Panel Saw

Date1740-1790

MediumSteel, iron and wood

DimensionsOverall length: 26 1/2" Blade: 22 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1997-107

DescriptionPanel handsaw of classic form with a tapering blade toothed along the bottom edge. Closed wooden handle held to the blade with two bolts secured by decoratively filed nuts. The back of the blade steps down slightly a few inches from the front edge.
Label TextEngraved with an early owner’s name along the back of the blade, its coarse teeth suggest this is a rip saw, mean to quickly cut down the length of board along its grain. The extremely worn handle suggests decades of hard use.
InscribedThe owners name "MICKEL HEDGES" is engraved in script on the right side of the blade near its back.
MarkingsAn illegile maker's mark, staring with a "W," appears on the blade below the owner's name.
ProvenancePhilip Walker Collection. Purchased for Colonial Williamsburg by Don & Anne Wing of The Mechanick's Workbench, from the David Stanley Auction, Leicestershire, England, September 27, 1997. Lot 504.