Nibs on Saws - A Review

Thirty-four years ago, The Chronicle¹ carried the following short observations and inquiry: "A nib is a projection on the back of the handsaw close to the end. Some insists that the nib had a function. The Disston Saw Company insists that 'the nib has no practical use whatsoever,' it merely serves to break the straight line of the blade and is an ornamentation only.

One craftsman, who has been using handsaws for nearly 50 years, says he was taught that the nib was to clear out accumulated sawdust at intervals during the ripping of planks. The saw was inverted and the nib pushed through a couple of times as if sawing. 

The illustration below is from Smith's Key², published in 1816. It shows an ordinary handsaw with a nib as described in The Chronicle's inquiry. Most tool collectors have seen this style of handsaw.

In the September 1970 Chronicle³ its editor, the late Ray Townsend, published a brief report on the responses of its readers. Most of those replying believed that the nib was simply decoration, but two people had other opinions.

Robert Carlson always had believed the nib had a function and was not purely decorative. First, it can be used as a nail cutter when one is encountered in working on houses, and second, it can be used as a scribe to mark a planned saw cut rather that using a scratch awl or a knife.

Frank Sahlmann was convinced that the nib had a function. Specifically he wrote that it serves to nick a board at the starting point for a cut. A nick made with the nib makes it easier to start cutting especially if one is using a saw with coarse teeth.

Almost all manufacturers' catalogues during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries included illustrations of saws with nibs or other illustrations of changes in the line of the back of the saw, but no product catalogue has been found that makes any comment for the reason for nibs or their potential uses. Many books and articles on woodworking tools and trades also include illustrations of handsaws that appear to have nibs or other indentations in the back and toe areas of the saw, but most such publications make no comment on the subject of nibs.

(Above) 1698 engraving by Weigel⁴ of carpenters at work. The handsaw in the foreground has a multiple curve at the toe, like a large nib.

Some illustrations follow of handsaw "nibs" as they appear in publications that did not offer comment. Then this article will review, in chronological order, many of the various books and articles that have offered comment on saw nibs, both before and since the brief references in the Chronicle in 1970.

Next is an early German saw⁵ having a double nib and hole near the toe. The handle is tang-mounted with a closed "pistol grip." This photograph is one of twelve pictures of 18^th to 20^th century handsaws illustrated in an outstanding 1986 German book on early carpenters' tools. Four of the twelve saws have nibs.

(Above) Early saw as pictured in Das Werkzug Des Zimmermans

Joseph Moxon's Mechanik Exercises⁶ has an engraving illustrating several basic tools of the carpenter. Six saws are shown of which one (lower right) is neither labeled nor mentioned in the text. It appears to be a handsaw with a pistol grip having an early version of the classic "fish-tail" shape of many saw handles.

(Above) Joseph Moxon engraving of basic carpenter tools.

Henry Disston & Sons' Price List of 1876⁷ includes engravings of some 31 different models of hand saws (in addition to circular saws and cross-cut saws). Of these, 16 show nibs like model 200 copied below. It was one of the models offered for "private branding." Of the fifteen other handsaws in the 1876 Disston catalogue, eight have straight backs and three have the recently introduced "skew" back, and four have a straight back with an offset curve near the toe.

Some of the early saw catalogues offered the following mix of blade styles on handsaws:

• Sargent Tools, 1894 - 5 with nibs, 7 straight back, and 3 skew back.
• Sargent Tools, 1910 - 4 with nibs, 3 straight back and 2 skew back.
• E.C. Atkins, c. 1915 – none with nibs, 12 straight back, 1 offset, and 11 skew back.
• Simonds Saws, 1919 – 1 with nib, 8 straight back, 6 offset and 11 skew back.

In 1960, Spear and Jackson Limited of England published the Story of the Saw⁸ to mark their second century of operation as "the worlds oldest saw makers." This book includes the following photographs of two 18^th century Swedish saws.

The upper saw has a pistol grip handle somewhat like that of the Weigel engraving and it has an even more complex shape at the back and toe of the blade. The lower saw has an open "fish-tail" handle and a nib. The authors make no comment about these saw shapes.

The Disston firm was founded by Henry Disston in 1846 in Philadelphia. He had apprenticed with the saw making firm of Lindley, Johnson and White. The Disston business became the largest in the United States and continued in operation until the 1970s. Sometime prior to 1875, Disston started publishing a Handbook for Lumbermen. It was described as "a treatise on the construction of saws and how to keep them in order." An updated edition of the Handbook was published every few years. By at least the 1902 edition⁹ and after, the following sketch and sentence appeared in the Disston Handbooks.

The "nib" near the end of a handsaw has no practical use whatever, it merely serves to break the straight line of the back of the blade and is an ornamentation only. This 1902 explanation of the “nib” is the earliest published comment the author has found.

A letter¹⁰ by Ray Townsend reported that the English news feature Notes and Queries of July 19^th, 1902 included a question as follows: "Can any reader throw some light on the origin, name and use of the small projection on the back of a carpenter's saw near the tip?" A response on August 6^th stated, "Inquiry of the foreman of a large iron-mongers' business results in the reply that the projection has no name or use, and that it is being discontinued by manufacturers."

British archeologist Flinders Petrie in his classic 1917 book Tools and Weapons¹¹ included the sketch of a handsaw as copied below. It is remarkably similar to the saw in the Weigel engraving of carpenters at work.

The Petrie text comments, "The Dutch saw of 1694 shows the earlier form of the curious little notch on the back, which is still contained in the modern (1917) saws, without a meaning. It seems originally to have been a tapering of the blade to the end, interrupted by a projection, with a hole for hanging up the saw."

The first edition of Ancient Carpenters Tools¹² by Henry C. Mercer was published in 1929. The chapter titled "Tools for Shaping and Fitting" starts with a discussion of handsaws and a photograph of three old saws (copied here).

Mercer's text reads, in part, "The very rare upper specimen, found in a gravedigger's shed at the Buckingham Friends Meeting House, Bucks Co. PA ... is of date probably before 1768. ... A down cut with ornamental knob, partly rusted away, decorates the end of the blade on its top corner margin, which trivial and curious silhouette noted by Disston, without exception of its origin in The Saw History, 1916, and now appearing on many American open handsaws, appears clearly on the two lower specimines."

Mercer also copies the "Weigel" engraving (attributing it to a Dutch set of engravings of 1718) and notes the similarity of its saw design to the one photographed above.

In 1964, the British tool historian W. M. Goodman published The History of Woodworking Tools. Goodman's discussion of the development of handsaws in the 17^th and 18^th centuries includes photos of early Dutch and Swedish saws as copied below.

Respecting the Swedish saw, Goodman says¹³, "This saw has been included here because it shows the toe-end decoration in its most elaborate form. It may give an answer to that hardy annual in the school workroom: 'Please sir, what is the little tooth at the top of the blade for?' It has no obvious purpose, and is most likely a vestige of the shaped toe of the first broad-bladed saws."

A British writer named Percy Blandford published Country Craft Tools in 1974. A sketch¹⁴ of several saw types includes a conventional closed handle saw. (This portion of Blandford’s sketch is copied below.)

Blandford's text reads, "The back of the saw might be straight, or Americans favored the hollow of a 'skew-back,' which some craftsmen claimed to be superior, but this is difficult to explain. Sometimes a nib was provided near the end of the blade, to retain the string of a sheath made by cutting a slit in a piece of wood." He also writes that, "The quirks and twists in (the handle's) outline contribute nothing except decoration and strength in a few vital places."

R.A. Salaman's Dictionary of Tools Used In the Woodworking and Allied Trades c. 1700-1970 was first published in 1975. Almost immediately it became the standard reference book on woodworking tools.

Salaman's listing for "Saw, Hand"¹⁵ includes the drawing copied above and, in part, this text: "The grip is shaped to fit the hand comfortably and to give the user control over the pressure to be applied. Until recently, the handle was elaborately carved, with 'fish-tail' extremities and decorative curves; today these have been mostly eliminated. Until recently a small notch was cut in the back of most Hand Saws a short distance from the toe, leaving a projecting tooth or 'nib.' Its purpose is not known, but it may be a surviving vestige of decorative features to be found on seventeenth and eighteenth-century saws, especially in Scandinavian or Dutch tools of this period."

In the October 1983 issue of The Fine Tool Journal¹⁶, an article by Raymond R. Townsend discusses in detail most known information about the origins and functions of saw nibs. Townsend includes most of the sources already quoted here, but in greater detail. He also provides and analysis of the variations found in the shape of saw nibs as illustrated in makers' catalogues in the U.S.A., Britain and Europe. The main shapes noted are 'round’,' 'rectangular' and 'pyramidal.' An unusual hand saw made by R. H. Smith & Co. Ltd. of St. Catharines, Ontario has two rectangular nibs with a pyramidal shape in between. An example of that saw is notes as being in the collection of Ernest W. Rhuda of Nova Scotia.

Townsend notes many of the uses claimed for the nib and writes, "There is no doubt that some of the uses stated are true, but it does not mean that the NIB was placed on the saw for these purposes." He concludes, "Unless positive proof can be found that the NIB had a designed function, it must be concluded that it is pure decoration."

The Townsend article produced many letters from readers of The Journal. Several were published in subsequent issues¹⁷. Some respondents such as Brian Ringo of Canton, NY were in total disagreement. Others such as Frank Kubin of DeLancy, NY and Leo Larsen of Portland, OR offered descriptions of what they understood to be the use of the nib. Robin Wyllie of Nova Scotia sent a well-documented explanation of the use of the saw nibs in holding a saw blade guard (more on Wylie's points later).

John Grabb of Chillicothe, OH wrote that, "An old carpenter told me that he used the nib to layout circles by hooking the nib on a nail and holding a pencil at a point along the teeth to draw a circle. The diameter varied according to where he held the pencil."

Erv Schaffer of Madison, WI wrote, "Mr. Townsend has clearly stated several times that the evidence does not support any use other than decoration for the nib. Until such evidence is found to the contrary, we can only hypothesize what its original use was. Both the opinions that the nib is a guard tie notch and a scoring point are excellent guesses. Being a rather pragmatic sort, I prefer to believe that the nib had a function. However, I must accept the evidence thus far discovered that no use, other than decoration, was intended, until evidence to the contrary is found."

Vernon U. Ward (then editor of The Journal) implicitly offered his own comments about the saw nib quoting a list of nib functions that had just been published in the February 1984 issue of the magazine Carpenter. That list follows here:

1. Maker or starter tooth
2. Used to describe an arc
3. Clean sawdust from a cut
4. Sighting like the sight on a rifle
5. Retain a sheath string
6. Clapboard Gauge for narrow siding
7. Hook to retrieve cut-off pieces out of reach
8. Hook to pull lumber toward you on a saw horse
9. Used to obtain the correct angle for filing
10. Notch the size of teeth for filing guide
11. Vestige of handle locking notch for pit saws
12. Facilitate the slitting of decorative metal panels
13. Remove nails in broken slate
14. Practice tooth for saw filer, to check steel hardness
15. Holds blade during acid bath pickling
16. Vestige of hook originally used for pruning
17. Sight to avoid pulling back too far
18. No function whatever
19. Vestige of the decoration on early Dutch saws

Michael Dunbar's 1989 book Restoring, Tuning and Using Classic Woodworking Tools contained a short reference to the saw nib¹⁹. His illustration is shown below. The text notes the differing views about the nib but quotes the Disston Handbook respecting its purely decorative function.

Erwin L. Schaffer, a prominent collector and historian of hand saws, prepared a 1994 review²⁰ of the 1902 edition of the Disston Handbook that had just been reprinted. In the review, Schaffer notes that there were few changes from edition to edition of the Disston Handbooks, giving as an example, "the recurring note provided by Henry Disston himself on the function of the 'nib' on handsaws. As this is often a controversial issue, let me quote Disston (page 138): The nib near the end of a handsaw has no practical use whatever, it merely serves to break the straight line of the back of blade and is ornamentation only."

Schaffer continues, "that's how Disston viewed the nib's function on his saws! It is interesting to note that once 'skewback' saws came into prominence, the nib was not included on them but was continued on many straight back models."

These comments in the June 1994 issue of The Chronicle stimulated a full article on the topic by James Gauntlett of Boise, ID. His article²¹ appeared in the December 1994 issue of The Chronicle. The Gauntlett article was titled NIBS AIN'T JUST FOR WRITING and it started with a sketch shown below.

(Above) Sketch of saw with nib, handle notch and guard by James Gauntlett.

The author carefully worded his position at the start of these words. "Schaffer quotes Henry Disston, The nib is of no use… which of course is untrue. This article does not imply that original purpose of the nib was to hold on a guard, but it does refute the statement that the nib had no use."

Gauntlett then relates an experience some 50 years earlier when he showed his new nibless saw to one of the older men in the shop who asked, "How're you goin' to keep the guard on if it's got no nib?" The article then notes a connection between handsaws with and without nibs in an early Disston catalogue. Those with nibs also have an extra notch in the top of the handle as shown in the author's sketch of a handsaw with nib and guard.

After noting the protective value of the saw guard when carrying a saw in a tool box, James Gauntlett concludes his article with these words: "All of the above does not claim to be the reason for the nib in the dark ages, but it is a response to the idea that the nib never has been of use. Is it possible that Henry Disston knew a great deal about making saws but did not know how to use them?"

In the January, 2000 issue of Yesterday's Tools, the editor commented²² on the old question, "what is the purpose of the nib on top of the blade near the tip of some old saws?" The question had been raised at the October 1999 meeting of The Tool Group following a discussion of saw developments in Canada's lumber mills.

The editor quoted the Disston Handbook of 1902 and then added, "Despite this clear statement, some woodworkers and tool collectors persist in offering other complicated explanations of the nib's purpose. One person (Gauntlett above) even wrote, Is it possible that Henry Disston knew a great deal about making saws but did not know how to use them?

This editorial comment brought a personal communication²³ from a tool collector, historian, friend, and fellow member of The Tool Group, Robin Wyllie of East LeHave, Nova Scotia. Wyllie provided the sketch below and offered the following explanation as to why 19^th and 20^th century rip and cross-cut saws have nibs on the end:

"The answer is, quite simply, that the nib is a vestigial but still functional remnant of the forward guard tie notch found on European 18^th century saws.

"Since the earliest times, carpenters have carried their tools to and from work on a daily basis. Roman carpenters carried theirs in wooden buckets. Europeans of the Middle Ages used woven baskets and later British and American workers carried them in canvas bags, or totes. All were most easily carried by sticking a pole, or an adze through there handles and slinging them over one's shoulder.

"With all the tools jumbled together, it was essential to protect their edges. Axes, slicks and adzes were sheathed in thick leather pouches; chisels and bits were carried in canvas rolls and saw teeth were seated in wooden guards. Generally home-made, the guards were secured with cord or tape which was tied over the front and rear notches on the saw. This prevented them from slipping.

"With the post war introduction of plastic clip-on guards, the notches have all but disappeared from contemporary saws and sleek plastic grips have replaced the ornate beech and fruitwood handles which make the 19^th century hand saw so collectable."

What can be concluded from this review of information and opinion about nibs on hand saws? It seems possible that several of the uses proposed actually were carried out by carpenters at one time or another. Writers (such as Blanford, Gauntlett and Wyllie) who describe the use of nibs in fastening saw guards offer an obviously rational and practical use, but offer no contemporary evidence that this was the purpose of the nib.

On the other hand, several writers (such as Petrie, Mercer, Goodman, Salaman, Townsend and Schaffer) support the opinion that the nib's purpose was simply decoration both in its 17^th century origins and in its 18^th and 19^th century manufacturing.

This reviewer draws his personal conclusion based on three points:

1. The only recorded information from a saw maker (the Disston Handbooks) states that (the nib) "... is an ornamentation only." It is unfortunate that Disston's words also said that the "nib has no practical use whatever." This may confuse the question of its intended purpose compared with its use in practice.
2. Many woodworking tools of the 17^th to 19^th centuries had decorative elements that persisted in general style over long periods of time. The elaborate curves and the chip carving of handsaw handles are just one example that could parallel the decorative role of the nib on the saw blade.
3. If the purpose for the nib had been to hold a saw guard tie, a simple notch would have been sufficient rather than typical 19th century designs having two notches and a nib of varying profile. Furthermore, it is not necessary to have a nib or notch at all to hold a saw guard. Below is a photo of one of the author's nibless 19^th century handsaws; it has a fully practical wooden guard simply tied around the blade and through the handle.

Echoing Townsend and Schaffer, this reviewer concludes that, pending contrary evidence from contemporary sources, nibs on handsaws most probably were intended only for decoration.

References

1. The Chronicle, E.A.I.A., Volume 23, No. 1, March 1970, p. 31.
2. Joseph Smith, Explanation or Key to the Various Manufactories of Sheffield, 1816, Sheffield, England; reprinted 1975, The Early American Industries Association.
3. Editorial and Letters, The Chronicle, E.A.I.A. Volume 23, No. 3, p. 34-35.
4. Johan Christoph Weigel, 1655–1726, German artist and engraver; the 1698 engraving titled Carpenters at Work may be found in various publications including Le Livre De L'Outil, by Velter, Lamothe & Marquis, 1984, Paris.
5. Schadwinkel, Heine & Gerner, Das Werkzeug Des Zimmermans, 1986, Hanover, p. 158.
6. Joseph Moxon, Mechanick Exercises, 1703, London; reprinted 1979, Early American Industries Association, p. 69.
7. Henry Disston & Sons' Price List, 1876, p. 83; reprinted 1994, Roger K. Smith, Athol, MA.
8. P. Jones and E. N. Simons, Story of the Saw, 1961, Spear & Jackson, Sheffield, p. 34.
9. Henry Disston and Sons, Handbook for Lumbermen, 1902, Philadelphia; reprinted 1994, Astragal Press, Mendham, NJ, p. 138.
10. Raymond R. Townsend, The Fine Tool Journal, January 1984, part of a letter, p. 60.
11. W.M. Flinders Petrie, Weapons and Tools, 1917, London, drawing No. 41.
12. Henry C. Mercer, Ancient Carpenters Tools, 1929, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, p. 137.
13. William M. Goodman, The History of Woodworking Tools, 1964, Bell & Hyman Ltd. London, p. 147-147.
14. Percy W. Blandford, Country Craft Tools, 1974, David & Charles, London, p. 90.
15. R. A. Salaman, Dictionary of Tools Used In the Woodworking and Allied Trades 1700–1970, 1975, Allen & Unwin, London, p. 422-423.
16. Raymond R. Townsend, The NIB, The Fine Tool Journal, October 1983 Poultney, VT, p. 27-32.
17. Letters to the editor, The Fine Tool Journal, November 1983, January 1984 and February 1984, Poultney, VT.
18. Editorial, The Fine Tool Journal, March l984, Poultney, VT, p. 2.
19. Michael Dunbar, Restoring, Tuning and Using Classic Woodworking Tools, 1989, Sterling Publishing, New York, p. 220.
20. Erwin L. Schaffer, Book Review of Henry Disston & Sons Handbook for Lumberman, 1902, reprinted 1994 by Astragal Press, Mendham, NJ; review published in The Chronicle, Volume 47, No. 2, June 1994, p. 38.
21. James F. Gauntlett, Nibs Ain't Just For Writing, The Chronicle, December 1994, Volume 47, No. 4, p. 101-104.
22. Editorial note, Yesterday's Tools, January, 2000, p. 2.
23. Robin H. Wyllie, personal communication, April 22, 2000.