This Disston D-43 came out of Pete Taran's personal collection. It's a WWII-era Victory saw — the etch carries the Morse code for "V" under the Victory name, a detail Disston added when Churchill's V-for-Victory symbol came into fashion. Even though Disston reportedly used Walnut for Victory saws during this era, this is definitely a Rosewood handle. It's 26 inches, rip filed, and in excellent condition throughout.
At a glance
| Maker | Disston |
| Model | D-43 |
| Approximate era | WWII, ca. 1942–1943 |
| Length | 26 inches |
| Plate | 1-5/8" at the toe, 6-1/2" at the heel, straight-back |
| Points per inch | 7 at the toe, 5½ at the heel, rip |
| Handle | Rosewood |
| Medallion | "Disston U.S.A." keystone, ca. 1940–1947 |
| Etch | Excellent — full Victory etch with Morse code "V" |
| Sharpened by Aaron | Yes — ready to cut |
What I did to it
- Disassembled and inspected. Every part came off the saw and was checked before cleaning.
- Cleaned to preserve character. Handle and hardware were cleaned in a way that keeps the saw's age visible — no over-polishing.
- Plate cleaned. Cleaned properly while preserving the etch.
- Jointed and shaped. Toothline jointed and refiled for rip work.
- Sharpened to 5° rake, 0° fleam. Standard general-use rip geometry.
- Set. Minimum set applied — just enough to let the plate glide in the kerf without binding.
Honest condition
Excellent condition overall. The plate is clean — no pitting, no rust. The handle has no chips or cracks, just some minor wear consistent with its age.
About Disston
Henry Disston founded the company in Philadelphia in 1840, and by the late 1800s Disston was the largest saw maker in the world. The D-43 is a wartime saw — it never appeared in a regular Disston catalog and was likely a stand-in for the D-15 while WWII disrupted normal production. According to the Disstonian Institute, D-42 and D-43 saws used steel hardware in place of the usual nickel-plated brass, another wartime substitution. A genuinely uncommon variant, made only for a couple of years during the war.
Who this saw is for
A collector or woodworker who wants a genuinely uncommon wartime Disston with real history behind it — a saw made for barely two years, never catalogued, with a rosewood handle and the Morse code Victory etch to prove where it came from.
Questions about this saw? Email me at aaron@benchandchisel.com — I answer them all.
— Aaron, Bench & Chisel