The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1883-02-07
Table Cutlery.


In ordinary British households the
steel knife still holds its own, excepting
for the eating of fl sh or fruit, for which
purposes silver or plated knives are
expressly made and in universal use- In
Germany the inferior quality of the
table cutlery is source of constant
annoyance, while in France competition
with English manufactures has long
been keen. The cutlery of Great Brit
ain carried away most of the prizes for
superior workmanship aud finish, and
even yet the Rodgers" and other
special makes command the highest
prices, but within the last forty years
great prigress has been made in the
United States in this industry. And
while the finest and most expensive
cutlery is still imported from Sheffield
and other centers of English manufac-
ture an immense trade in domestic
cutlery has sprung up, and American
knives are found upon many European
tables. There are various reasons for
this, foremost among them the fact
that in this country machinery enters
of cutlery than in England, where
the finest steel blades are forged,
ground, and polished by hand,
each blade receiving a share of
minute and individual attention which
il impossible where hundreds are turned
out at one time. This individual ma
nipulstion enables q workman to de-
tect the very smallest irregularity in the
warp of the steel, and TO beStow upon
esch separate piece that passes through
his hands the am puut of care that is
necessary to bring it to the very highest
state of perfection. For this reason the
trade in English cutlery still shows an
increase as far as the finest goods are
concerned, and the Sheffield mauufac-
turer stands unrivaled in the highest
branches of his art. And again, in turn
ing out very cheap goods, such, for ex-
ample, as are found at the fve-cent
stores, the E lgli-h factories can still
compete satisfactorily with those of this
country, owing TO the greater cheapness
of labor; but it is in the vast interme-
diate field of general supply for ord nary
use that we mu>t seek the results of
American enterprise. And in this field
the British confess them selves out
rivaled. OF the numberless houses which
a few years ag, were represented in this
C ,untry for middle-class cutlery goods,
not one in ten remains. and no. only is
the home demand supplied by cutlery
uf domestic make, but very large ex-
ports are m de TO d .ffereut parts of the
world. notably to Africa, Australia,
Germany, and Spain. In addition to
the great advantages which the use of
m tchinery gives the American manu-
facture- of middle-class goods, he de-
rives still further facility from the va
riety of the materials now used for han
dies.
The expense of a knife depends very
grea IL uDon the handle, in first-class
| goods almost entirely so, the same
| quality of steel being invariably used
| for the blades, and the price OF imported
cutlery has Increased largely within the
last feg years upon this account. The
handles of the best English knives are
| invariably made of ivory, and in this
article there has been formidable ad-
vance of no less than from $500 to 500
a ton, and there is 3 prospect of still
further rise in price. The value of q
ton nf ivory is about $4,000, and the
estimate OF material used is one pound
to one dozen small knives. In this
country, on the contrary, ivory is now
comparatively little used, other materi-
ais being employed for handles even
for the finest kni res. OF these celluloid
is the most remarkable. The English
i uhNr OC0u bhO llNCutDto VI tuic
or of q precisely similar material, which
is known as xlomite, and large trade
has been carried on by them in
celluloid-handle knives, but nothing in
comparison to the extent to which they
| are manufactured in this country. The
basis of celluloid Is tissue paper, and
ctmphor enters largely into its compo
-itipn, together with pigm snt of white
zinc lead, which gives the necessary
htrd leSs. 1t is almo,t impossible q
break it, and there is no danger of the
Insighly cracks in q cellulpid knife
hIndle which are the perpetual torment
Il the mi>tres -es of Irish servants
10 ides celluoId various materials are
.reSsed into the service bv American
igenui'y. Cheap knives have handles
ii cocoa bola wood, which is imported
fum the isthmus, and in spite of diff
,ulty of transport is very much cheaper
nan hone. Then we have the ebony
indies, the material for which Is i'm
,orted from Zanzibar, carried from the
nterior of Africa upon the backs o.
,'iveS aud shipped in immense guam
ieI to America. Rubber handles AGAR
" an important part, the royalty upor
,e patent, which is an old German ON,
ii hs- now lapsed, having am ,untet
| SfO,OOO year. many NartcdoS "
, ne, too, are used, and horn Is still il
lsmani for the haudles of carving
< ives and forks. An immense trade l
lone in the old steel knives, OF whicl
ndl- and bla le are m ,de in one piece
GleSe, wnicn are of ririIish manufacture
r, imported here and plated for tn
American market. Plated table cutlery
q We have seen, is popular here ant
nmen g Quantities of II are supplied b
ne southern States. The appearance
" Anne -ican cutlery is much in it
a pr. In ,he C eIper knives metal i
I'd in the htnd e., and serves both q
prlamen; and rivets, and great atten
IN IS paid 10 the shape b1th of hsndl
I'd blade. Some of the more expensiy
>nives and p a ed forks have pear
tndleS cu iously cut and twisted. Th
,etrl itself is imp ,rted from India an'
Manila, and cut in New York city
where pearl cutting forms a distinc
branch of trade. A fnsly-hnished knit
,as-es through fifty different hands,
". Y. Tan $.
The Renders.