C. Disston of Philadelphia Marked Civil War Period Butcher’s Saw and US HD (Hospital Department) Marked Amputation Saw

C. Disston of Philadelphia Marked Civil War Period Butcher’s Saw and US HD (Hospital Department) Marked Amputation Saw – We obtained these two saws from a large collection in Virginia that was being dispersed. Although the collector believed that both saws were for medical purposes, only one is; the medical saw is stamped in the wooden handle – “ US / HD”. We presume that this stands for US Hospital Department, and that the saw was utilized at a larger, Army hospital, during the Civil War, to perform amputations of extremities; this type of saw was not included in a war period, surgeon’s kit.

The second saw has a single, knife-like handle and is marked, on the saw blade, with the following:

“H&C DISSTON

PHILADA”

This saw is a Civil War period butcher’s saw manufactured by the Henry Disston Company. Disston Saw Works, an American company owned by Henry Disston,  manufactured handsaws during the mid-19th to early 20th century in the Tacony neighborhood of Philadelphia. The company was initially named Keystone Saw Works and then Henry Disston & Sons, Inc.

Henry Disston (1819–1878) began his career as an American saw maker in Philadelphia. He had emigrated from England in 1833 and started making saws and squares in 1840. In 1850, he founded the company that would become the largest saw maker in the world, the Keystone Saw Works. Some five years later, Disston built a furnace—perhaps the first melting plant for steel in America—and began producing the first crucible saw steel ever made in the United States. While his competitors were buying good steel from Britain, he was making his own, to his own specifications, for his own needs. Disston subsequently constructed a special rolling mill exclusively for saw blades. Over the following decade, the Disston company continued to grow, even while dedicating itself to the Union Army’s war effort. In 1865, when his son Hamilton Disston rejoined the business after serving in the Civil War, Disston changed the company’s name to Henry Disston & Son. Henry Disston and his sons set the standards for American saw makers, both in terms of producing high-quality saws and developing innovative manufacturing techniques. Disston also started making files in 1865.

Measurements: Surgical Saw – L – 16.5”

Butcher’s Saw – L – 17.5”

PRICES:              SURGICAL SAW – $275

BUTCHER’S SAW – $165