THE CRAFTS 
WOOD CARVING AND PYROGRAPHY. LEATHER AND METAL. BASKETRY, ETC. 
Under the management of Miss Emily Peacock, Room 2j, 22 East i6th St., New York. All inquiries in regard to the various 
Crafts are to be sent to the above address, but will be anszvered in the magazine under this head. 
All questions must he received before the 10th day of month preceding issue and will be answered under "Answers to Inquiries" only. Please do not send stamped 
envelope for reply. The editors will answer questions only in these columns. 
PAPER KNIFE— MRS. HUGO FROEHLICH 
THE MAKING OF A METAL PAPER KNIFE 
Emily F. Peacock. 
GENERALLY the first step in almost all work in 
metal is to anneal the metal by making it red-hot 
with a blow-pipe; the second, to clean it from the effects 
of the fire, by putting it in a hot pickle made of one part 
sulphuric acid to twelve of water. This pickle must be 
made in a porcelain dish and kept hot by placing the dish 
in a pan of water, and keeping that at boiling point; the 
third to see that the metal is perfectly flat. If it is not it 
can be made flat by hammering it on a steel block, or on 
hard wood, with a wooden hammer. A metal hammer is 
apt to make hammer marks, hard to erase, and it also 
stretches the metal. 
But metal for a paper knife should not be annealed 
unless it is very hard and heavy. Then it can be hardened 
after sawing out, by hammering with a steel hammer on 
a steel block. 
i^^ 
Fi 
f 2- 
Draw or trace the design on the metal and scratch it 
in with a steel point. Wash off the pencil marks and cut 
out the paper knife along the outer edge with a metal saw. 
See that the teeth of the saw point down, when it is put in 
the frame, and that the saw is taut. Hold the 'metal 
firmly in a horizontal position when sawing, use oil or bees- 
wax on the saw and hold the frame vertically, as in Fig. 2. 
Bevel the edges of the blade with a file until they are sharp 
enough to cut paper, and finish with emery cloth. If a 
design is to be pierced, start a hole with a steel punch in 
each space, and drill through. Put the saw in the drilled 
hole and cut out carefully. These spaces can be finished 
by filing. 
There are several other ways of decorating the knife. 
A stone could be set in the handle, enamel used in the design- 
ing or the design etched. To etch the design the knife must 
be quite finished, and thoroughly cleaned with powdered 
pumice and water, then with whiting or soap and water, 
until clear water will stay over the entire surface. Dry 
well and paint in the background of the design with asphal- 
tum varnish, using a small brush. If the varnish is too 
thick, thin with a few drops of turpentine, rinsing thorough- 
ly. The painting must be done neatly and carefully, taking 
care to have the edges very even, as the etching will follow 
the line of the asphaltum exactly. 
Paint over the blade and back of the knife, covering 
every part except the design. If there are any brown spots 
or streaks, cover again with asphaltum. When this cov- 
ering is thoroughly dry, make a bath of nitric acid, one 
part, and water, two parts, in a glass or porcelain dish. 
Put the knife in, and if all conditions are good, fine bubbles 
will soon rise from the exposed metal. The bubbles should 
be clear at first, then a slight green cloud appears. If the 
bubbles are large and come rapidly, so as to give a very 
cloudy effect the bath is too strong. Etching on copper 
takes from twenty minutes to three hours. Weather con- 
ditions affect the bath. In hot weather the bath is more 
rapid, and vice versa. When the exposed metal is etched 
deep enough, take the knife out of the bath with a piece of 
wood and wash it in water. Heat with a flame, when the as- 
phaltum can be easily removed with a rag which has been 
dipped into turpentine or kerosene. Wash in soap and 
water and dry. If there are any uneven edges from the 
etching, file them down with a riffle file. Polish with fine 
crocus paper or tripoli, and oxidize with chloride of anti- 
mony to give a soft tone to the copper. Put on the antimony 
with a small swab, work quickly and evenly; when this is 
dry rub gently with very fine tripoli and oil, or rouge and 
oil. The paper knife, Illus. No. i, designed and executed 
by Mrs. Hugo Froehlich, is pierced and etched. 
RUG MAKING 
Ueleyi R. Albee. 
BURLAP. — For a foundation of a rug I use the best 
quality of burlap of heavy close weave, upon which 
a design is stamped by scrubbing a diluted solution of com- 
mon blueing through a stenciled pattern with a stout nail 
brush. Care should be taken to leave a margin of two or 
three inches of burlap beyond the pattern after it is stamped, 
for this edge is turned under on the wrong side for a hem 
when a rug is finished. 
Stencils. — The best material of which to make a 
durable stencil is common red press-board of light weight. 
A quarter of the pattern is drawn full size upon paper and 
