1010 CUTLERY 



They are generally bade of cast steel. The rods, as they como from the tilt, are 

 about 4 inch broad, and of a thickness sufficient for the back of a razor. 



There is nothing peculiar in the tools made use of in forging razors ; the anvil is 

 a little rounded at the sides, which affords tho opportunity of making the edge thinner, 

 and saves an immense labour to tho grinder. 



Razors are hardened and tempered in a similar manner to penknives. They are, 

 however, left harder, being only let down to yellow or brown colour. 



The forging of scissors is wholly performed by the hammer, and all the sizes are 

 made by a single hand. The anvil of the scissor-maker weighs about ! cwt. ; it 

 measures, on the face, about 4 by 11 inches. It is provided with two gates or grooves 

 tor the reception of various little indented tools termed by the workmen bosses : one 

 of these bosses is employed to give proper ligure to the shank of the scissors ; 

 another for forming that part which has to make the joint; and a third is made use of 

 for giving a proper figure to the upper side of the blade. There is also another anvil 

 placed on the same block, containing two or three tools called beak-irons, each con- 

 sisting of an upright stem about 6 inches high, at the top of which a horizontal beak 

 projects ; one of these beaks is conical, and is used for extending the bow of the 

 scissors ; the other is a segment of a cylinder with the round side upwards, containing 

 a recess for giving a proper shape and smoothness to the inside of the bow. 



The shank of the scissors is first formed by means of one of the bosses, above de- 

 scribed, leaving as much steel at tho end as will form the blade. A hole is then 

 punched about inch in width, a little above tho shank. The blade is drawn out and 

 finished, and the scissors separated from the rod a little above the hole. It is heated 

 a third time, and tho small hole above mentioned is extended upon the beak-irons so 

 as to form the bow. This finishes the forging of scissors. They are promiscuously 

 made in this way, without any other guide than the eye, having no regard to their 

 being in pairs. They are next annealed for the purpose of filling such parts of them 

 as cannot be ground, and afterwards paired. 



The very large scissors are made partly of iron, the blades being of steel. 



After the forging, the bow and joints, and such shanks as cannot be ground, are 

 filed. The rivet hole is then bored, through which they are to be screwed or riveted 

 together. This common kind of scissors is only hardened up to the joint. They are 

 tempered down to a purple or blue colour. In this state they are taken to the grinder. 



Grinding and polishing of cutlery. The various processes which come under this 

 denomination are performed by machinery, moving in general by the power of tho 

 steam-engine or water-wheel. 



Grinding wheels or grinding mills are divided into a number of separate rooms ; 

 each room contains six places called troughs ; each trough consists of a convenience 

 for running a grindstone and a polisher at the same time, which is generally occupied 

 by a man and a boy. 



The business of tho grinder is generally divided into three stages, viz., grinding, 

 glazing, and polishing. 



Tho grinding is performed upon stones of various qualities and sizes, depending on 

 the articles to be ground. Those exposing much flat surface, such as saws, fenders, 

 &c., require stones of great diameter, while raisors, whose surface is concave, require 

 to be ground upon stones of very small dimensions. Those articles which require a 

 certain temper, which is the case with most cutting instruments, are mostly ground on 

 a wet stone ; for which purpose the stone hangs within the iron trough, filled with 

 water to such a height that its surface may just touch the face of the stone. 



Glazing is a process following that of grinding : it consists in giving that degree of 

 lustre and smoothness to an article which can bo effected by means of emery of 

 various degrees of fineness. The tool on which the glazing is performed, is termed a 

 glazer. It consists of a circular piece of wood, formed of a number of pieces in such 

 a manner that its edge or face may always present the endway of the wood. Were ifc 

 made otherwise, the contraction of the parts would destroy its circular figure. It is 

 fixed upon an iron axis similar to that of the stone. Some glazers are covered on tho 

 face with leather, others with metal, consisting of an alloy of lead and tin ; the latter 

 are termed caps. In others, the wooden surface above is made use of. Some of tho 

 leather-faced glazers, such as are used for forks, table knives, edge tools, and all the 

 coarser polished articles, are first coated with a solution of glue, and then covered 

 with emery. The surfaces of tho others are prepared for use by first turning the face 

 very true, then filling it with small notches by means of a sharp-ended hammer, and 

 lastly filling up the interstices with a compound of tallow and emery. 



The pulley of tho glazier is so much less than that of the stone, that its velocity is 

 more than double, having in general a surface speed of 1,500 feet in a second. 



The process of polishing consists in giving tho most perfect polish to the different 



