I have an old saw in my daily tool kit that is from the Golden Age of saw making. Long before the introduction of the awful orange plastic handles. Prior to the disposable hardened point teeth that cannot be sharpened, quality manufacturers focused on making the best possible products they could, as their reputation meant everything. My old saw is a Disston No. 7 which dates around 1900 to 1910. Around the medallion are the faint remains of the original sticker. The sticker reads “Years Of Competition Against All Kinds Of Prejudice Has Proved – THIS SAW – To Be Superior To Any Other Manufacture. Thousands Testify To This Fact.”
I love the fearless optimism and self-proclamation made by Henry Disston. Like Muhammad Ali said, “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up,” and they did.
In this spirit, The Smithery is set on being “Superior To Any Other”. We are not focused on being the biggest or the cheapest, just “Superior”. We are just working away to get the “Thousands to Testify”, one job/customer at a time.
