ID an old saw filing vise?

[Beerhippie]

I picked this old saw filing vise up at a yard sale about five years ago--I had no use for it that I could think of, but it was part of a good "package deal":





The only marking I can find on it.





Jaws are 9 1/8" wide, 8" tall from the top of the ball clamp.

I know these are a dime a dozen, but it has turned out to be quite useful for sharpening things that don't work well in my bench vise--like draw knives, machetes, etc.



What really impresses me is how stout the lock-up on the ball swivel is. I can really lean into the file while working and nothing moves.

 

[The Cobbler]

Nice save on an old pc of iron.

 

[RTM]

Not in the Stearns Catalogs, but the 5 is close

E. C. Stearns & Co. Catalogue of Hardware : 1924 : E. C. Stearns & Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

92 p., illus., 22.6 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

The Sargent is a 95

Sargent Tool Book : Mechanics' Tools 1911 : Sargent & Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

264 p., illus., 20.74 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

 

[four.cycle]

Disston's ?

1932 Disston catalog at International Tool Catalog Library

 

[four.cycle]

^ the design of the No. 1 changing from the 1902 catalog (which shows a screw-type adjustment) and the later 1932 catalog (which shows a lever-type adjustment) causes me to wonder if perhaps your specimen is of the earlier vintage.

 

[Beerhippie]

The Sargent #95 is a dead-ringer! Bingo!

Wow! It's worth... $0.90! I paid $5 for it, so I got robbed!

Disston seems to have taken pride in labeling all their tools. I'm not seeing the # 1 you reference--just the lever-locks w/Disston casting.

All I've done with this old vise is rub it down with CLP, and it seems to work very well. The ball could use some cleaning as it doesn't like to rotate--pivots just fine.

 

[crguy]

I picked this old saw filing vise up at a yard sale about five years ago--I had no use for it that I could think of, but it was part of a good "package deal":





The only marking I can find on it.





Jaws are 9 1/8" wide, 8" tall from the top of the ball clamp.

I know these are a dime a dozen, but it has turned out to be quite useful for sharpening things that don't work well in my bench vise--like draw knives, machetes, etc.



What really impresses me is how stout the lock-up on the ball swivel is. I can really lean into the file while working and nothing moves.

That's a good saw vise. Stability is important.

 

[Roberts210]

Love that ball joint construction. I have actually used my saw vise, many years ago, to file one of my Disston hand saws. They are very useful.

 

[WisJim]

I have a Disston that is very similar to that and it had been mounted in my old shop for over 20 years, until we moved recently. Now I need to make space for it, or one of my other saw vises, again. I might have 15 or saw vises. I found it hard to pass them up if they were only a dollar or two.