Tom Opfell wrote:
--------that the nib was originally developed to "catch the eye" of the 
operator seems to me to be the most valid that I have yet to hear, 
although clearly as time progressed the "nib" was relegated to 
ornamentation. ---------

Nibblers, Nigglers, Galoots
Doesn't ornamentation catch the eye of the prospective tool buyer 
standing at the shop window?  and isn't marketing a function?  Perhaps a 
very good saw maker put nibs on his saws so that his customers (and 
prospective customers) would recognize his products. Over time other 
makers followed suit, copying his "trade dress" until it became common.

The thrashing of a deceased equine is not as interesting as speculating 
to what led to its' demise

I assume that beating a dead horse was to get the beast up and moving 
again, in which case this topic is not a dead horse but an overworked 
one, probably rented.

Mike

-- 
Michael E. Siemsen
Green Lake Clock Co.
http://www.greenlakeclock.com/
651-257-9166

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