Loos brynsåg

About the museum

Slate has been quarried in the area of the village of Ryggskog, west of Los, since the mid-19th century. The slate is dense and very fine-grained and has particularly good whetstone properties. At first whetstones were made by hand for household needs, and hand sawing continued for a long time even after demand had grown and production for sale had begun.

In the 1880s Hans Gustav Borg built the first water-powered whetstone saw at Österhocklan, a tributary of the Voxnan. In the 1930s the planing was also driven by water power. In 1940 Herman Borg built the present whetstone saw, and the machinery, with its planing bench and saw, has been preserved. Loos whetstones were sawn here until the 1960s. Afterwards more saws were built, and in the mid-1970s a whetstone factory moved to Rävmyra, where sawing is done electrically.

The whetstone saw in Los has been managed since 2017 by Loosgrufvans förening, which also runs the Loos cobalt mine. During the visit, which takes about 50 minutes, visitors learn how the saw works and how the whetstones were made. Loos whetstones are still made and are sold, among other places, in the mine’s souvenir shop.

Highlights

• Sweden’s only water-powered whetstone saw
• Preserved machinery with saw and planing bench from 1940
• Guided tour of how Loos whetstones were made

Permanent exhibition

• Guidad visning av brynsågen – Demonstration of Sweden’s only water-powered whetstone saw and the story of how Loos whetstones were made.

Operated by

Loosgrufvans förening

Admission & discounts

Prices per person for a guided tour of the whetstone saw (about 50 minutes).

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The whetstone saw is about 5 km north of Los.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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