I really doubt anyone is going to find a panther head saw for $5 or
$10.  Some things can be seen even by blind seeker.

But reading Tom's post, I was nodding my head quietly.  I have at
least three Disston 12 saws, the last of which I bought for $1.  It
ended up at a junk shop after failing to bring in $3 at a yard sale.
My early Disston #4 back saw set me back $4 at a flea market.  The
pre-plywood handle Sandvik was tossed in for free with a bunch of
other tools I bought -- it was "dirty and rusty."  The Civil War
period Richardson rip saw set me back $10.  If you're haunting
garage sales and flea markets, five to ten bucks seems about
right.  The good ones are out there, along with plastic handled
junk, all for about the same price.

> ”why would your do that with a a thousand dollar handsaw”

Ah.  Now you're dealing with a foreign culture -- people who
understand saws.  Five bucks got me a Disston "for metal or
wood" saw, and another five got me a rusty, but seldom used
thumb hole rip saw.  The next week one of the "for metal or
wood" Disstons went for $55 on ebay.

So Steve and Tom are both correct.  It all depends on the
market place where you find saws.

With the average seller, saws have a bad rep.  Scott and I have
said this before -- probably the vast majority of the last two
generations have never used a sharp saw.  They think that saws
are inefficient and hard work to use.  I borrowed a saw from a
kid I knew (sheesh, he would be in his 40's now) and told him
it was dull.  "Couldn't be!" he told me, "I just bought it!"

He took it to the carpenter he was working for and complained
that I had called it dull.  Heh!  He was told "Well, it is.
Take it and have it sharpened."

Mike in Sacto