The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1909-10-15
FINDS ART Of TEN.
PER|RG COPPER
RAILROAD FIREMAN IN ARIZONA
HAS MANUFACTURED FROM
SOFT METAL A RAZOR WITH
WHICH HE CAN SHAVE.


and years there have been men of
scientific turn of mind backed by men
of means who have experimental with
copper trying to find the secret of
the lost art of tempering 1t as the an
clients did, but it has remained for M.
.McCombs. a Southern Pacific fireman
who has been running an engine be-
tween Benson and Lordsburg for the
last three years, and who has been
putting in his spare time when home
experimenting, to find the secret of
the lost art. He says he has been
successful.
Mr.. McCombs exhibited two SAM
pies of copper which he has success
fully treated, one being rudely made
razor and the other a butcher knife.
both of which are hammered into
shape on an anvil. With either one
he can shave you. the blade of each
was honed once, just after he finished
them, month ago. In the meantime
he has tried it on the arms of over
100 persons, shaving the hair with
ease The razor is about inches
long and the blahe is about half an
inch wide. The butcher knife is about
13 inches long and about one and a
| half inches wide Both have rude
handles. Mr.. McCombs states that
the tempered copper will hold an edge
better than a razor steel. To demon
strate this he will white a piece of
wood with the knife and then immedi-
ately use it to shave.
Father Started Work.
Mr.. McCombs took up the study
four years ago where his father, who
had been working at the proposition
for more than 80 years and who gave
up the idea of finding the secret, left
Off His father lives in New York.
Mr.. McCombs guards his secret
and has applied for and secured pat
ents for his discovery throughout the
United States and will have them
covering all other countries as soon
as possible. At home he has had
one workroom which he has kept un-
der lock and key.
He believes he has reached the
stage where he can negotiate with
some large company for the putting
up of sufficient money to get neces-
sary machinery with which to work
on a large scale He claims that the
treatment is inexpensive and that IN
large quantities copper can be tenn.
pered at SO ton. The real expense
is the time it takes to treat. It will
take about four years before the
metal has reached the desired tenn
per. Like steel, the temper can BE
taken out with heat. ! On large
scale. according to Mr.. McCombs'
idea. it would be possible to treat
about 200 tons of copper a week. OF
course it would take about four years
before the product would be ready
for the market. Copper. when tenn
pered, while still retaining some of
it's elasticity. is brittle, but 1t will
not split.
New Use for Copper.
The discovery of Mr.. McCombs
makes possible a new field for the
use of copper, the tempering of it
making 1t suitable for the manufac-
ture of the finest tools and for armor
plate. The latter. Mr.. McCombs
thinks. the tempered copper will be
better adapted for than the tough
ened steel now manufactured. Open
ing new fields for the use of copper
means incentive in the mining world
and a better price for the metal
Pure copper is needed to temper,
refined copper having to be used The
samples which Mr.. McCombs shows
are made from copper brought from
Butte
At present Mr. McCombs Is cor
responding with an agent Of the Gug-
genheims. looking toward the erec-
ton of suitable plant with which
to commence operation on large
scale. Until he has made deal he
will hold his job with the Southern
Pacific. but he considers that 1t will