Diston Saws?

[35k0]

I picked these up today at a "grandpa passed" garage sale for $10
Was planning on making them into fillet knives, but then got thinking maybe they are worth something?
Seems the middle one in the first pic may be a Disston D-8? First one is also Disston, but unsure of model.
Third looks to be a Warranted Superior which appears to be a lesser-line of Disston saws.

I was looking online and these things are ranging all over the place for pricing. Hard to nail down the exact models.
based on the medallions, I am thinking late 40's early 50's models.

Anyone here have any info? I would hate to cut them up if they have any value at all.
Thanks!

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I have a TON of these saws myself and I don't really know which ones are worth anything. I'm curious about your process of making knives out of them. I'd love to see the finished product and any tips you might have. Do they make good knives?

 

[RTM]

Disstonianinstitute.com for age etc.

They won't tell you value.

Warranted Superior could be anyone's second line, they will often look like the main line (# of nuts, handle shape etc) without the marque.

A real easy tell is if the handle is really comfortable in your hand, its decent. If you think you are holding a slab of wood, not so valuable



I personally have power hacksaw blades set aside for knives.

 

[35k0]

I have a TON of these saws myself and I don't really know which ones are worth anything. I'm curious about your process of making knives out of them. I'd love to see the finished product and any tips you might have. Do they make good knives?

thanks @Mr. Wonderful
I have been watching youtube videos of people making nice fillet knives out of vintage saw blades, so I thought I would give it a shot. Older saws supposedly have good, hard steel so if you take your time and don't over heat the metal, you shouldn't have to heat treat the blade and it will hold a nice edge for a long time.

 

[35k0]

Disstonianinstitute.com for age etc.

They won't tell you value.

Warranted Superior could be anyone's second line, they will often look like the main line (# of nuts, handle shape etc) without the marque.

A real easy tell is if the handle is really comfortable in your hand, its decent. If you think you are holding a slab of wood, not so valuable



I personally have power hacksaw blades set aside for knives.

Thank you for that!

 

[bonneyman]

I got one from my FIL's estate 20 years ago. It was old then. Still works!

And I snagged an OLD keyhole saw and converted it to a tight spot hacksaw.

 

[35k0]

I got one from my FIL's estate 20 years ago. It was old then. Still works!

And I snagged an OLD keyhole saw and converted it to a tight spot hacksaw.

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

 

[RTM]

I was looking online and these things are ranging all over the place for pricing. Hard to nail down the exact models.
based on the medallions, I am thinking late 40's early 50's models.

Anyone here have any info? I would hate to cut them up if they have any value at all.
Thanks!

This is the oldest one of the bunch, and probably the nicest in the hand. Notice the nice long transitions between the flats where the wheat carvings are, and the clear space in the hand hole, and see how short they are on the other two . (light wood in the picture here

The plastic handled one may have some cult following, don't recall.

If you do use them as donors, save the nuts and medallions, even tho newer than the nice one, they can still be used to repair other saws.

 

[Pexto]

The one on the left (Warranted Superior Disston) is probably decent steel and yet not very valuable. Would be a good candidate for scrapers and maybe a knife blade, although saw steel is quite soft for a knife.

The middle one (Disston USA) is probably 70 years old (roughly) would probably be a really good user. I'd hate to see it cut up for the steel.

The one on the right looks to be a much older Disston Warranted Superior. It might be worth some money depending on the age, and condition of the blade. Can you see any etching on the blade? Can you give us a close-up of the medallion? I'm thinking that one might be well over 100 years old but need better pics to be sure.

Edited to add: The two Disstons saws on the right might have etchings on the blade. Look them over carefully in good light. If you want to remove rust from the blade, use a *flat* block with very fine wet/dry sandpaper. The flat block is very important - if you use steel wool or Scotchbrite or sandpaper freehand you run a good chance of making the etching completely illegible. I like to use a small steel block with 600 grit wet/dry and a bit of light oil.

 

[35k0]

The one on the left (Warranted Superior) is probably decent steel and yet not very valuable. Would be a good candidate for scrapers and maybe a knife blade, although saw steel is quite soft for a knife.

The middle one (Disston USA) is probably 70 years old (roughly) would probably be a really good user. I'd hate to see it cut up for the steel.

The one on the right looks to be a much older Disston Warranted Superior. It might be worth some money depending on the age, and condition of the blade. Can you see any etching on the blade? Can you give us a close-up of the medallion? I'm thinking that one might be well over 100 years old but need better pics to be sure.

Edited to add: The two Disstons on the right might have etchings on the blade. Look them over carefully in good light. If you want to remove rust from the blade, use a *flat* block with very fine wet/dry sandpaper. The flat block is very imprtant - if you use steel wool or Scotchbrite or sandpaper freehand you run a good chance of making the etching completely illegible. I like to use a small steel block with 600 grit wet/dry and a bit of light oil.

The two on the left say Disston on the emblem, the one on the right says warranted superior.
Thanks for the info, I will look them over with good light and see if I can find more info. I definitely don't want to cut anything up that has value or good use. I appreciate the insight!

 

[LWB]

I would keep the one on the left. It must feel nice in the hand as all the edges have been rounded. Nice saw.

 

[Pexto]

The two on the left say Disston on the emblem, the one on the right says warranted superior.
Thanks for the info, I will look them over with good light and see if I can find more info. I definitely don't want to cut anything up that has value or good use. I appreciate the insight!

Sorry, I somehow thought the one on the left was a Disston, my bad. Now that I look at the pic more closely it looks like a steel Disston USA medallion. The earlier "Disston USA" saws with brass medallions are still decent saws (like your middle one). By the time they started putting steel medallons on, cost-cutting was paramount and quality was slipping. I'll edit my post and fix it.

 

[35k0]

Sorry, I somehow thought the one on the left was a Disston, my bad. Now that I look at the pic more closely it looks like a steel Disston USA medallion. The earlier "Disston USA" saws with brass medallions are still decent saws (like your middle one). By the time they started putting steel medallons on, cost-cutting was paramount and quality was slipping. I'll edit my post and fix it.

No problem, I appreciate the info!

 

[jar944]

12s, 7s 8s and a 23.

The smaller the handle the older and more sought-after they are.

 

[Cleave]

Disstonian institute is the place to look them up for sure. I did read an article there that they tested the metallurgy on a few saws of different ages and up through WWII era at least it was the same basic thing. Learn to sharpen them, its not that hard.
Saw plates are good for card/cabinet scrapers as well. I've never made knives from them, but it would work fine. Just keep in mind the steel is fileable so kinda soft for a knife and a re-heat treatment would still help in that case.
I also have a few pieces of big bandsaw blade from a wood shop and metal shop to chop up for custom scrapers, that could make small knives too.

 

[35k0]

Disstonian institute is the place to look them up for sure. I did read an article there that they tested the metallurgy on a few saws of different ages and up through WWII era at least it was the same basic thing. Learn to sharpen them, its not that hard.
Saw plates are good for card/cabinet scrapers as well. I've never made knives from them, but it would work fine. Just keep in mind the steel is fileable so kinda soft for a knife and a re-heat treatment would still help in that case.
I also have a few pieces of big bandsaw blade from a wood shop and metal shop to chop up for custom scrapers, that could make small knives too.

Great info thanks!