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262187 William Ghio <bghio@m...> 2017‑04‑22 Yard Sale finds today
Followed the yard sale signs that said “tools” just because... well, you know.

Found a few things to bring home for a fiver:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@N.../33355126504/in/dateposted-public/
A decent Hyde Tools Square Point Knife
#11 dowelling bit
Small square tanged screwdriver bit
North Bros. Yankee Handyman #33H screwdriver
Moore Bros. saw

The saw is the interesting bit. Straight-backed Rip, 5 1/2 ppi, 26 inch and
taper ground. Blade doesn’t look all that great in the pics but a test w/ a
razor blade shows it is mostly on the surface and will clean up well. The etch
has the following info:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@N.../34197629265/in/dateposted-public/

Moore Bros. Empire State Saw Works
Jamestown, NY
Made from Extra London Spring Steel

Our Superior
No. 4XXX
Our Latest
and Best

The handle is wheat carved and very comfy in my hand, altho tending towards the
mid- 20th C. block style.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@N.../33813517320/in/dateposted-public/

When I picked it up my guess was that Moore Bros. was a hardware company and
this was probably another manuf.’s saw. However, Erv Schaffer in “Hand-Saw
Makers of North America” lists Moore Bros. as a regional saw-maker c. 1900.
Looking around the net I found a blog on American Made Files ( http://americanmadefiles.blogspot.com/2016/01/moore-
brothers.html">http://americanmadefiles.blogspot.com/2016/01/moore-
brothers.html ) with a history of Moore Bros. as a saw and file company
starting in 1868 and finally converting to a hardware company c. 1940, a nice
long run. Then there is a Sawmill Creek post saying that Atkins bought out Moore
Bros. at some point. That of course sent me to look at my Atkins saws. However,
this handle does not match any of my Atkins saws. On the other hand, it
certainly looks like the handles on my Simonds saws. It also looks like the
handle on my O.V.B. saw, the brand of Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co., which
was a hardware dealer. Erv says the O.V.B. saws were made by either Disston or
Atkins.

In this pic — https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@N.../34045582002/in/dateposted-
public/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@N.../34045582002/in/dateposted-
public/  — the top right is the Moore Bros. handle, top left is O.V.B. and
the bottom two are Simonds. The shapes are very close, the wheat carvings quite
different. The Simonds are, I’m sure, older saws. The O.V.B. lacks the grace of
the Simonds, and the Moore Bros. is even a bit clunkier. Both of these handles,
to my eye, most resemble the less expensive Simonds lines, e.g. Bay State Saws.
I say both the O.V.B. and Moore Bros. are Simonds products.

Bill

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