CUTLERY. 



said to have been effected by blending 

 alternate portions of iron and steel in 

 such a manner, that the softness and te- 

 nacity of the former could prevent the 

 breaking of the latter. 



The Germans, it appears, were ac- 

 quainted with the art of making various 

 cutlery, previous to such manufacture 

 being known in this country. The steel 

 employed for cutlery in Germany is im- 

 mediately made from the crude iron into 

 bars, without requiring afterwards to be 

 converted. It is generally of great tena- 

 city, but does not take a good polish, and 

 in consequence has been long supersed- 

 ed by the artificial steel of this country, 

 made from the bar-iron of Sweden and 

 Russia. 



All those articles of cutlery which do 

 not require a fine polish, and are of low 

 price, are made from blistered steel. 

 Those articles which require the edge to 

 possess great tenacity, at the same time 

 that superior hardness is not required, 

 are made from sheer-steel. The finer 

 kinds of cutlery are made from steel 

 which has been in a state of fusion, and 

 which is termed cast-steel, no other kinds 

 being susceptible of a fine polish. See 

 the article STEEL. 



Table Knives are mostly made of sheer- 

 steel, the tang and shoulder, or bolster, 

 being of iron, the blade part being at- 

 tached by giving them a welding heat. 

 The knives after forging are hardened by 

 heating them red hot and plunging them 

 into water ; they are afterwards heated 

 over the fire till they become blue ; they 

 are then ground upon stones of large 

 diameter, for the purpose of making their 

 sides flat, since it is the disposition of 

 small stones to make the sides concave. 

 The blades are finished upon an instru- 

 ment called a glazor, which consists of a 

 circular piece of wood covered with 

 leather, and coated with glue and emery. 

 The handles of table knives are made of 

 ivory, plassed horn, bone, stag horn, 

 and wood, into which the blades are 

 cemented with resin and pulverized 

 brick : and for ivory, instead of the latter, 

 whitening. 



Forks are made almost altogether by 

 the aid of the stamp and appropriate 

 dies. The prongs only are hardened and 

 tempered, by a method similar to that 

 employed for the knives, being required 

 of about the same degree of hardness. 



The shank and bosom of the fork are 

 ground upon a thin stone, which is round 

 upon the face ; it is of very rough and 

 open texture, and is employed in the dry 

 state. The prongs are ground upon a 



stone, which is broad and flat upon the 

 face ; they are finished upon glazors 

 coated with emery and glue ; the insides 

 of the prongs are dressed by means of a 

 thin leathern strap, coated with glue and 

 emery ; for this purpose the fork is plac- 

 ed in an horizontal position, and the strap 

 drawn backward and forward. Silver 

 forks are a distinct branch of manufac- 

 ture, being confined to the silversmiths : 

 they are cast into moulds of fine sand, 

 and finished in a manner similar to that 

 of other silver goods. 



Razors. Almost all razors are made of 

 cast steel, the quality of which should be 

 very good, the edge of a razor requiring 

 the combined advantages of great hard- 

 ness and tenacity. After the razor blade 

 is forged, it is hardened, by gradually 

 heating it to bright red heat, and plung- 

 ing it into cold water. It is tempered, by 

 heating it afterwards till a brightened 

 part appears of a straw colour. Though 

 this is generally performed by placing 

 them upon the open fire, it would be 

 more equally effected by sand, or what 

 is still better, in hot oil, or fusible mix- 

 ture, consisting of eight parts of bismuth, 

 five of lead, and three of tin ; a ther- 

 mometer being placed in the liquid at 

 the time the razors are immersed, for the 

 purpose of indicating the proper tempe- 

 rature, which is about 500 of Fahrenheit. 

 Razors are ground crosswise upon stones, 

 from four to seven inches in diameter, a 

 small stone being necessary to make the 

 sides concave. Razors, having the con- 

 cave form, have been thought to shave 

 with more facility ; but if it be remarked 

 that the canal formed by honing the ra- 

 zors is a portion of a wedge, the length 

 of which is equal to the breadth of the 

 razor, and of a thickness equal to that of 

 the back, it will be readily seen that the 

 concave form cannot possess any other 

 advantage, than that of saving time in 

 sharpening the razor, owing to the small 

 surface exposed to the action of the hone 

 or the strap. After the razor has been 

 ground into its proper shape, it is finish- 

 ed by two processes, one culled laping, 

 or glazing, and the other polishing. The 

 lap, or glazor, is formed of wood, faced 

 with an alloy of lead and tin ; after its 

 face is turned to the proper form and 

 size, it is filled with notches, which are 

 filled up with emery and tallow. This 

 instrument gives to the razor a smooth 

 and uniform surface, and consequently a 

 fine edge. The last process is that of 

 polishing; the polisher consists of a piece 

 of circular wood running upon an axis, 

 like that of the stone or the glazor. It is 



