Table Knives.— The process of making these is similar to that of spring knives; though the workmen employed are entirely different. The trade comprises three branches of men, forgers, grinders and cutlers, as in spring knives. The men in one line of the cutlery trade never work at any other of the sections, ie., spring knife men in any of the three branches do not work at table knives, razors or scissors in the same branch; that is to say, a blade forger in the spring knife section does not make table blades, razors or scissors. The bet ter table knives are made from shear steel, and are hand forged; this is too expensive for the greater part of the trade, so cast steel is used and forged with machines called goff hammers; cheaper blades still are filed out of sheet steel. The table knife requires a different edge from a pocket knife, which has a smooth stiff edge, but for cutti soft substances such as meat, a thin rough e e is wanted. This is only ob tained in per ection from shear steel, and though cast steel may answer fairly well for table knives, it is not satisfactory for carvers. Slfear steel is made by welding together several lengths of blister steel (i.e., iron simply con verted into steel). When these come from the converting furnace they are cut into shorter lengths about three and one-half feet long, and will be about three and one-half inches wide by one and one-half inches thick. Six of these are put together in a clamp at one end; the other end heated, worked into a bar under a steam hammer; the same is done with the other end, and the whole reduced by hammering to a bar about one and one-half inches by one inch; this is called single shear. For double shear the same bar is beat over, bringing the two ends to gether, and put through the same process of hammering again. The bars are then rolled to the sizes required for forging. The forgers work double handed, one called the striker, the other the maker. They stand opposite each other, hammering at the same blade at the same time, striking alternately, the maker holding the blade with one hand, and using a hammer in the other, the striker using a two-handed ham mer. When the maker is finishing each blade (smithing it) the striker will be hardening and tempering. In hand-forged blades, the cutting part of the blade only is made of steel; the tang (that part which goes in the handle) and the bolster (the thick part of blade where it joins the handle) are of iron, which is welded on to the steel by the forgers in process of making. The blades first being wooded (rough forged) iron for tang and bolster welded on, tanged, smithed, hardened and tempered, the table knife grinder grinds and finishes the blades right out before they are set in the haft by the cutler. After the handles are on and finished the blades are buffed again to remove scratches, and whetted on a dry, fine sandstone. In a cheaper but less effective way this whetting is done on dry grindstones.
Razors.— These are made of cast steel of fine and hard quality, but not as tough as that used for spring knives, as they are required to stand no bending strain. They are mostly hand forged, but many are now stamped in dies under power hammers, which process is found more satisfactory for razors required to be hollow ground, as they can be stamped hollow; but for flat sides, of which large quantities are made, the hand forging is more effective. The grind ing of razors is done in the same manner as of spring knives, the blade being finished (glazed or polished) and etched if required, before the fitter, called the setter-in, puts them in hafts. The hollow-grinding of razors is quite a fine art. Until a few years ago this was done on stones of various sizes down to some of not more than one-half inch in diameter. Emery wheels are now almost universally used for this purpose. Quite a variety of patent machines are now used for hollow-grinding. Razors are whetted on finer and harder stones than spring knives, and afterward stropped, wiped and done up in cases ready for use.
Scissors.— The best are hand forged, but good ones are also made from blanks stamped out of. sheets of cast steel and moulded in dies. This is becoming the general process, and, pro vided the material is good, the result gives all that is required. In large sizes of scissors only
the cutting edge is made of steel, which is welded on to iron; these are called "shot scissors? In common and cheaper qualities the blanks are cast, i.e., the metal is run into molls. The other processes of grinding, finishing and fitting scissors are somewhat similar to those described for knives.
The four trades described constitute what is technically included under the term of cutlery, but there are certain side lines to some of them which also come under that heading, for instance, some spring knife manufacturers will also make tea pruners, farriers' knives and some kinds of surgical knives; in other in stances, each of these may be carried on as separate trades, but all will be included under the title of cutlery. See HARDWARE.
American Practice.— While the processes of the manufacture of cutlery in the United States are generally the same as in England, a very much larger part of the work is done by machinery. For nearly all grades of knives and razors the forging is done with a trip ham mer, and, a relatively higher quality of steel being used, the results are comparable in ex cellence with the best hand-forged English blades. For cheap knives, the blades with tangs attached are blanked out of sheet steel and given their proper shape with dies in a hydraulic or other form of heavy power press, the opera tion being continuous, as the long strips of steel are fed into the machines in constant succes sion. Even the hardening and tempering' are done automatically at the rate of 1,400 to 1,800 per hour. Most of the grinding also is done on automatic machines, and far more accurately than by hand-work however skilled. The handles are formed and finished without hand labor, leaving only the assembling of the parts to the handworker.
Some razor blades are hand-forged but the large majority are moulded in dies in heavy presses with a very great saving of time. By the use of heated presses the quality of the metal is preserved even more perfectly than in hand-forging.
In 1914, as determined by the special census of manufactures in that year there were in the United States 27 establishments, with 3,832 em ployees making table cutlery; 28 establishments, with 1,620 hands making plain and safety razors; 29 establishments, with 1,925 hands mak ing shears and scissors; and 32 establishments, with 3,894 hands making pocket knives. Their combined capital was $22,670,000, and their yearly output was valued at $16,996,000.
Upon the outbreak of the European War the American cutlery trade experienced an enor mously increased demand. Not only had a large proportion of the local trade in cheap cutlery been in the hands of German manufac turers, but these concerns had also had a practi cal monopoly of the cheap cutlery trade of Latin America. This was entirely cut off, and the demand shifted in part to American makers, and in part to English houses. As the war pro ceeded the cutlery factories of England were drained of many of their workers so that more and more of the demand has come upon Ameri can manufacturers. In 1917 these cutlery plants were doing from 30 to 50 per cent more work than in 1914, and supplying not only Latin America but also Australia. A comparison of the figures for the imports and exports of cut lery of the United States for the two years 1914 and 1917 indicate the great change which has taken place in this industry. In 1914 there were imported into the United States (chiefly from Germany, but in part from England, 16, 297,764 pocket knives, valued at $1,288,037; razors to the value of $457,460; scissors and shears, 594,017 dozen, valued at $759,487; and other cutlery valued at $355,535 —a total value of $2,860,519. In that year the exports were valued at $1,147,995. In 1917 the imports were 52,936 pocket knives; 23,710 razors; and 83,614 scissors and shears —a total value of $283,206. The exports for 1917 were razors to the value of $2,505,117; table cutlery to the value of W7,031 and other cutlery to the value of $2,769,483 — a total of $5,901,631. Consult Lloyd, G. I. H., The Cutlery Trades) (London 1913) ; and Reports of the United States Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce (Wash ington, monthly).