Forget Nibs, the Real underbelly Mystery of old Saws is...

[Admiral]

End of story means that is all the mental horsepower I am about to expend thinking about a saw nib  

I've always heard, and believed, that this was a vestige of English saws, and that it was decorative.  One can always watch then end of the saw whilst sawing to gauge the stroke.  But still, an interesting theory.....

[Bill_Houghton]

No, no, no, the nib is an astronomical device.  If you take the saw outdoors at night, hold the handle against your shoulder, and look up while sighting along the length of the blade, just past the nib...you'll see stars.

Unless it's overcast, or you're in the middle of a blizzard/hurricane/rainstorm, or the smog or smoke from wildfires is particularly thick.

Or you live in New York City, Chicago, or other cities in which the stars haven't been visible for 50 years.

Also, of course, doesn't apply to blind sawyers.

As to the end-of-stroke theory: as you gain experience in sawing, one of the subtle body mechanics lessons is that your body figures out how far back you can pull the saw. Nib's not necessary. And, if it was, why do you find it on straight-back saws but not skew-back saws? Interesting theory, but I'm not convinced the evidence is there.

[AHill]

The same reason that the backs of furniture are left rough, you don't see it and it doesn't matter.  Saws were a high volume production item and they only paid attention to what mattered.  Nowadays, when you pay $200 or more for a newly manufactured handsaw, you expect perfection.

If $200 buys perfection, I've been swindled many, many times.

[Admiral]

If $200 buys perfection, I've been swindled many, many times.

Well, I guess perfection is in the eyes of the beholder.  Really, it comes down to how it was sharpened.  Fit and finish are important, but spring steel is spring steel.....

[Timberwolf]

Well, I guess perfection is in the eyes of the beholder.  Really, it comes down to how it was sharpened.  Fit and finish are important, but spring steel is spring steel.....

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Bingo..............and it has to be soft enough to be sharpened with a file...which means it will require sharpening with much use. It's a trade-off........

[Tony Z]

The nib is there for scratching your back! If you try using the toothed side, your back will look like you tangled with a rabid bobcat.