The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-09-08
ARTIFICIAL LIMBS.
HOW THEY ARE MADE TO DUPLl-
CATE THE ORIGINALS.
s'Underpinning" of All Shapes and Sizes
-Construction of Artificial Leg
How the Action Is Secured
"A Singular Case.
boston Globe.r

Boston Globe.1
There is a small room in the rear of a
Court street store in which works an old,
gray- haired man. Surrounding him on
all sides are legs of many shapes and sizes.
Some are short and stout, with rather too
much calf for strictly classical beauty;
others are long and slim, with a deplor
able lack of calf, while others vie in
shapeliness with the neither limbs of a
Greek slave or a Venus de Milo. The old
man when visited recently was hard at
work, but consented to give the writer
few particulars in regard to his business.
Now that, ;" he said. pointing to a
sharely leg hanging over the fire, be
longs TO a Newburyport young lady.
"That, continued the old man. lis
what's known as knee bearing leg.
made it for her three years ago, when she
was about is years old. She lost her leg
a little below the knee-so short that she
couldn't wear a socket bearing leg, and
so she was obliged to have knee bearing
to walk on the knee. She had grown a
little since, and so was obliged to
lengthen it out / cut the leg in two at
the calf and put in piece, dovetaiiing it
and fastening it with glue. I've histed
a childs leg at least four inches before it
was given up, when its parents were poor,
and couldn't afford new one.
Now here, picking up leg in process
of construction, "legs don't weigh as
much as you think. Including all
the ironwork, that leg wouldn't
weigh more than five pounds.
woman that weighed, everything complete,
including the upper socket, exactly three
pounds l made it particularly light on
account of her being sickly. | want to
show you now where we get the dura
biIity The steel ankle joints are. YOU see.
set in the wood, and slightly broader at
the ankle than further up the leg which
makes them sorter dovetailed The bear
ing down strain is borne in part by them
and partly by an endless and very power
full cord some make it Of silk but l al
ways use linen-extending from the heel
of the foot over bar in the calf of tic
leg, which is hollow. The cord relieves
principally what is called the nosing,
where the shin plays into the foot
@The anklejoints are, you see, con
nected by a steel bolt. which makes the
leg particularly strong about the ankle,
where the most strain comes. The toe
natural foot, and works with a spring
that brings the toe into place after each
step The wood2 l use willow alto
gether, aud have never used any other. |
have shown you one used where the leg
has been lost below the knee.
Now this. producing another leg, is
for one lost above the knee It is the
same in every particular as the other,
with the addition of a wooden socket to
secure the stump. 1t works at the knee
in a very natural manner on a simple
bolt, with a spring extending from the
thin piece to the lower Tart of the top
socket. This spring throws the foot for
ward, in walking, the minute the toe
leaves the floor.
"You will observe that if the amputa
ton is above the knee the leg must be
held in place by suspenders made on a
stout welt-part elastic and part non
misunderstanding over the shoulder. If
with a Tong stump below the knee, the
leather socket, placed above the knee, is
usually sufficient
If, however, there is but short stump
below the knee a strap is required Every
weak point in leg is specially guarded.
in some way or other; aud when the steel
and woodwork are complete the leg is
covered with ealfskin, similar to a drum
head It is put on wet and dries to the
leg, very closely. adding q great deal to
its strength. Then that is sand -papered
down to a surface, and the holes in the
calf opened out. They are for Yentila
ton, but doubt if they do any good 1
always put them in, because a good many
are of the notion they are Then the leg
is painted / use alcoholic paint made
of gum and dry lead. The minute it
strikes water it is set, and you can't wash
it off with anything except alcohol.
ticularly lifelike one, the foot of which
bore a shoe and stocking, that has been
painted seventeen years, and is, you see,
in pretty good condition.
What do you consider your most
singular case7"
"That of little boy that lives near the
old reservoir. He was brought to me in
his fathers arms when he was 16 or II
months old, and had never walked a step
/ didn't dare to touch him, he was so
young and tender, and his father took
him to Dr. Shaw. The doctor advised
him TO get limb right off, so as to pre-
vent hip disease on the other side. That
had never occurred to me- The doctors
opinion took all the responsibility away
from me; and so l went to work at once,
and made leg for the boy. He learned
to walk with il, and walks and runs with
it now so well that you'd hardly know
he'd lost a leg
"How long will leg wear?"
1T is question often asked me, and a
very hard one to answer. l have d Gus
toner that has worn leg for twenty
years, and l know men who would not
wear a leg two years. 1t is just as it is
with everything else. Some take care of
tn8m and others stave them out very
qui KY. The government, you know,
allows soldiers new leg every five years.
That looks as if they thought five years
was the average, hut good legs will, ia
my opinion average at least eight years
The price the government sets on EN- is
about the lowest they can be made for,
though some manufacturers ask twice as
much as that
!" How long does it take to make leg
Well, III tell you. In war times they
said if a man made leg in eight days
they were satisfied
Lower Rats for Ciergymeu.