Google says it’s a vestigial ornament to represent a handle from when steel quality was poor.
That is all saws used to have two handles because of poor steel quality. The nib was where the front handle would attach. Later the front handle wasn’t needed but the nib remained and was later shrunk.
A toolmaker could put a nib and still have bad quality teeth. Doesn’t seem like you would judge quality by the nib.
Nib only exists to prove your saw maker was a competent professional
Google says it’s a vestigial ornament to represent a handle from when steel quality was poor.
That is all saws used to have two handles because of poor steel quality. The nib was where the front handle would attach. Later the front handle wasn’t needed but the nib remained and was later shrunk.
A toolmaker could put a nib and still have bad quality teeth. Doesn’t seem like you would judge quality by the nib.