Heritage Auctions/Alexander Gardner Items

[L Verge]

I just posted this on Dave's site, and now I'm posting it here:

After first seeing the auction catalogue and the unusual "coin" of wood, I have a question about how they were cut in the days before handheld circular saws (invented in the 1920s to harvest sugar cane). Can anyone tell if the cut marks are consistent with an old handsaw? Sawmills had circular saws by the mid-19th century, but I can't imagine the crutch would have been cut that way -- unless the Navy Yard had something...?

Inquiring minds want to know!