| The Davistown Museum |
| Center for the Study of Early Tools |
| Scattered throughout The Davistown Museum are tools by important manufacturers who are also the subject of |
| information files compiled by the museum. This is a listing of our holdings for: |
| Henry Disston & Sons, Inc. |
| | Status | Location |
| Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial |
| Revolution |
| Woodworking: Saws |
| 71401T2 | Rip saw | bio | DTM | MH |
| Steel, wood, and brass, signed with the telltale eagle medallion of an early factory-made Henry Disston saw. |
| Historic Maritime IV (1840-1865): The Early Industrial Revolution |
| Measuring Tools (Except Machinist Tools) |
| 81101T18 | Try square | bio | DTM | MH |
| Steel, 2", signed "DISSTON" and "A. MORSE", probably the owner. |
| Henry Disston (1819 - 1878) was making saws in Philadelphia as early as 1840. See DATM (Nelson 1999, 227-9) for a complete listing of |
| the Disston clan and their tool manufacturing operations. |
| Woodworking: Saws |
| 10700T1 | Backsaw | bio | photo | DTM | MH |
| Spring steel, brass, and wood, 15 3/4" long with 12" blade, signed "NOOLE STANIFORTH & CO. SHEFFIELD" and "DOUBLE REFINED |
| SPRING WARRANTED" with the brass signed "H. DISSTON & SONS PHILADA". |
| English-made spring steel has been processed by Henry Disston & Co. into a saw. The marks on this saw are a puzzle because H. Disston |
| & Sons is a later signature and by this time Disston was producing his own cast and spring steel. |
| 71908T2 | Hand saw | bio | bio | DA | MH |
| Steel, brass, and wood, 10.5" long, 5" wide, signed "Henry Disston & Sons" in a curve, "Cast steel Philad'a Warranted", and faintly |
| "A.J.Wilkinson & Co.". |
| The Industrial Revolution (1865f.): Other Factory Made Tools |
| Logging Tools |
| 112704T6 | Chain saw | bio | DTM | MH |
| Drop-forged steel and wood, 44 " long, 9 1/2" long handle, signed "DISSTON USA". |
| This is a portable saw that was used by the military and others in isolated locations where it was not practical to carry stiff one or two man |
| saws. It predates the portable chain saw. |
| Measuring Tools |
| 121805T28 | Wire gauge | bio | photo | DTM | MH |
| Steel, 4 1/2" long, signed "No. 1 DISSTON STANDARD PHILA.U.S.A." and then with sizes 1 - 26. |
| This is a rare Disston gauge for "measuring sheet stock used in making saws. I believe this gage goes back to the time when there were no |
| national standards for sheet, requiring individual companies to establish their own standards." (Ray Larsen). |
| Woodworking: Saws |
| 913108T28 | Saw | bio | DTM | MH |
| Silver steel, brass trim, wooden handle, 22" long, signed "CHANDLER & BARBER" "SILVER STEEL WARRANTED" "BOSTON , MASS." |
| and with a circle with an eagle in the middle and "WARRANTED SUPERIOR". |
| Chandler & Barber were hardware dealers who marked this saw with their trademark. It was made by Henry Disston, whose eagle trademark |
| is also on the saw. |
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