I dunno, I sort of like my rubber band thing.   It had a sort of panache.

Mike Siemsen wrote:
> 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
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------