On Jul 11, 2008, at 8:11 PM, Tom Opfell wrote:

>
> I believe that the actual purpose of the saw nib was, as Sandy Moss 
> correctly stated, was to warn the operator that the end of the blade 
> was near to prevent the saw from freeing itself from the kerf and 
> perhaps injuring the hand holding the board. In his book "The 
> Carpenter's Tool Chest" published in 1933, Thomas Hibben's states "the 
> little nipple on the top of our saws has survived from the days when 
> saws were pulled. Such a mark would serve to catch the carpenter's eye 
> as he pulled back on the saw so that he stopped his pull before the 
> blade came out of the cut."

	Welcome to the Porch, Tom.  Have you ever tried to saw and watch the 
nib at the same time?  Do you find it useful?  I know I don't, it slows 
me down considerably.  I much prefer to use muscle memory and just let 
'er rip.  I find Mr. Hibben's statement no more convincing than Mr. 
Zanni's.  There are lots of publications that give a purpose for the 
nib, but I find  them lacking in practicality and they never give any 
hard evidence to support their statements.

>
> Disston literature published circa 1900, states that the nib is purely 
> decorative, serves to brake up the straight line of the back and 
> serves no useful purpose. This would indicate that by this time most 
> saw makers had forgotten the original purpose of the nib and retained 
> it mearly as a decorative element of the past that gave the buyer 
> sense of tradition and high quality. Disston was one of the last of 
> the American Saw makers to retain the "nib" on it's "old line" models 
> up until 1928 when the company redesigned it's product line.

	Why would that indicate that they forgot?  Is it not possible that the 
real purpose was strictly decorative?

Regards,
Steve

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