Antique Saw Vise

So I was out at the antique stores this morning looking for some over priced rusted junk, when low and behold I stumbled across a marvelous find beneath a pile of old cobbler's shoe forms.

An Unique Old Saw Vise

It is an old saw vise unlike any that I have run across. When I saw the price tag for $12 I couldn't give the shop keeper my money fast enough. This was a steal and a half (as far as my skewed mind is concerned) and the shop keeper didn't even know what it was. "I have had that for almost three years now, I didn't think I would ever sell it," she said as she rang me out.

You can see the cam lever released, which opens the jaws of the vise.

So lets start with what I do know. It has a very simple mechanism, a cam actuated lever that closes the jaws, and the entire vise has only three parts, the front jaw, the rear jaw and the cam lever. The vise is just under 10", which is great for my dovetail saw, but a little on the small side for my Sash and Panel saws, but I figure I can sharpen all of my saws with only one re-clamping.

The Japanning is about 50% intact, so I will probably hit it with a wire brush and give it a nice new coat of paint. The top of the jaws has definitely had its run-ins with saw files over the years, but this only adds to the charm of the tool. Finally, and probably my favorite part, there are four mounting holes cast into the body of the rear jaw. This mounting system seems to be a lot sturdier than the clamp style ones that I have run across so often at the flea market.

A rigid mounting system.

There is a makers mark cast into the body under the jaws...but it is rusted over and filled with gunk so it is hard to read. As far as I can tell it reads "STBARRE PAT'D" but my attempts at online research have come up empty handed. After I clean and refinish this vise I might be able to get a better reading of the cast name.

Anyways, I will be spending some time cleaning, oiling, and refurbishing this vise, so follow my blog to stay updated on my progress for this and other projects. Post your comments if you have seen a vise like this, or even better, know when and where this specific model originated.