Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · 1840–1955 as a family firm; Disston saws made into the 1990s

Disston hand tools

Henry Disston came to Philadelphia from England in 1833, aged 14, and apprenticed with a saw maker. When that shop failed in 1840 he took its tools and materials in place of the wages he was owed and started his own business. In 1855 he began making his own steel, so when the 1861 Morrill Tariff choked off imported steel, rivals who bought from England couldn't keep up. From 1872 the works moved to Tacony in northeast Philadelphia, where the works eventually covered 300 acres. By 1900 Disston made more saws than anyone in the world, and Time reported in 1940 that three of every four handsaws sold in the US were Disstons. The family sold the company to H. K. Porter in 1955. Porter cut the range and had moved production to Danville, Virginia by the late 1950s, and the Disstonian Institute says quality fell right away.

5 models we cover.

How to spot one in the photos

A brass medallion in the handle carries the name and, from the late 1860s, a keystone, and it's the best guide to age. H. DISSTON & SONS PHILADA means 1917 or earlier, DISSTON PHILA means 1917–1940, and DISSTON U.S.A. means 1940 or later. Hand saws are etched mid-blade from about 1865, and the points per inch are stamped near the heel. Saws branded Keystone are Disston's lower-priced line, and Warranted Superior medallions turn up on secondary lines from Disston and other makers.