David Charlesworth's personal hand tools in estate auction

[Tony Z]

Marv did the wheat carving on Mike’s saws, though I’m not sure if he was the only one that did.  Marv’s were very fine and nicer than virtually any I’ve ever seen.  We communicated quite a bit years ago and shared with (and later on SMC) a tool he made to carve saws. IIRC, it was a piece of 1/2” EMT with part of the end cut away, with the remainder bent & sharpened

I remain curious what happened to Mike W.  His saw making was a family affair!

I have a complete set of Foley ratchet bars.

[AHill]

Marv did the wheat carving on Mike’s saws, though I’m not sure if he was the only one that did.  Marv’s were very fine and nicer than virtually any I’ve ever seen.  We communicated quite a bit years ago and shared with (and later on SMC) a tool he made to carve saws. IIRC, it was a piece of 1/2” EMT with part of the end cut away, with the remainder bent & sharpened

I remain curious what happened to Mike W.  His saw making was a family affair!

I have a complete set of Foley ratchet bars.

I have two Wenzloff saws.  It was his saw that taught me what sharp really meant for a handsaw.  Had the pleasure of meeting him at more than one WIA.  Super nice and humble guy.  I know he and his wife in the past few years have had some health issues, so the saw making took a back door to taking care of that.  I don't think his son ever filled the gap.  About the same time, there were new makers popping up that were competition (Bad Axe for one), so maybe he dropped the saw making entirely.  There's not much on the internet that I can find to know any more details.\\

To tie this to the thread, Charlesworth's Mike Wenzloff dovetail saw sold for £600.00 ($738 US). As Derek mentioned, this is far above what a retail value would be. Pre-owned Wenzloff saws rarely command more than $200.

[Tony Z]

I have two Wenzloff saws.  It was his saw that taught me what sharp really meant for a handsaw.  Had the pleasure of meeting him at more than one WIA.  Super nice and humble guy.  I know he and his wife in the past few years have had some health issues, so the saw making took a back door to taking care of that.  I don't think his son ever filled the gap.  About the same time, there were new makers popping up that were competition (Bad Axe for one), so maybe he dropped the saw making entirely.  There's not much on the internet that I can find to know any more details.\\

To tie this to the thread, Charlesworth's Mike Wenzloff dovetail saw sold for £600.00 ($738 US).  As Derek mentioned, this is far above what a retail value would be.  Pre-owned Wenzloff saws rarely command more than $200.

Pre-owned dovetail saws or all of his saws? I do not make a habit of selling tools, though with the recent pandemic and the prices tools have reached, I did sell a few items that were not used. I have rip and CC Wenzloff half-back saws and Mike's version of a Disston #16. Very nice saws.

T.Z.

[AHill]

Pre-owned dovetail saws or all of his saws?  I do not make a habit of selling tools, though with the recent pandemic and the prices tools have reached, I did sell a few items that were not used.  I have rip and CC Wenzloff half-back saws and Mike's version of a Disston #16.  Very nice saws.

T.Z.

Dovetail or panel saws.  I saw a dovetail saw for $150.   A half-back panel saw for $175.  Price varies by handle material and saw condition, of course.  Personally, I think those prices are a bargain.  A new LN dovetail runs around $175.  A new Gramercy (Tools for Working Wood) dovetail is $340 and they are out of stock.  A new Bad Axe 10" dovetail sold through Lee Valley is $225.  A new Rob Cosman dovetail saw is $249.  If you can find a Wenzloff saw for sale in good condition for around $150, it's a good deal.  You're getting a hand made and hand sharpened saw for a pretty good price.

[Derek Cohen]

Allan, you  saw bids early on in the auction. Serious bidders either bid high at the start to drive others away, or bid only at the end. I noticed a basic #5 Stanley, albeit with an IBC blade/chipbreaker, at £200+, and there were hours to go before the end of the auction. Serious bids come in the last minutes.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[AHill]

Allan, you  saw bids early on in the auction. Serious bidders either bid high at the start to drive others away, or bid only at the end. I noticed a basic #5 Stanley, albeit with an IBC blade/chipbreaker, at £200+, and there were hours to go before the end of the auction. Serious bids come in the last minutes.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,

The low bids I was citing were not from the Charlesworth auction.  They were prices from other hand tool dealers e.g. Jim Bode.

[TraditionalToolworks]

I haven’t heard anything about Mike in several years. Haven’t heard anything about Marv who helped him with a few things.  I have no idea how many vintage saws I have, but I do know there are at two or three dozen sharp and ready to go, plus many, many more in storage.  I’m also the same as you, the DT saw I made is my favorite, but I could never make a living at it.  Just last night I was looking over my Foley stuff, wondering why I still have it!

Derek,

The low bids I was citing were not from the Charlesworth auction.  They were prices from other hand tool dealers e.g. Jim Bode.

I found the site very confusing because Charlesworth sold a lot of tools on his site and it was basically a business. Each time I went I ended up on other pages that were not his tools, but tools he sold and there was a lot more of those pages, so that part seemed confusing. I wonder how many people bought new rules thinking they had been used by and were David's rule? There is probably hundreds of those out in the wild that could have been purchased from his site during this estate sale. Somehow those are not too special to me.

Better than his tools, one of his pieces of furniture would be the real memento.


And maybe this will inspire me to make a few tools that I've been wanting to make, including a skinning knife I started...

[John Clifford]

A little story about David Charlesworth, Mike Wenzloff and myself.  I was registered to take a dovetail class with David at the Marc Adams school and thought that was a good excuse to order a saw from Mike.  I emailed Mike and was given an estimated delivery date that was well after the upcoming class.  I explained to Mike that I was hoping to have the saw for my class with David but if that wasn’t possible I’d understand.  He told me he actually had an order from David for a dovetail saw (the one in the auction).  He went on to say that he had a board of ebony (he later realized it was African Blackwood) that he was using for the handle and that it was big enough for two saw handles and wanted to know if I would like my saw handle made from that same board.  Well of course I said yes. And Mike even moved my order up so I would have it by the time I took the class with David.  So I’m the proud owner of the sibling of David Charlesworth’s dovetail saw.  I showed the saw to David at the class and was hoping to see his saw but he didn’t bring it for fear of something happening to it on the trip.  I have some pictures from the class I should look for. 

As for the auction, I bid on a couple of items and was fortunate enough to win David’s LN chip breaker screw driver which even has his initials on it.  It’s item 94 I believe, near the bottom of page two.  I’m very happy to be getting a memento that I will cherish for the rest of my days.

[Derek Cohen]

John, great story!  I wonder what date that was? I had a pair of backsaws  - dovetail and tenon - from Mike in 2010 (still have them), both with African Blackwood handles. The wood is darker and more evenly black than in the photo below, where the flash picks up the figure not usually seen …



Regards from Perth

Derek

[TraditionalToolworks]

That's pretty cool, I don't think there are a lot with the Forest Grove stamp on them. The teeth look pretty fine.