Puzzled by an old panel saw

[Yorkshire Sam]

I picked this saw up at a bootsale for £3, and it is in really good nick, It is a 20" panel saw by Crownshaw Chapman & Co of Don Saw Works in Sheffield.

From information I have gathered, the company amalgamated with Wright Brindley and Co. in 1900 and Crownshaw Chapman & Co ceased to exist as a seperate entity from around 1911.
From the etching on the plate ( which I have manage to enhance and photograph) you can plainly see the Crownshaw but the Chapman bit has virtually disappeared. It also has Don Saw Works in the middle of the logo and if you look carefully to the left side of the etching it appears to have 'Steel' written before the Don. On the right of the logo there appears an engraving in script which I can only make out the letters 'Ala... ' possibly 'Alac' maybe even but its quite faded at the end. This is definitely engraved professionally and I wonder if its the model name of the saw?
To the right of this, there is what is possibly the owners stamp ‘C Underwood’ and underneath that in the same lettering ‘Barrow in Furness.’

Iam rather bemused, and a little puzzled by this saw as it would seem to be about 100 years old but it seems in far too good nick to be so and is still quite sharp. This saw could have been made before 1911 (assuming that the firm did not use its old name after amalgamation) and you can see by the handle it has some age to it but it has been well looked after and is in great condition. Could this saw have been made at a much later date than it appears? While Crownshaw Chapman & Co ceased to exist as a seperate entity from around 1911, did Crownshaw continue to use its old logo after amalgamation. The amalgamated company are recorded on the site (Don Saw Works) until 1931. Any info would be welcome.

 

[AndyT]

Well, I've had a look in The book * and there is an illustation there of the identical etch dated to about 1900, so Simon Barley thinks your saw could be quite old. I note that it only has three screws, which helps suggest an early date.

His illustration shows the words "CAST STEEL" to the left hand side, but nothing after "SHEFFIELD" on the right. I wonder if the word in script could just be "Made"? A bit odd to change font and add it on afterwards, but it sort of makes sense.

One word of caution though; when firms merged, it was common to keep well-respected brand names in use, so it's possible that the same etch would have been used much later than 1900; it's hard to tell.



* I really do think the book is worth getting - you've saved enough on this saw to pay for it!

Also, there is now a hardback option available at only £49 inc P&P.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I've noticed that quite a few vintage panel saws have only three screws, whilst the handsaws and rip saws tend to have four or even five. I wouldn't swear to that being universally true, though. Split nuts suggests pre 1920-ish, which fits with the other dating suggestions.

Sometimes, retailers or tool dealers applied their mark to tools. I have a small panel saw, clearly a Sheffield product because it's stamped Cast Steel Warranted, that has an indistinct stamp, not so heavily impressed, Brown something Street Liverpool. Could it be that C. Underwood was a tool dealer in Barrow-in-Furness?

It's clearly a good saw, though, and despite it's age should make a good user, especially if the handle fits your hand nicely. Oldies do crop up in surprisingly good condition from time to time; I was fortunate enough to drop on what I suspected was a Groves handsaw a few weeks ago. It turned out to be exactly that - blade stamped, not etched, which suggests earlier rather than later 19th century, straight blade, good tight handle; all it needs a sharpen to be a user. It had very little rust, but does have a very dark patina to the blade. Nice saw.

 

[AndyT]

Hi CC,

If I tell you that Thomas Underwood, of Manchester Road, Bradford (1870 - 1912> ) was an ironmonger/tool dealer/ plane maker with branches in Leeds, Middlesborough and Barrow in Furness, will you reconsider your aversion to digital cameras and start showing us pictures of some of these goodies? Pretty please?

The forum has a good record on answering IT-related questions for those of us who have avoided techy stuff as much as we can, and pictures do work rather well for sharing tool related info!!

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Andy, I do understand what you're saying, and I do appreciate it when other people take the trouble to add photographs to their posts - a picture is worth a thousand words and all that - BUT......unfortunately, buying and learning to use a digital camera (and all the computer techy stuff that goes with it) is some way down a long list of 'things to do' and 'things that need money spent on them'. I'm sure it'll rise in the pile eventually, but for now it'll have to wait, I'm afraid. I really do apologise if that frustrates some, I'm not being deliberately perverse, but that's how it has to be at the moment.