well, like the title says.... do you know what it is? we found it in the garage and have no clue what it is called or what it is for.

 

also on the inside of the handle says "stanley n.42" "made in usa"

 

It's a saw blade set tool. All saw blade teeth have a "set". This is the alternating sideways kick of the teeth that form the dead space ("kerf") when the blade passes through the work. When sharpening a blade, this tool is used to check and establish proper 'set' in the teeth.

 

An educated guess would be a tool to adjust saw blade.

Someone was faster than me..

 

wow that was quick!! did my job for today, learned something new.... thanks!!

 

Shanajustin is exactly right saw set.

 

I have one of those, they are to set the pitch on a saw blade teeth,
My grandfather used to have a custom woodworking shop in the 30's,40's and 50's and they used to sharpen and reset the pitch on the teeth of the saw blades.

I still remember the huge circular saws some of which were powered from flat belts from shafts across the ceiling and the sawdust collectors with occasional hopper explosions.
Jim

 

Its a saw set apparently pretty rare. Here's a link http://www.antique-used-tools.com/misc_othersta.htm

 

thats pretty cool. never thought they would be worth much. no box or instructions though, it will get used. i thought i'd try and see if i could teach my g-pa something.... not a chance, he knew what it was and showed me how to use it. he has quite a few old blades around and wow did it ever make a difference. didnt sharpen the blade just set the pitch and it cut like butter!

 

saw tooth set I have one some where in my tool boxes