After screwdrivers, saws are probably the most common household tool, one that pretty much everyone learns to use when they are young. They’re also pretty common to come across at garage sales, flea markets, what have you. There are dozens of different kinds of hand saws (Trees.com puts the number at 14) but it’s hard not to have a soft spot for the most common kind, the rip-cut saw, which has relatively large teeth and is used to cut wood parallel to the grain. If you’re looking to get some tips on how to spot a good vintage saw, a great place to start is this article by former Fine Tool Journal editor Pete Taran, preserved for eternity on his deeply informative website VintageSaws.com. While there were plenty of boutique brands of saw back in the day, Taran recommends starting out by sticking to the big three—Disston, Simonds and Atkins. Two important things to be on the lookout for, he says, are the quality of the steel (not too thick, not too thin) and an identifiable taper in the thickness of the steel from the heel to the toe of the saw. Not surprisingly, the more rust that is present, the more work it’ll take to restore the blade. You can start by using a razor blade scraper, followed by some 220 grit silicon carbine sandpaper. And don’t oversand—the goal is not for the blade to end up shiny, just rust-free. As for the handles (which were typically made of apple or beech wood), first do no harm: a coat of boiled linseed oil and, after letting it sit for a day, perhaps some paste wax. As for the sharpening of the blade, unless you really know what you’re doing, Taran recommends outsourcing to a pro.
