A $2 rusty saw....

Seems to have a bit of Family History to it...

26", 8ppi, 4 steel bolts, Warranted Superior medallion....skew back.  Hmmm....

 

Ok, the back story...it seems my late FIL ran a Hardware Store in DeGraff, OH.  late 40s, to the early 70s....Kinnan's Hardware.    A few doors to the south on that same block, was Hoke's Variety Store.   One fine day, Mr. Hoke decided he needed to buy a handsaw.    He walked in to the hardware store...paid $1.50 for a Disston saw,  Not wanting to splurge on the top of the line saws, he bought a Keystone Brand, K-2 Speedster saw.

 

Fast forward a couple decades....I stop at a garage sale, being run by Mr. Hoke's Daughter....and buy that very saw for $2......inflation, right?

 

Gave the saw a good cleaning..

Even clocked the steel bolts...

 

Was just barely making out an etch...Found the "Keystone"   and what looked like a race car....hard to tell, with the block lettering across it....More research..

 

I knew it wasn't the K-3 Pacemaker..

Different handle,  Etch of 2 fellows jogging in a race ( Pacesetter), different wood..

 

Both have a skew back blade, both are 8ppi cross cut.   Looked it up at the Disstonian Institute...Saw came out about 1935...was made up to 1951 or so...etch showed a racecar...with those block letters  "SPEEDSTER" .   Sold for $1.50 retail.  Decided to give the worn teeth a refresh...got out Mr. Wentworth's No. 1 Saw Vise..

And a saw file or 2...

Red handled one seemed to fit the teeth better..took a while, had to move the saw twice...

Just following the pattern of the cross cut teeth...Points were merely worn down a touch.    Saw plate, on the other hand....needed to be straightened out...seems Mr. Hoke hit a sidewalk a couple times...and added a couple bends out near the toe of the saw...

 

Top of the bench's leg, and a 24 oz Ball Pean hammer.....about 10 minutes of banging out the kinks...plate is now straight.  Ready for the test drive..

All that splintered stuff on the end?  was from the K-3...cuts a bit too rough, and fast....as for this "new" saw's cut..

Cuts as straight as the operator will allow...but, no drifting in the cut...had to slow down a bit. ...to avoid that vise handle...but..

Ever see a hand saw leave burn marks?   Back side of the cut looks a lot better than the one by the K-3. 

 

Saw should be ready for the next 70+ years....

 

Just like new!

Great rescue but an even greater story to read. Thanks. Love this type of threads that tell the history. Would be great to hear what the saw has seen...would that be a see-saw then?

9 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Great rescue but an even greater story to read. Thanks.

 Yeah, love to see stories like this!

Wow very cool story and a great $2 saw