# What is this old saw?



## dczward (May 23, 2011)

I'm visiting my mother in law, and she had some "old saws" in the garage. I pulled out two old rusty Disstons, some '70s Stanley's (1970s, not 18…) and this metal handled beast…





































The metal handle looks crazy uncomfortable. The sweep of the saw back makes me think this is old, but there are no makers marks anywhere that I've found.

Does anyone have any thoughts on who made this or what it is?


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Maybe an "Ice Saw" that has been sharpened up a few times? Since one would wear gloves while sawing ice for the icebox down by the river, handle would just be a "non-slip" grip.


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## Surfside (Jun 13, 2012)

That looks like this metal handled hand saw


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## Surfside (Jun 13, 2012)

Yea, probably it's an ice saw.

www.bandsawblog.com


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

One exactly like it on eBay now - listed as 'ice saw.'


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

I think these guys have it pegged. If you tried to saw wood with this it would certainly see what you are made of. What does this have…....4 teeth to the inch? Might need it sometime but for now I will stick with my ice makers.. Thanks for posting.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

I agree with ice saw.
Back in the olden days in Duluth, MN. there were companies that would harvest ice from lake Superior starting at the first hard freeze.
The would store the ice in holes in the ground lined with sawdust and straw holding the ice until summer when they could get a premium price for it.
It would be delivered by guys in "Ice Wagons" who would cut it to fit in your Icebox with a saw like that.

That lasted up until WWII (IIRC), when refrigeration became common place.

Some of the storage holes are still there, outside of town.


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## dczward (May 23, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. "Ice saw" looks like the leading contender.

Dallas, my great grandfather lived in Spencer, Idaho, just west of the Rockies. Durning the depression, in addition to running a gas station/general store and running tourist cabins, they would dam up the local creek, cut and and store ice just like you described. I'll be he had one of these.

This ice saw, however, came from a grandfather-in-law who lived in Hawaii from 1910 or so. I'll bet that MN and ID ice was expensive for their ice boxes.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Douglas, it's entirely possible it came off a whaler or other fishing ship in the early 1900's. They would cut ice out of ice bergs and off of islands in the Aleutians, not so much for whaling where the money was in oil, but in fresh caught fish that had to be iced down to make the passage to Hawaii, Seattle or Astoria.

Even the steam powered iron ships weren't big on refrigeration and would have huge holds to carry the ice and fish.

(BTW, I use to live and work in Ashton, Idaho….. Logging all the way up into West Yellowstone, MT. and east into the Teton's of WY).


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