Saw shop questions and answers: bent cordwood saws, crosscut saw handles, and more!

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

It’s that time again! Time to reach into the big bag of questions that come via the search engines to this blog and the service web site and answer them!

1. (question regarding straightening a bent cordwood saw)

In a word, DON’T. If a cordwood blade has been overheated bad enough to noticeably warp the saw plate or the saw has come in contact with steel embedded in the wood and done the same (the two most common causes of cordwood saw blade damage), the blade has to be considered structurally suspect (possible loss of temper in the steel, possible cracking, etc). The last thing you want is high speed flying shrapnel when the blade fails catastrophically.

2. (question regarding crosscut saw handles)

There are 3 common types of handles for 2 man crosscut saws. The first is the loop type handle. This type of handle slides a loop over the end of the saw blade and turns to tighten down. This advantage of this type of handle is that it’s easy and fast to install or remove.

Second is the Climax type handle. These handles fasten with a bolt or pin in the holes at the end of the saw blade. The advantage of these are that the handle can be turned 90 deg, making the saw easy to use for both bucking and felling purposes.

Third is the Western style handle. This handle is similar to the Climax except it places one hand above and one below the saw, versus both above for the Climax. The advantage of this type of handle is that you can apply more power to the saw, since the blade is centered between the hands.

3. (question regarding handsaw straightness)

So, how do you tell easily and quickly if the amount of bend in your handsaw is enough to cause a problem with using it? Simple, make a cut with the saw to at least halfway up the blade. If the saw whips back and forth as it is pulled from the cut, the blade NEEDS to be straightened (the bent saw blade is actually hitting the sides of the kerf). There are other ways to tell also, but most handsaws with objectionable bends will fail this test conclusively.

Visit me at any of the following locations:

Elm Plaza, Waterville, ME (Mondays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1 & Log Cabin Rd, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

Mobile sharpening service schedule: Cancellation, Topsham

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

Effective immediately, I’m cancelling my Tuesday sharpening service runs top the Topsham / Brunswick area. After the 3rd week out of 4 with no activity, I’m left to conclude that there simply isn’t enough demand for the service to make it viable.

I will continue to pick up and drop off in the Topsham / Brunswick area during other runs, but there will be no on the spot sharpening or tool sales available.

Visit me at any of the following locations:

Elm Plaza, Waterville, ME (Mondays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1 & Log Cabin Rd, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

Mobile sharpening service schedule, cancellation: Arundel

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

Due to bad weather conditions this morning, I’m cancelling my scheduled run to the Arundel Flea Market with the mobile sharpening service. It’s snowing much harder than forecast and the snow is coming down soggy, compacting on the road and making driving treacherous.

Visit me at any of the following locations:

Elm Plaza, Waterville, ME (Mondays)
Rt 201 (former Champion Glass), Topsham, ME (Tuesdays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1 & Log Cabin Rd, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

Restored vintage tools for Christmas, 3 days! Case XX Barlow knife.

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

The big guy in the red suit is almost here!

Do you know someone who would appreciate a nice set of quality tools for Christmas? Before you head off to the big box stores to get the latest shiny junk made in China, take a look at our quality restored vintage “made in USA” tools (I’ll be featuring one or two great tools from inventory every day until Christmas!). Hand saws, crosscut saws, axes, classic woodworking tools, you don’t see these in Walmart!

This is a great vintage Case XX Barlow pocket knife, pattern 009. This knife has dark sawn bone handles and high carbon steel blades (you can’t beat high carbon steel for the best edge!). Both blades show little sign of having been sharpened (unusual for a vintage knife), the knife is tight, and the springs are strong. This knife has been cleaned, lubricated, and sharpened and would make an excellent Christmas present! $40.

To purchase any of the tools shown here, please email saw@swiftwatertel.com, call 207-399-7108, or visit me at any of the following locations:

Elm Plaza parking lot, Waterville, ME (Mondays)
45 Augusta Rd (Rt 201, former Champion Glass), Topsham, ME (Tuesdays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1 & Log Cabin Rd, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

Restored vintage tools for Christmas: deadline!

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

Just a note to any of my customers considering ordering a custom (non-stock) restored vintage saw, knife, or tool for Christmas, this Thursday, 12/22/11, is the last day I’ll be taking requests for Christmas delivery. Get your order in and get the perfect vintage tool present!

Visit me at any of the following locations:

Elm Plaza, Waterville, ME (Mondays)
Rt 201 (former Champion Glass), Topsham, ME (Tuesdays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1 & Log Cabin Rd, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

Mobile sharpening service update: Waterville, Farmington, holiday schedule

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

I’m expanding the coverage of the SwiftWater Edge Tool Works mobile saw, knife, and tool sharpening service! Starting Monday, 1/2/12, we will be at the Elm Plaza shopping center parking lot in Waterville, ME each Monday with full sharpening services and tool sales!

In observance of the coming holidays, I will not be making any runs on 12/26/11 (Christmas observed) or 12/30/11 (New Year’s observed, Arundel Flea Market). On these days, the mobile rig will be open for sharpening and vintage tool sales at our 298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME location. All other scheduled service runs between Christmas and New Year’s will go as scheduled and full normal service will resume after New Year’s!

If you’re in the Farmington, ME area, stay tuned for details on my upcoming test run to Farmington!

Visit me at any of the following locations:

Elm Plaza, Waterville, ME (Mondays)
Rt 201 (former Champion Glass), Topsham, ME (Tuesdays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

Mobile sharpening service and tool sales schedule change: Waterville ME 12/18/11

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

Tomorrow, Sunday, 12/18/11, I’ll be at the Elm Plaza parking lot in Waterville, ME with the mobile sharpening rig and lots of great vintage tools for Christmas! Come in for a unique present, bring your dull blades to get them tuned up (don’t suffer through Christmas dinner with dull knives!), or just stop by to say hi!

Visit me at any of the following locations:

Rt 201 (former Champion Glass), Topsham, ME (Tuesdays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an
email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

Restored vintage tools for Christmas, 10 days! Keen Kutter KK6 plane.

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, ME

It’s creeping up on us!

Do you know someone who would appreciate a nice set of quality tools for Christmas? Before you head off to the big box stores to get the latest shiny junk made in China, take a look at our quality restored vintage “made in USA” tools (I’ll be featuring one or two great tools from inventory every day until Christmas!). Hand saws, crosscut saws, axes, classic woodworking tools, you don’t see these in Walmart!

Today, I have a Keen Kutter KK6 plane (similar to Stanley Bailey #6).

This is a pre-WWII E.C. Simmons Keen Kutter KK6 fore plane, similar in size to a Stanley Bailey No. 6 fore plane, used for jointing or flattening boards or planks. This plane has approximately 80% of it’s original body finish, 100% of the finish on the absolutely gorgeous tote and knob, and an original Keen Kutter marked iron that is more than 3x as thick as a Stanley iron! All in all, just a super plane! This plane has been thoroughly cleaned and well sharpened so it’s ready to go to work! $65.

To purchase any of the tools shown here, please email saw@swiftwatertel.com, call 207-399-7108, or visit me at any of the following locations:

Rt 201 (former Champion Glass), Topsham, ME (Tuesdays)
Arundel Flea Market, Rt 1, Arundel, ME (Fridays)
298 W Front St, Skowhegan, ME (all other days)

If you’re looking for a special tool, please drop me an email and let me know and I’ll restore one just for you!

From the saw shop, questions and answers: handsaw hammering, enhancing an etch, and more!

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan, Maine

Yup, it’s that time again! Questions have been rolling in via the search engines to the blog and the service web site, so here come the answers!

1. (question about ruining a handsaw blade by hammering)

Straightening a bent handsaw blade with hammer and anvil such as I do makes it very easy to ruin a blade by over stretching the steel or stretching it in the wrong place (sometimes it’s simply not possible to straighten a saw because of this). Over stretching the steel will leave the blade floppy and useless.

2. (question about enhancing the etch on a handsaw blade)

Handsaw etches are fairly delicate and can be easily damaged by over cleaning or cleaning with the wrong products, such as steel wool. I havn’t tried this myself, but, in the case of an etch that’s still present but has lost its contrast, I understand that cold gun bluing can be used to enhance the etch so it’s more visible. Use at your own risk and try it on a junk blade first!

3. (questions about 29/28/27 inch cordwood saw blades)

Cordwood saw blades, as a rule, all start out at 30 inches in diameter (I have seen a few oddball 35 inch ones). Sharpening the teeth and “hogging out” the gullets between the teeth reduces the blade diameter, leaving these well worn blades something a bit smaller than stock.

Visit us at the following locations:

Former Champion Glass, Topsham, Maine (Rt 201 north from Topsham toward Bowdoin, covering the Topsham, Brunswick, Maine areas) on Tuesdays.

Arundel Flea Market, Arundel, Maine (corner of Rt 1 and Log Cabin Road) on Fridays.

298 W Front St, Skowhegan, Maine the rest of the days.

Saw shop tech: misidentifying vintage saws and other antique tools.

Vern Burke, SwiftWater Edge Tool Works

Skowhegan,Maine

So, you’re wandering around your local flea market, antiques emporium, or vintage tool seller’s shop looking and you’ve found just the right tool you’re looking for, except something doesn’t look quite right. How can you be sure you’re REALLY getting the classic saw or other tool you’re really looking for?

I see a LOT of misidentified vintage tools in my travels buying things to restore for the shop. General antiques people who don’t specialize in tools and actual old tool dealers both do it, although for different reasons. I just had a conversation with a craigslist seller over a supposed 1800s “hand forged ice saw” he was selling. What he posted a picture of was clearly a mid 1900s hay knife (used for cutting compressed hay bales). I’ve had these in my inventory periodically in exactly the same form (sometimes in the original labeled boxes they shipped in) and I have yet to ever see one not machine manufactured. This is actually one of the more common and obvious misidentifications.

Since vintage saws and other tools may have forms very different from modern tools and may have been out of production for longer than many of us have been alive, how do you avoid getting something that isn’t what it’s supposed to be? Here are a few tips.

1. If you’re looking for a particular type of vintage tool, do a little research first! Google can be your friend for the basics in short order.

2. Ask an expert. I spend a fair bit of my time when I’m out on the road educating people who come by my table about the vintage tools. I know the old tools inside and out so my customers don’t have to and I have no interest in misleading customers because a burned customer would never trust me again. I also take great pride in knowing everything there is to know about my inventory before it goes on the table.

3. Pick a reputable vendor or tool dealer. Beware of flea market vendors that only have old tools as a small part of their business unless you’re sure of exactly what you’re doing.

4. Avoid “franken-tools” made up of many mismatched parts (hand planes are particularly bad for this). If it doesn’t look right, pass it up.

5. Avoid anyone who uses the current antiques buzzword “primitive”.

So, why do vendors misidentify vintage tools? In many cases, it’s simple ignorance. Casual sellers are a lot more likely to do this because they don’t know and won’t take the time to learn.

Unscrupulous tool dealers tend to purposefully misidentify for gain. Ice saws and hay knives are both sellable however a real ice saw will bring 5x or more in price.

Educate yourself, work with a reputable vintage tool dealer who knows his stuff, and avoid getting suckered.

Visit us at the following locations:

Former Champion Glass, Topsham, Maine (Rt 201 north from Topsham toward Bowdoin, covering the Topsham, Brunswick, Maine areas) on Tuesdays.

Arundel Flea Market, Arundel, Maine (corner of Rt 1 and Log Cabin Road) on Fridays.

298 W Front St, Skowhegan, Maine the rest of the days.