The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1905-07-07
FASHIlONING A CORK

p AhNAAASANAAN" &A SOAOxx
FORMIDABLE KNIVES ARE NEces:
sARv N THE PROCESS
Fhs Heavy blade Must he sharpened
After Each Cork Is. Made-How the
Bark IL Sliced, Pared and Finished
In Big London Factory.
The proprietor Of the cork cutting es-
tablishment was showing some Of his
customers through the extensive work.
shops, and because his customers be-
trayed symptoms of the interest they
felt the cork merchant offered. to give
DEMONSTRATION Of the Whole process
Of turning the rough material into the
finished article. First Of all, there was
the cork cutters knife to be inspected
q formidable affair, with heavy blade
measuring about six inches across and
with q bevel at least one inch wide.
The center of the blade was very
heavy, and the, reason for SO much
weight was at once obvious as soon as
the cuttef, proceeded to use the knife,
Picking jup short length of cork, he
held it firmly against a metal knob set
into the. side of table; them. having
introduced the sharp edge Of the knife
into the material, he threw the whole
weight Of his body against the handle
and literally drove the blade through
the cork There wiz no saving back.
ward or forward, nothing but the
steady pressure, yet so tremendously
sharp was the blade that the knife
pushed INCREASINGLY forward, and in
a moment or two the piece Of cork lay
in two fragments on the floor.
The wide beveled edge is necessary
In order to prevent the cork from tear
ing, while the knife has to be heavily
weighted to- stand the strain Of that
amount Of pressure. This knife has q
small hole near the back about half
way DOWN the blade; this is for the
gauge, which IS fastened dk by means
Of NUT. The gauge IL set according
to the, width Of strips required-this
width being the length Of the finished
cortland so insures each strip being
cut, the exact measurement. After the
gauge has been set the workmen can
cut up length after length of cork with
out further measuring, for the gauge.
projecting over the back OF the blade,
runs along the freshly cut edge and
thus causes the next cut to be parallel
With the one last made. And the Audi.
ence was informed that the gauge could
be set to the seventh part Of an inch.
When the cork had been cut into long
narrow strips the cutter took up one
of those same strips and, without alter
ing the gauge on the knife, began divid-
Ing 1t. into number of little cubes. The
first cuts Ito produce the long strips
were done across the grain; the others
ran with the grain, these latter being
the way of the finished cork.
"The grain must run down the artir
cle," explained the self constituted
lecturer, otherwise the cork would
break in half. So first we cut across
for the length of the cork, then we cut
with the grain for the width. of the
cork. Now these little pieces are ready
to be ttirrted into, the finished article"
Picking up one Or two. of the cubes,
the cutter moved across the floor to
where one of the machines was stand
ing. Don't put your fingers near the
blade" he cautioiied hastily. There's
hothing sharper than the blade Of this
knife. It's made of the very best and
hardest steel there is" Then, just as the
auditors were about to murmut "Shef-
tields', he continued: Made I'M France.
THAT blade was. The very best steel thers
is.' Curiously enough, this, is also the
case with the hairdressing trade. The
best scissors are nowadays French oneS.
,rTwehty-six inches Of sharp Made
were quite sufficient to scare away un-
initiated fingers. Nothing requires a
sharper blade than Cork cutting. ". II
must be absolutely perfect. or the stufi
is torn, and if that blade goes wrong il
takes me one complete day to grind II
into order again Il very hard days
work it is too, ,,
How do you manage to keep Il
sharpT asked one of the party. The
man laughed.
1T is ground after each cork Is cut, 2
he replied. III not. the second corr
would be pefeeptibly inferior to the
Arst one" 49,.
So much sharpening seemed to imply
vast amount of labor until he pointed
to couple of small dark wheels fixed
to ,fhe machine III such a manner thai
the blade passed along them each time
twas, drawn bach. These small wheels
were of the finest possible emery anf
antomat ically ground The blade afteI
everS, cork in turn. No ,pfl was used, Al
ali, so he explained, and he then pro
rsssded e ,demcfstrate the working Of
I tEe mhe6ine. PushingSa wide baske
4 49,. LII .tag3Ss .,.t ..h,-