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Recent Bios FAQ

232452 Ed Minch <ruby@m...> 2012‑08‑15 nib again
GG

Was killing time in a book store and picked up a copy of "Wood"
magazine. Found a picture of the tip of a saw with a nib and had to
read on. They asked why the nib was there and printed several
readers' answers.

They included the old standby that it was there to help tie on a blade
guard, but also something as crazy as a guy recounting how his
grandfather had sharpened it and showed him he could cut a 16d nail with
it (huh?). One guy said it was used in a jig during manufacturing, but
didn't say what they used once the nib was gone, or that saws had the
nib before mechanization. The one I like though was the story that if
the saw failed any inspection during manufacturing, the nib was broken
off. I have several saws etched "defective" on the blade and stamped "D"
on the handle, but none are old enough to have had a nib, so I can't
confirm this.

Ed Minch

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Recent Bios FAQ