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I have this beautiful old saw:

Saw

Ignoring that it is in need of some TLC, can anyone tell me what this tab is on the top?

enter image description here

Does it serve a purpose or is it purely decorative?

Ashlar
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Fezter
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  • Need any tips on how to fix up the saw or is it destined to be a wall-hanger? If you'd like to put it back to work it's in need of a major re-tooth unfortunately, at the front end there those are some of the most uneven teeth I've seen o_O – Graphus Jan 04 '17 at 10:04
  • I noticed that. I actually thought they were like that on purpose. – Fezter Jan 04 '17 at 10:05
  • No sadly that's a classic example of cack-handed sharpening, presumably done by older guys who could no longer focus close up to see what they were doing. You can get saws with smaller teeth at one end, helping to start the cut where the main run of teeth is large (the larger the teeth the greater the tendency for a saw to jump around before the kerf has been formed to seat the blade) but the teeth would still be uniformly small (or progress in size from small to large), not jagged and uneven like here. – Graphus Jan 04 '17 at 10:49

1 Answers1

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That is the nib. Bizarrely nobody knows what they're for, in fact they might not be for anything really but just a decorative feature. There are some theories however..... more than one of which might be correct!

Chris Schwarz wrote a bit on it here.

Graphus
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