Welcome to Blackburn Tools

Updated: 12:15 PM 7/6/2025

Most of this section is directly from Blackburn Tools. I didn't ask them for permission to use it but I do reccomend that everyone visit their site as they do update it as needed. I Eric Hamilton have made comments here in this font.

I was first seduced by the sweet siren song of my great-grandfather's Stanley No. 8 jointer plane persnicketing thru hard maple. Lured further by the graceful lines of hundred year old brass, rusty steel, and tropical hardwoods, I fell headfirst down the old tool rabbit hole and haven't yet surfaced.

After a dozen years of nearly unrestrained acquisition, a lack of space pushed me to begin selling tools at local tool meetings and online. Somewhere along the line, I made my first backsaw, and discovered that I enjoyed making tools just as much as using them. On these pages, you will find some of the tools that spring from that passion.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I call this little experiment Blackburn Tools, it's fairly mundane: Blackburn is a family name.

I reccomend a visit to the original Blackburn Tools web site. He has more there that I have included here and updates his site on a regular secduale.

Saw sharpening basics by Blackburn Tools
Over the years I've taught a few saw sharpening classes. In that time, I've developed a guide to use as a handout in those classes. While there is no substitute for the hands-on instruction of a class, these notes cover the equipment, theory, and technique needed to start learning - with a little perserverance and thought, saw sharpening competence is quite attainable.
Saw tooth geometry
Understanding saw geometry makes saw sharpening easier and more predictable. Although the geometry of saw teeth is more complex than that of planes or chisels, the basic elements are easily understood when they are examined individually. This article looks at these elements.
Practical cross cut saw tooth angles
When filing cross cut saw teeth, the rake, fleam, and point slope angles of the teeth are not the same as the rake, fleam, and slope angles that the file is held at. The relationship between these angles is complex and difficult to calculate. This article presents a range of practical tooth angles and the file angles needed to achieve them. Presented in tabular form.
Saw tooth spacing templates
If you are filing new teeth into a saw, these printable templates help ensure even and accurate spacing. Pdf files drawn to scale, covering saws from 3 1/2 to 17 points per inch (ppi). For backsaws and handsaws. Includes progressive pitch teeth.

The Rose Tools Scanned Catalog Archives as hosted by Black Burn Tools

I copied this data from the Blackburn tools web site and these items are also hosted here. The date fields are when I downloaded the .PDF. It is not when the original document was scanned in.

Rose Tools put an extraordinary amount of time and effort into scanning the catalogs amassed here. While the website hosting this resource has been taken down, Rose Tools has given permision to host them here. Donna Rose Allen still maintains an active website devoted to quality new and old tools. A big thanks goes out to Mark Stansbury of FoleyFiler.blogspot for doing the heavy work in saving these catalogs.

The catalogs are grouped in alphabetical order, by company name. When known, the catalogs from each company are listed in chronological order. When known, the date of publication is given in parentheses after the title.

ALL CATALOGS BEARING THE ROSE TOOLS WATERMARK ARE HOSTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF ROSE TOOLS. A huge thanks goes out to Mark Stansbury of FoleyFiler.blogspot for doing the heavy work in saving these catalogs, and to Donna Rose for making the scans available. (I did not have any correspondence with Rose Tools and have sssumed that copying these files from Blackburn Tools is acceptable.)

Mark has also taken the time to amass and post an impressive collection of catalogs and tool related scans over at Internet Archive. It's truly an impressive resource.

Catalogs submitted by readers are marked with an asterisk (*). If anyone has scanned catalogs that they would like hosted, please contact me. I have been helped immensely in the past by having access to online resources, and would like to pass on what I can. (I too am trying to make this type of information as easiely accesable as poissiable.)