeks maybe, more than dovetails?

 

[jimi43]

Beautiful find there Roger....Wednesday bootfair eh!?

Well done mate and superb price!

Jim

 

[RogerP]

Yes it does seem a little coarse for dovetails but the blade only being 1 7/8" tapering to 1 5/8" is a bit small for many tenons. However it is what it is and cuts very well The handle is beech.

Yes Jim we have car-boot/market every Sunday and Wednesday in Gloucester. The Wednesday one attracts a good proportion of traders/house clearance sellers which I prefer as they have lots of interesting stuff and tend to price it very reasonably.

 

[devonwoody]

I am a little bewildered over the enthusiasm over old saws. My view has always been that steel eventually gets fatigued over years, goes soft etc.?

So surely that means they will not hold a keen edge for long?

But I am willing to be enlightened.

 

[bugbear]

I am a little bewildered over the enthusiasm over old saws. My view has always been that steel eventually gets fatigued over years, goes soft etc.?

So surely that means they will not hold a keen edge for long?

But I am willing to be enlightened.

Fair enough. Here goes:

Old saws are great.

The old handles are things of beauty, in both appearance and ergonomics.

If you like things that have an aura of history - they have it.

Steel doesn't fatigue (that's aluminium, see Comet disaster), so (no) steel doesn't go soft with time.

Old saws don't hold an edge as long as a hard point.

Old saws are great.

BugBear

 

[pedder]

Wow, this is one of the most beautiful saws I've seen.

The curves at the top are perfect symetrically and so are the curves at the dolphins patternd bottom. Only the cheeks could be a tad smaller for my taste.

12 tpi seem OK for me for a carcass saw (a saw to make the bigger dovetails for the carcass). If they are good, I would just sharp them, otherwise rettoth the saw to 15 tpi. This is a saw I would sharpen for the shipping costs just to handle it once.

Great find!

Cheers Pedder

 

[jimi43]

I am a little bewildered over the enthusiasm over old saws. My view has always been that steel eventually gets fatigued over years, goes soft etc.?

So surely that means they will not hold a keen edge for long?

But I am willing to be enlightened.

I use Robert every day...I smile every time I use it...and I get a great kick out of the fact that a saw genius sharpened it to perfection...I even lent it to a Smurf to cut up some yew:

And what BB said....absolutely spot on!

Old saws have mojo....something that grows stronger over the years... :wink:

Jim

 

[AndyT]

This is a saw I would sharpen for the shipping costs just to handle it once.

Great find!

Cheers Pedder

Roger, that's quite an offer there! If I were you I would pm Pedder and take it up straight away!

 

[condeesteso]

Agreed absolutely - take up Pedder's fine offer. I saw the one he did for Jim... do not pass this offer up. One day I will get myself a Two Lawyers saw - surely the best in Europe?

 

[RogerP]

Wow, this is one of the most beautiful saws I've seen.

The curves at the top are perfect symetrically and so are the curves at the dolphins patternd bottom. Only the cheeks could be a tad smaller for my taste.

12 tpi seem OK for me for a carcass saw (a saw to make the bigger dovetails for the carcass). If they are good, I would just sharp them, otherwise rettoth the saw to 15 tpi. This is a saw I would sharpen for the shipping costs just to handle it once.

Great find!

Cheers Pedder

PM sent

 

[Benchwayze]

Looks really nice, a great find. 12tpi sounds rather coarse for a dovetail...yet it's rip cut / set. I know you plan to re-sharpen it, but how does it cut at the moment? Looks a gem though. Personally I don't think it matters what it was originally intended for - it sounds to me like a great small rip saw... tenon cheeks maybe, more than dovetails?

My thoughts were tenon saw; probably topped a few times, which might explain the loss of about 1/2" of blade depth.

Might be good for chunky dovetails though. And Mr. Grimes knew how to pick a handle!

John

 

[Racers]

"Always remember to these, tap tap safety sun glasses" :wink:

Pete

 

[Tom K]

"Always remember to these, tap tap safety sun glasses" :wink:

Pete

Or he could have changed his shirt :lol:

 

[RogerP]

Well the saw is back from Pedder and what an immaculate job. Straight, perfect teeth and cuts just wonderfully

Thanks so much Pedder.

 

[jimi43]

Pedder's the man!

And I tell you this...he has a great love of old steel too...

Personally, I would rather find a non-pitted vintage saw and get it sharpened by the meister...than buy a new one anyday...with the possible exception of the TLT saws that is! :mrgreen:

I bet you are suitably chuffed Roger!

Let's have some more action pics....I promise not to wear that rugby shirt again if you do!

Jim

 

[pedder]

Hi Roger & Jim,

it was a un projekt. I scanned the saw and traced her. Pictures on my blog.

"Meister" is a protected titel I may not call myself. But I have the six years it takes to do.

Cheers Pedder

 

[jimi43]

Hi Roger & Jim,

it was a un projekt. I scanned the saw and traced her. Pictures on my blog.

"Meister" is a protected titel I may not call myself. But I have the six years it takes to do.

Cheers Pedder

Hi Pedder....

I don't care what the locals call you...to us you will always be the Saw Meister! 8) 8)

Brilliant job mate...as always... =D>

Jim