Old Atkins Saw in action

[Bencuri]

Say hi to this old beauty at the other end of the world (Hungary). Atkins Silver Steel Rex saw. 

I have some logs that are too small for the sawmill nearby, so I need to cut them manually. Perfectly straight cuts, reasonable sawing time:

[attachment=51157]

[attachment=51158]

[Nordic]

Ooh, I think I have that saw’s brother….  Nice saws.  The Atkins steel is a bit harder than say a Disston, IME - makes them harder to sharpen but you don’t need to as often. Good for just what you are doing there.

I had a Woodrough & McParlin saw that was absolutely beautiful looking - but the steel was way too soft which made it hard to use in anything other than the softest or thinnest wood.  I hated using it as it would always want to buckle no matter what I did.  Usually when someone else was watching me. But it was just so cool looking I had to!

[Mike Brady]

Living just a handfull of miles from the site of the Atkins factory (now the Indy post office); I have a few of their saws, and agree that, to me, they are marginally better than Disstons.  This comment applies to the saws of both makers made before the 1960's, and is probably biased.

[Timberwolf]

Living just a handfull of miles from the site of the Atkins factory (now the Indy post office); I have a few of their saws, and agree that, to me, they are marginally better than Disstons.  This comment applies to the saws of both makers made before the 1960's, and is probably biased.

......................
I don't know if they were any better than the leading competitor saws but I believe they were just as good..All manufacturers were faced with the same problem...they had to be able to be sharpened by the user with a file...this means they could not harden them above ~57/58 Rockwell...harder than that, they could not be filed, and the teeth could snap off...softer and they would not stay sharp very long because of the silica in the lumber...If they flexed too much in use, the plate could kink and crack from the gullets upwards. I believe most of the differences was in the "fit and finish" rather than the quality of the steel. Disston was particularly guilty of it and probably came up with the best advertising...it's hard to beat the big dog!!!

[C. in Indy]

Of course I'm an Atkins-partial guy too 


Regarding different steels, I had flipped a number of saws around 2012.  The Disston No. 12's with "London Spring Steel" really did seem to be harder steel than their others.

[AHill]

Nice! A decently sharpened hand saw is a joy to use. I remember seeing Ron Herman's saw tills at one of the Woodworking In America symposiums. He had dozens of saws - all sharpened differently and tailored to the type of wood and quality of cut desired. Larger kerfs for green wood. More tpi for cleaner cuts. Varied rakes, etc. He had more saw knowledge in his little finger than I had total. Great teacher, also.

[Tony Z]

As an aside, I won a Donnelly auction a week or two ago for a short D100, described as mint/unused. Received the saw and it was unused, but did not feel sharp (light drag on my palm). It is a 10 point and before putting it away, did a test cut in a piece of 1/2" poplar. Cut like a hot knife through butter! As this is just to fill a slot in my Disston accumulation, I will not tough it up, unless I decide to carry in my tool tote.