SKILSAW Power Tools is a

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

of circular saw-cutting technology serving the professional construction market. Since 2017, SKILSAW's headquarters has been located in

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

History

SKILSAW was founded in 1924 by Edmond Michel and Joseph W. Sullivan. Originally dubbed "The Michel Electric Handsaw Company," the company was renamed to SKILSAW Incorporated in 1926 after Michel left. In 1928, the SKILSAW Model E was invented by Art Emmons. The Model E was equipped with an 8-inch blade and was the world’s first portable

circular saw A circular saw or a buzz saw, is a power-saw using a toothed or Abrasive saw, abrasive disk (mathematics), disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an Arbor (tool), arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use ...

. This saw's invention also spurred the use of worm drive gearing, a dual-field motor, and die-cast aluminum motor housing. In 1937, its successor, the SKILSAW Model 77, became the benchmark of portable saws, along with the SKILSAW Model 87 circular saws, and it continues to be used on job sites across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. During the

post-war era A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, w ...

, the company expanded and began producing bench top tools and tools for a

do-it-yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi- ...

audience. The company name was changed from SKILSAW Inc. to

SKIL Ski-like protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SKIL gene. Interactions SKIL interacts with SKI protein, Mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3 and Mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2. Protein Family SKIL belongs to t ...

Corporation in 1952. Then, in November 2014, SKIL

rebranded Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

, making SKILSAW the brand serving the professional construction market and SKIL the brand serving the consumer do-it-yourself market. Since rebranding, SKILSAW has introduced a variety of new professional-grade saws for cutting both wood and other materials commonly used on job sites. The initial product lineup following the rebrand featured SKILSAW's pro grade, Sidewinder circular saws. Additionally, their larger worm drive saw called the "SawSquatch" was the first 10-1/4-inch worm drive saw. The following year, 2016, brought three new metal cutting saws, including the first 8-inch worm drive optimized for metal, a 12-inch dry cut saw and a 14-inch abrasive chop saw. In addition to metal cutting, SKILSAW also announced a saw for

fiber cement Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorp ...

in 2015 and the first worm drive saw for

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

in 2016. Both of these saws were developed to meet new

OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

guidelines that protect workers from respirable

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

dust. The company also expanded beyond traditional circular saws with the first worm drive table saw in 2016 and two reciprocating saws in 2017.

Products

SKILSAW’s product lineup includes worm drive saws, SIDEWINDER-branded circular saws and benchtop saws for various materials including wood, metal, fiber cement and concrete. In 2017, SKILSAW expanded its product offering from circular to linear cutting with its first reciprocating saws since rebranding.

Ownership history

In 1991, the Emerson Electric Company and

Robert Bosch GmbH Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch (styled BOSCH), is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 188 ...

entered into a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

by combining their power tool subsidiaries. In 1992, the new venture came to fruition as S-B Power Tool Co. In 1996, after four years of the partnership, Robert Bosch GmbH took over complete ownership of Skil. On August 23, 2016, Chervon (HK) Ltd., a global power tool manufacturer based out of China, acquired the SKILSAW brand from Robert Bosch Tool Corporation, which gave them control over the SKIL businesses in both

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and the

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

market.

Genericised Trademark

In the United States, the term "Skilsaw" has become a genericised trademark, commonly used to refer to any handheld

, regardless of the actual brand. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the term "Skilsaw" originated in the 1920s, with the earliest evidence dating back to 1925 in the *Official Gazette*. The OED notes that "Skilsaw" is formed by compounding the words "skill" and "saw" and is primarily used in North American English. This generic usage stems from the significant impact of the original Skilsaw, which was among the first portable circular saws introduced in the 1920s. The widespread adoption of Skilsaw's design and the brand's prominence in the market led to its name becoming synonymous with handheld circular saws in general.

References

{{reflist 1924 establishments in Illinois Power tool manufacturers Companies based in Naperville, Illinois Tool manufacturing companies of the United States