Although this saw is marked with the date of Jan 9, 1906, the original patent, #607,107, was granted on July 12, 1898. The patentee, Fred Wuest of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, assigned the patent to the George H. Bishop Saw Co., of the same location. Bishop was in business in Cincinnati, Ohio, from about 1882 to 1899, then moved to Lawrenceburg. Operations ceased in about 1920. This type of saw is commonly known as the Bishop's patent backsaw.

The patent papers state that the moveable bar allowed for an accurate gauge to cut repeatable tenons or gains. The papers also suggested that a different pitch could be filed on either side of the blade to give a fine or coarse cut. However, the real patentable claims were the unique slotting arrangement of the handle and locking mechanism, and the detent bar inserted at the end of the movable gauge, which engaged the blade and gave a positive lock for the depth control. The teeth on the end of the saw blade were never intended to be used in a woodcutting situation. They were used to engage the special detent device at the end of the bar.