The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-05
THE CAMBRIA NEEDLE.
How This Delicate Point Is Manu-
featured.


There is trite saying that England
once made very fine cambria needle,
one that was supposed to be about per-
fection and sent ii over to China,
/ where the ingenious Celestials drilled
it out, made a new needle inside of it.
and sent the whole back to England as
a sample of what China could do. N
W. Flaisig who is at the st. Charles,
does not believe this story. and Mr..
Flaisig, by the way. is in position TO
know. He is a veritable encyclopedia
of information about the small. insig-
nifcant thing called cambria needless
He has grown up in the business. and
everything he sees shapes itself down
to q steel needle.
There isn't one man in a hundred
who can tell you how an ordinary cam
brio needle is made" remarked Mr..
Flaisig, in his room, at the st. Charles,
although he watches his Wife sew
with needles every day of his life. You
may not know that it is one of the
slowest, longest, minutest processes
known to experts
The speaker slipped fine new needle
from the lapel Of his coat and held 1t
up to the electric light This was
gold-eyed specimen, which is one of the
latest patterns.
That needle was once the section OF
a large coil of steel wire, wrapped
around metallic SPOOL continued Mr..
Fiaisig THE coil of wire is cut up in
TO lengths-into twins, as the process
is called. which means a section long
enough for two needles These lengths
are then tied into bundles of about 2O,-
900 and rolled on a solid iron table I'M
til they are perfectly straight. The
bunch is heated. and afterwards each
needle is SKINNED; that is. the rough
sceleS are taken off. The needle. stiH
in double lengths, is pointed and stamp
ed, ready for the eye. The eyes are
punched in and the sides are filed;
then the twin is broken in two and each
needle is headed. Now, being separated,
the two are tempered in cold oil and
secured. This process includes putting
the needles in a cloth. which is nlled
with emery, oil and soft soap. After
coming out of this the little steel Is
run through a machine that looks for
the world like an fashioned mangle-
Never heard of a mangle? My boy,
they were before your time. | remem-
Der when we had our washing done
with mangIe machines. The points are
next polished. and the entire length IS
held up under an emery wheel and
highly polished"
Mr.. FIaisis.s room looks like a small
needle factory. He is registered from
New York but he represents the VIII
liam Crowley & Sons, needle nanufac-
turers, of Redditcb England, and has
come south for the first time on mis-
sion of commercial inspection.
THE United States has no needle rae
terry within its borders" added Mr.
FIaisig, taking up his pipe, but an en-
terprise is now on foot which claims
that il will soon break this record over
g 600, eco has just been invested IN
Cleveland. o.. for the erection or the
first American needle factory, and the
ing more about the process OF making
cambria needles than they ever nave
before in their lives. And it is a mighty
good thing TO think about, too.
If the Cleveland. O.. needle factory
turns out we'll. Engla q. and Germany
will have a western competitor IN TINS
industry as we'll as in many OF the
others which this country has long ago
exoelled in
England and Germany produce the
worlds supply of cambria needles to-
day =" continued Mr.. FlalslS, hunting
M his diary. which contained a few en-
pertaining figures. England now has
seven factories. which produce S5o,OOU,-
O09 eambyie needles per week. That IS
q pretty lively output. isn't 1t? Ger
many is the other producer, and her
factories turn uts200000,0 600 needles per
week The story goes that the Romans
used the first steel needles. Just what
kind of a thing it was we do not know.
Bat we do know that they had some
kind OF q steel pointed instrument
which they used for sewing, etc. In
1850 the needle was taken over to Eng
land. and some of the Britons got on 10
the scheme. while about the same time
the Romans apparently lost the art
From that time UP until Is or 10 years
ago England made all the needles NOW
Germany makes some. Gei many makes
the cheaper grades. and the product
of thar countr-, sells for less money
than he English brands.
Here IS where the future trading IS
TO be done" said the man of needle
fame. referring to the present condl-
fions in the south. The north cannot
show cities representing such growth
at Atlanta. Knoxville. Chattanooga,
Nashville. New Orleans and many 9TH
ers. These places have had marvel
Gus growth. and they are just now go
ing to. begin to reap he harvest The
big trade of the usxl q W years VIII De
in the south. That - why l am mere
tonight The Cuban situation VIII BEN
eft New Orleans and the south East
ern men understand this. too, and they
are all casting an eye down this way If
they are not coming in person New
Orleans Times Democrat.