Small Saw Mystery

Bone Saw.

I was thinking Jewlers saw, but it would have a finer blade. I suppose you could put any kind of blade in it to cut whatever you want, Glass to fish bones. It woud look nice in my shop!

"I was thinking Jewlers saw, but it would have a finer blade. I suppose you could put any kind of blade in it to cut whatever you want, Glass to fish bones."

Ordinary jeweler's saw blades are much longer, thinner, narrower, have FAR finer teeth, and have no pins. I have no idea of where you'd find other blades for this - I've never seen anything else with blades of similar length, width, or manufacturing method. My saw collection ranges from this tiny one to a two-man, 11 horsepower, Kiekhaefer-Mercury chain saw.

I had thought that this might have been a surgical saw of some kind, but the severely limited blade length and throat depth would limit it to objects under a half-inch diameter, and the teeth are relatively crude, just stamped with burred edges instead of being sharpened. At the same time, the handle and frame are well made and nicely finished, unlike the blade. I've searched under surgical saw and several other classifications without finding anything similar.

GA! Thank you! I hadn't done a lot of searching under dental instruments - nor would I have known what to call it for that search. The example shown is clearly quite similar to mine. I wonder if standard blades were available to fit saws from multiple sources . . .

I should take it along to my dentist for this afternoon's appointment, and see if she recognizes it.

It is a dentists tool (hacksaw) for separating teeth. Probably late 19th century, or if the handle is Bakelite then early 20th.

What does a dentist do when he or she "separates teeth"? Separates them from what? Each other, the gum line, in half?

"Separates them from what?" you ask.

Your head...

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" 'Separates them from what?' you ask.

Your head... "

That makes no sense. The blade is broad enough that it can basically cut only straight lines. Once slipped down between two adjacent teeth you'd be limited to a very shallow cut into the gum, if any, and then the frame would stop progress. Unlike a common hacksaw, the blade cannot be rotated around its own long axis to cut in a different plane. Perhaps it was used simply to widen the space between too-close-together teeth; then the limited depth of cut is an advantage (because it becomes difficult or impossible to go deeper and seriously damage the gums). Think of it as a SERIOUSLY solid floss-pick!

I've got some teeth which are too close together: I keep breaking floss when I try to force it in or out. Separating them with such a device would make a lot of sense, but, it's OK: I won't ask to borrow it on this occasion.

Sound like a less than desirable procedure... I think I'll pass on this one.

Makes me think of the movie the Dentist