✅ SOLVED Civil War sawbones?

[CSA2K]

Found this today at a Federal camp I've been mining for a couple years. The tip is broken off and its rusted pretty bad but IT SURE LOOKS LIKE a surgical saw. If it is, its by far the most macabre relic I've ever recovered. I get the willies holding it.

Opinions?

 

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[Broken knee]

It looks like a badly rusted scythe blade. HH BK

 

[CSA2K]

It looks like a badly rusted scythe blade. HH BK

Its not curved and the blade and the frame are def two separate parts

 

[mirage83]

Can't find an exact match online, but the general lines of the saw strongly resemble several of the CW era bone saws that I did find.

 

[CSA2K]

It looks like a badly rusted scythe blade. HH BK

Your handle is spot on though. And I can't see any serration on the blade but its so badly rusted

 

[CSA2K]

Can't find an exact match online, but the general lines of the saw strongly resemble several of the CW era bone saws that I did find.

Exactly. I've never actually looked before but I never realized there were so many variations

 

[nhbenz]

Size?

 

[CSA2K]

I'm searching antique scythes and I think BK nailed it. The separation I see is prob a crack thats traveled the length of the blade. Thanks man!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

In the photo, your saw seems to have a VERY thick, VERY wide, square-edged "reinforcing bar" running along the top of its blade. That would tend to exclude it from being a Surgical/Amputation saw. I should mention, actual Surgical/Amputation saws do have a "reinforcing rod" (called a spine) atop the blade... but I've never seen Surgeon's saw that had a square-edged extra-wide flat spine like is on your saw. As I indicated above, a Surgical saw's spine is typically shaped like a cylindrical rod. Perhaps I should mention while we're on the subject: We frequently see saws being advertised on Ebay as "civil war Surgical/Amputation saws. But they lack a reinforcing spine, which is crucially needed to prevent the blade from flexing/wavering during cutting during the surgery/amputation. The photo below shows one of the false "civil war amputation saws." In actuality, it is a butcher's combination saw-knife. Some are marked "US" because they were issued to the army's Quartermaster Department to butcher cattle and hogs for the soldiers' Mess. To see examples, go to the following webpage (LOTS of good information there), and scroll down to the bottom of the page. ALEX PECK MEDICAL COLLECTING ALERTS, P. 1

 

[mirage83]

Good info CBG, as always.