Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1906-09-27

poraneous with the beginning of the
republic. and one or two OF the promi-
nent firms today date from long before
the civil war. In no country are finer
instruments made than in the United
States. Though the number Of men
employed is small, every man is a
skilled laborer and an artist, with an
adroitness often as fine as that of a
journeyman jeweler. capable of max
ing even the most delicate of the great
variety Of instruments, amounting to
about 10000, which % surgical house
must keep In stock or be ready to pro-
duce upon order.
Cast and drop forged Instruments
have no lasting value. and once the
edge is worn off they can never be sat
isfactorily resharpened. The process
which they undergo demands that they
be brought three times to a white
heat. The first time the steel becomes
tempered; the second and third time it
becomes decarboniZed and loses its
temper, the result being an instru-
ment with shell of hard steel, capa-
bic of taking fair edge, but beneath
which the metal Is soft and unfit to
stand honing.
"All good instruments are hand
forged, Thus prices are doubled and
trebled over the prices of cast instru
ments because of the skilled labor and
time necessary to their construction.
The workman In careful factory
must make study of his work and
learn the physical qualities of the
steel or metal he works with, its
strength and cutting and tension quail
tiles. General operating instruments
are made of steel, silver, platinum,
gold and aluminium. German steel,
owing to its tenacity. is used for for
ceps and blunt instruments; English
cast steel for edged tools, as 1t receives
q high temper, n fine polish and re-
tains its edge. Silver when pure is
very flexible and Is useful for cathe-
ters, which require frequent change of
curve. When mixed with other metals,
as coin silver, 1t makes firm catheters,
caustlc holders and cannulated work
Seamless silver instruments are least
liable to corrode. Platinum resists the
action of acids and ordinary heat and
is useful for caustic holders, actual
cauteries and the electrodes of the
galvano cautery. Gold. owing to its
ductility, is ADAPTED for fine tubes,
Such as eye syringes and SO forth,
while aluminium is by its extreme
lightness suitable for probes. styles
and tracheotomy tubes.
Handles are made Of ebony. ivory,
pearl or hard rubber. Ebony and rub
Der are used for large instruments,
though these at times have handles of
steel. Ivory makes a durable and
beautiful handle, though 1t and ebony
are not entirely aseptic, because 1t Is
impossible to boil them for the purpose
of sterilization without their cracking.
Ivory and pearl are used for scalpels
and for small instruments like those
used in operating on the eye. On the
whole, the best material for handles
is hard rubber, since 1t may be vulcan
ized on the instrument, thus making Ii
practically one piece, with no possible
seam for the lodging Of germs and
hence perfectly safe.
"Next to tho r'"+"-'ai~ a. mode of
--------..e, >A-tel I.sEIIsS struinenl
| quality. Steel overheated Ia the forge
Ii brittle or rotten. In shaping with
the file the form may be destroyed
| In hardening and tempering the steel
may be spoiled. In every stage the
value of the instrument depends upon
the skill applied" York Post.
rLOIINLIrI ECC rDADDERc