Wood Shop

I Knew There Was One Out There

In a past post I asked if anyone had a vintage tool made by H. E. Mitchell. I mentioned that I would be either willing to buy it, but if it wasnt for sale, I would be grateful for a photograph of it. Someone was kind enough to follow through with that request.

I woke up a few weeks ago to find the following two images in my InBox...


The sender didnt include his or her name, nor was there any text at all accompanying the images. Just the photographs.

After a quick look I knew this saw was made by ol Henry, so I quickly replied with a "thank you" and asked if it was for sale. I didnt receive a response, which was disappointing, but at least I now have an image of an elusive saw made by H. E. Mitchell.

This is huge for me - really huge.

In all the years I have been searching for H. E. Mitchell tools, I have never seen a saw of his, even though he stated in all his advertising that he was just a "saw maker". I saw an outdated listing for one that sold in an auction back in 2005, but it didnt include a picture of it. All this time I had no evidence that the man ever made one. Then these showed up. Wow.

The makers stamp on the saw dates it from 1865 or 1866. I say this for two reasons. First, it has the "Eastbourne" address and ol Henry only worked out of Eastbourne from 1865 until he went bankrupt in February of 1868. He then moved to North Road in Brighton and started again. The other reason for dating it from these two years is that the stamp only says, "Mitchell". Henry realized that his stamp could be confused with other tool makers named Mitchell so in the later half of 1866, he added the "H. E." to it.

Whoever sent me these photos, I thank you very much. You really made my day - week - month. I may not have the actual saw, but at least I have photos of one to show that the man actually made them.

Thank you.

Peace,

Mitchell