This saw was sold by Witte Hardware which operated in St. Louis, MO from 1848 to 1975 and was one of the several large hardware firms in that city.
This saw has a faint but readable etch that states "London Spring Steel" and "Witte IXL", which was one of the company's trademarks. The plate is in good condition. It is straight and nearly full sized, with a fully evident nib. The beech handle has some wear and a small chip from the top horn, but is otherwise solid.
Interestingly, the brass fasteners are marked with the Munger patent date of December 21, 1869, yet have the later slotted nuts. The Munger patent is for the means of construction of the head of the screw portion. The dimensions of the screw with their thin shafts are most closely related to the Disston "Centennial" screw design of 1876. One of these delicate screws was missing from this saw, so a replica was fabricated from brass and artificially aged to match the others.
The 8ppi crosscut teeth have been freshly sharpened:
Tooth Type: crosscut
Rake Angle: 15º
Fleam Angle: 20º
Slope Angle: 0º
Tooth Set: 0.010"
