'Warranted Superior' Tenon Saw

[Smoothjazz077]

Picked up a 12" Tenon Saw this weekend at a local garage sale. The only markings on the saw is the medallion that saws 'Warranted Superior'. I never heard of the name, but the saw was in good shape for the price. Needs a little cleaning and re-sharpen, but overall in good shape. Anyone familiar with this line of saws? Read somewhere on the internet that Disston made these saws as part of their secondary line.

Thanks
Scott

[JimReed@Tallahassee]

Warranted Superior was a guarantee of superior quality and was used in the US and the UK by sellers of diverse goods. Perhaps it was the Good Housekeeping seal of their time. Anyway, the manufacturers of these goods are cloaked in mystery. I am sure that all manufacturers used the badge from time to time to keep their plants busy.

To me, the WS badge denotes unknown quality. One of the best saws I have is badged with WS. I also have WS saws that bend when I am cleaning gum off my sneakers.

Good luck with your saw. It could turn out to be a real worker.

[Bill_Houghton]

Much better saws than the "Warranted Mediocre" line.

[Admiral]

What Jim said.

I also have a number of saws made by "Warren and Ted Superior" that are excellent. It's really just a medallion driven by custom, and the utility of the saw is a function of the steel used for the plate. A lot of these were made under contract to hardware houses back in the day by Disston, Atkins, etc. and were good saws. Only way to know is to clean and sharpen it up and see how it goes. You may have a winner.

[AHill]

Not a brand name. Very commonly used by retailers who purchased the saws from another reputable company e.g. Disston. Usually decent quality, but never equivalent to the top-of-the-line saws from the wholesaler. A lot of hardware store chains would rebrand the saws with their logo on the plate, and the medallion would be the "Warranted Superior" medallion.

[MarvW]

I concur with Bill.....

[Mike Brady]

Here's a more detailed answer to your question from the Disstonian Institute "Frequently Asked Questions" page on their web site:

"Many saw makers going back to early 19th century England made medallions with the Warranted Superior (WS) label. It pre-dates Henry Disston (1819-1878) by at least a generation, possibly more. Use of the phrase is not limited to saws. A quick online search shows it was used in advertising for manufactured goods such as shoes and Remington pistols. Warranted and guaranteed have the same meaning, which is the maker's word that his product is superior. The claim is only as good as the word of the maker, if you think about it.
Most English WS medallions have a crown and most American ones have an eagle. Later Disston-made WS medallions have the words "Warranted Superior," a circle of dots, stars at the three and nine o'clock positions, and appear with or without an eagle. Some feature a keystone instead of the eagle. The illustration of replacement medallions in the Disston 1906 catalog shows an eagle, the 1911 catalog has a keystone, and illustrations in the 1914, 1918, and 1923 catalogs feature a blank space in the center of the medallion. None are stamped with the name "Disston." Later medallions on some of the Keystone-brand saws (1935-1954) have eagles. An example of this is shown, left.
Most of the larger American manufacturers made saws with both branded medallions and WS versions. The purpose would have been to differentiate between the products on which they put their name and lower-priced tools on which they chose not to put their brand name. The irony is that, in America, the Warranted Superior label often was put on the companies' inferior products. Many top-grade English saws have WS medallions while others have brand-name medallions.
When you find an American WS saw, there may be a slightly less than 50% chance that it was made by Disston. Disston had a very large portion of the market, but it was not a monopoly. Atkins, Bishop, Jennings, Woodrough & McParlin, and Simonds (1900-1926) were a few of the large saw manufacturers that made saws with some form of a WS medallion with an eagle. Atkins' secondary line was actually labeled "Phoenix Warranted."

[Smoothjazz077]

The medallion on the saw I purchased has a circle of dots, stars at the three and nine o'clock positions, and doesn't have any eagle.

[Bill_Houghton]

Mike Brady said:

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Atkins' secondary line was actually labeled "Phoenix Warranted."

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I wonder how many people who bought those saws got burned on the warranty?

[Mike Brady]

Today this is called private-labeling. The warranty on these saws was about as good as the word of the store you bought it from. These saws have little collector value, but I have seen some very decently made WS saws...the earlier (especially pre-war), the better.... just like the brand names.