Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-02-26
-Raxors-How They are Made

RNzOrs-HOw They are NHade.rs
THE inquiry is sometimes made, "why
does one razor cost so much more than an
other ?" Both blades are made of steel and
there seems to be but little difference in the
cost of the handles. Razors are usually
properly tilted, hammered and rolled,
worth in England about $500 per ton in
gold. The forging of razors is performed
by foreman and striker in the same man.
uer as the making OF table knives, and is
described as follows: ,n alr. lie 5fat -.,-..
The bars or rods, as they come from the
tilt aud rolling mill, are about half. an inch
broad and on thicker than sufficient for the
back of the razor. The anvil In which the
razor blades are forged is rounded at the
sides; by deXterously working the blade
on the rounded edge of the anvil, a concaye
surface is given to the sides, and the adge
part thus made thinner, which saves the
grinder a deal of trouble. The blade hav
ing been cut off the bar, the tang is formt d
by drawing out the steel. The blade is
then properly hardened and tempered. The
last and most important process which the
razor blade has to undergo is that of grind
ing. The difference in the prices ofblades all
of them made of the same material, is owing
entirely to the circumstance that stones of
much smaller diameter are used for grind
ing the higher-priced blades, and much
more time and labor are given to the opera
ton than is the case with the cheaper sorts.
Thus, the best kind of razor blades are
ground hollow on stones measuring one
and seveu-eighths to two inches in dame
ter. The two-shilling English razors are
ground on seven-ineh diameter stones; the
common shilling -razors. on ten-inch
diameter stones. A grinder will turn out
per week from twenty to twenty four dOz-
en- of the common shilling raZors, whilst
he can manage only about five dozen
WI Nf fhn hot oI1d r.1lrr n0lo rf
drzenof the last sort. .7,I -. .lsrIHt- r-3
The raZors ground on a six-inch dame
ter stone are more suitable for hard, those
ground on two-inch diameter stone for
snft boards. The more coramon sorts are
after grinding Tapped on the glazer, and
the backs glazed and polished. The three
shilling blades are polished first, then
drawn over wood buff. blades are,
in a great measure, ground on dry stones,
which, unfortunately, causes the atoms of
stone and steel to fly about freely, to the
great injury of the working men, and i'm
parts to the whole place where the opera |
ton is carried on peculiar brownish- yell
low hue. The minute particles OF stone |
and mt tai flying about are inhaled blythe |
workmen, and, lodging in the lungs. pro-
duce asthma, consumption and other fatal
diseases. This most dangerous feature of
the dry-grinding- business mas, however,
been very considerably modified of late by |
the Introduction of an apparatu; hch in
great measure protects the grinders from
the dust fiying from the stOl eS. This ap-
paratus consists of fan on the principle of
awinnoWing machine, with flue to take
away the dust from each of the stones in the
room The fan is worked, of course, by |
ste am power, ~ .f..5..s .'-...s-.-I
The difference in the price between the
three-shiIling and the f'earpr razors is SIM
p y in the handles with which they are
ntted, the blades being exactly the same in
every respect. There are horn handles,
ebony handles, plain and carved ivory han
dies, silver and German silver ivory han
dies, mother r-of-pearl handles, etc. Some
idea of the importance and extent of this
branch of cutlery business NAV be con-
c ived from the fact that some 1,500 different |
patterns of razors are made.