Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Richardson back saw???
Doug
>I just bought an 8 inch Richardson back saw + a Stanley 150 on ebay. I can't find any history on these saws on the net, but remember somewhere, somebody said they were great saws so I took a chance. Does anyone have an opinion on Richardson saws or know where I can more info from the net? Thanks as always.
Re: Richardson back saw???
Joshua Clark
>Hi Again Doug,
From what I've learned, the Richardson Brothers made saws from 1859 to the very early 1900's when they were assimilated into the National Saw Company, and eventually, Disston.
I have two Richardson back saws that I use on a regular basis. The saws I have are of high quality and work very well. I especially like the Richardson saws since they match my Harvey Peace back saws- both makers put saw nut through the spine giving the handles a distinctive design.
Use it well :)
-Josh in CT--
Re: Richardson back saw??? *LINK*
L. Hanson - N. Idaho
>You can usually find great information on old tools in the oldtools archive. Here is part of a message by Dave Wolverton from the following link, which quotes "Early Tools of New Jersey and the Men
Who Made Them" and "Search for Early New Jersey Toolmakers" both
by Alexander Farnham:
http://denali.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu:8080/~cswingle/archive/get.phtml?message_id=64282&submit_thread=1#message
Quote:
The state's earliest sawmaker of whom there is any record was one Isaac
Harrow, and English toolsmith who set up a planing and blade mill in
Trenton in 1734. He made mill saws and cross-cut saws along with a large
number of other products. One-hundred twenty-five years later, the
undisputed leaders in New Jersey's saw industry were Christopher and
William C. Richardson, who established their saw works at 15 Railroad Ave.,
Newark, in 1859. The Richardson brothers were rather early in America's
saw industry. Because of the lack of high quality steel, all but the crudest
saws used in this country were imported up to about 1839. After that date
and until 1855 American saw manufacturers used imported steel. Then Henry
Disston produced the first crucible saw steel in America. The Richardson
brothers started producing saws in Newark four years later.
Their firm went under the name of C. & W. C. Richardson up to the year 1866
when it was changed to Passaic Saw Works - Richardson Brothers. In spite of
the name, Christopher seems to have taken over full management after 1869.
During the late 1870s, "Passaic Saw Works" was dropped from the title and
only Richardson Brothers was retained. Around that time the works were moved
to 19-29 River St. At this location, the saw works covered an area of about
four acres and in the late 1800s employed close to 200 workers. Christopher
Richardson controlled the business until the mid-1880s, when it was taken
over by others. Around 1900 the name of the firm was changed to
Richardson Bros. - National Saw Co.
As the most productive of early New Jersey saw works, Richardson Brothers
made enough saws so that it is not difficult to find examples in good
condition
today. Because of the various names under which these saws were
manufactured, it is reasonably easy to date them. Their earliest saws were
marked C. & W. C. Richardson and those after 1865 PASSAIC SAW WORKS,
RICHARDSON BROTHERS. Some were simply marked RICHARDSON BROTHERS.
On April 30, 1878 Christopher Richardson registered his "BEST - R"
trademark. This consisted of a Maltese cross with an "R" in the center and
on each of the four arms letters making up the word "BEST". Thus, this
trademark on any saw or saw attachment identifies it as having been
manufactured after the date of registry.
Among the variety of saws produced by the Richardsons were: panel, ripping,
circular, butcher, bow, back, compass, and pruning saws. They also made scroll
and fellow webs, knives, cutters, molding irons, and springs. Richardson
cane knives were a sideline of which they were particularly proud. They
sold well both in this country and abroad.
ENDQUOTE
There are also several nice illustrations of saws and advertisements of
Richardson's in the book. Regarding the patent mark on Bill's saw, all I can
help with is to mention that one of the illustrations is of a R.B. company
logo which contains the words "Patent Tempered and Patent Ground Saws
Process and Machinery Patented". Perhaps Steve Reynolds can help w/
more specifics on the Dec. 31, 1867 patent.
End Quote
They are great saws, from all I've ever heard. You can get to the oldtools archive at the link at the end of this message.
L. Hanson
http://www.norsewoodsmith.com
Oldtools
Re: Richardson back saw???
Angelo in Cornwall, NY
>Don't know too much about their back saws, but I have a crosscut saw and it works well. Nice comfy handle, and holds an edge well. And made in my hometown!