Making knives in Sheffield 200 years ago

supratentorial

supratentorial

Joined
Dec 19, 2006
Messages
8,210
This is an excerpt from the cutlery section of The Cyclopaedia; or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature. (1820) by Abraham Rees, D.D. F.R.S. F.L.S. S.Amer.Soc. with the assistance of eminent professional gentlemen.

I tried a search (particularly posts from Jack Black) to see if it had been posted previously but I'm still learning the new search and may have missed something. I apologize if it is a repost.

The text on Google Books is a bit awkward to read because of the low quality scan and also because of the typeface. Some of the "s" look like "f"... not all of them... maybe half. So I edited it. I also left out parts on razors, table cutlery, and scissors as well as the detailed description of the grinders. I found those sections incredibly interesting so I'd recommend pulling up the full text on Google Books if you want to read those sections. You can also use the original to check any errors in my "translation"! The text and figures are in separate volumes.
 
CUTLERY. Under, this head we shall comprise the articles knives, forks, razors, and scissors. They are all either made of steel or of iron, with steel to form the edge.

Three kinds of steel are made use of in the manufacture of different articles of cutlery, viz. common steel, shear steel, and cast-steel; these different kinds are made from what is termed blistered steel, which has hitherto been.
obtained of good quality only from certain kinds of bar iron brought from Sweden and Russia.

The bar iron is stratified with powdered charcoal in a furnace termed a converting furnace, within a recess termed a pot, from 7 to 14 feet long, 3 feet broad, and 2.5 feet deep, the whole covered close up with a mixture of clay and sand, so as to prevent the access of atmospheric air. A strong heat is applied for about 8 days; as soon as the pot is cooled, which is in about 8 days more, the bars are taken out, and the iron is found to be converted into steel; it always appears blistered upon the surface, and hence is
termed blistered steel. When these bars are taken to the tilt, and drawn into rods of various dimensions, it is called common steel. All the cheaper cutlery are made of this steel, and also all kinds of forks.

When a number of bars of blistered steel are laid together, heated to a welding heat in a forge furnace, and drawn down into bars under a forge hammer, they constitute what is termed shear steel. It has received this name from its being made use of to make wool shears. It is also termed Newcastle steel, from having been first made at that place.

Shear steel is exceedingly kind and tough. All the edge tools which require great tenacity without great hardness, are made . it, such as table-knives, scythes,
plane-irons, &c. It is also freer from flaws, on account of the welding heat which has been given to it.

Cast-steel is formed by melting blistered steel in covered crucibles, and pouring it into cast-iron moulds, so as to form it into ingots: these ingots are then taken to the tilt and drawn into rods of suitable dimensions. No other than cast-steel can assume a fine polish, and hence all the finer articles of cutlery are made of it, such as the finest scissors, pen-knives, razors, &c.

Formerly cast-steel could only be worked at a very low heat; it can now be made so is: as to be welded to iron with the greatest ease. Its use is consequently extended to making very superior kinds of chisels, plane irons, &c.

. . . .

Forging…
Penknives are generally forged by a single hand with the hammer and the anvil simply. The hammer in this trade is generally light, not exceeding 3.5 lbs. The breadth
of the face, or the striking part, is about one inch, if broader it would not be convenient for striking so small an object. The principal anvil is about 5 inches, and 10 upon the face, and is provided with a groove into which a smaller
anvil is wedged. The smaller anvil is about 2 inches square upon the face. The blade of the knife is first drawn out at the end of the rod of steel, and as much more is cut off along with it as is thought necessary to form the joint. The blade is then taken in a pair of tongs, and heated a second time to finish the joint part, and at the same time to form a temporary tang for the purpose of driving into a small haft used by the grinder. Another heat is taken to give the blade a proper finish. The small recess called the nail hold, used in opening the knife, is made while it is
still hot by means of a chisel, which is round on one side, and flat on the other.
Penknives are hardened by heating the blade red-hot and dipping them in water up to the shoulder. They are tempered by laying them side by side, with the back downwards upon a flat iron plate laid upon the fire where they are allowed to remain till they are of a brown or purple colour.

The blades of pocket knives, and all that come under the denomination of spring knives, are made in the same way.
 
Last edited:
Grinding of Penknives.
The stone made use of for penknives is the Wickersley stone, about 16 or 18 inches in diameter when new, and is worn down to about 9 or 10 inches ; the breadth is about
4.5 or 5 inches. This stone, as has been before observed having so little tendency to heat the substances ground upon it, is generally made use of dry for grinding penknives. There are several advantages in grinding upon the dry stone. It does not wear so fast. The edges of the stone are kept sharper and the surface evener; but the great advantage is that the stone cuts much faster. When the surface of a dry stone becomes clogged with the particles of steel adhering to it, a piece of soft iron is always at hand, which being rubbed over it soon clears it of its incumbrance, and
a fresh cutting surface is presented.

All the finer penknives, after being ground the first time, go back to be handled or hafted. The handles are wrapped in paper to keep them from being soiled, and the knives thus hafted are again returned to the grinder. The blades are all slightly ground over again upon a stone kept for the purpose of one determinate size. The flat parts of the blade are next glazed upon a glazer or lap made of lead and for common articles of wood. After the lap is turned perfectly true, and a number of notches are made in the face; the surface is rubbed over with emery and grease. If it is found to cut too keen it is slightly rubbed over with bees wax. This process would finish the common sort of knives, but the finer blades are afterwards polished upon
the polisher already described.

. . . .

Handling of Penknives.
The handles of penknives in general consist of three parts, viz. the outer scales, the inner scales, and the spring. The outer scales, which are only ornamental to the knife, are made of various substances, such as horn, stag-horn, ivory, bone, tortoise-shell, and pearl. The two latter substances are employed for the most valuable knives. The beautiful variegated horn stands the next in estimation. But the most durable scales are made of stag-horn.

The inner scales, which serve to give firmness and durability to the knife, and to which the outer scales are attached, are made of iron, brass, and sometimes of silver: the ends of the inner scales intended to receive the blade is in general made thicker, and is termed the bolster of the knife. The scales of those knives having no bolsters are cut out of thin plates of the metal of which they are made.
Iron scales with bolsters are forged with the hammer.

The spring is of steel, running along the back (and in single blade knives round the end) of the handle, and serves to separate the scales from each other; and by its elasticity exerted upon the tang of the blade, it secures the knife in the situations of being shut or open. The inner scales and the spring being forged, and the outer scales being provided, they are put into the hand of a workman, who finishes the
whole of the handling department.
 
His tools consist of a vice, a small anvil, and hammer, a variety of files, steel burnishers, a breast-plate, drill-bow, and drills of various kinds; a glazer coated on the face with emery and glue, to polish the different parts; and a buff, which is an instrument similar to a glazer; but instead of being coated with emery and glue, it is used with oil, and fine sand, and rotten-stone. It is employed to polish the
surface of the outer scales. The buff and the glazer are turned by the foot, in a manner similar to that of the common street-grinder. He is also provided with a number of hardened steel plates, about one-twelfth of an inch thick, and in shape corresponding to the different patterns of the handles: each plate contains holes in situations answering to the holes in the handle, by which the spring and blade
are secured in their places. The inner scales are each secured to one of the plates above, for the sake of drilling holes through them opposite to the holes in the plate. The scales are then fastened on each fide of the plate by temporary pins, and the edges are filed down to the plate. By this means the handles are made exactly of the pattern required. The spring is next drilled, placed between the scales, and secured in its proper situation by temporary pins, till it is filed quite level with the edges of the scales. A hole being drilled through the tang of the blade, one of the above pins is taken out, and the spring thrown back, so as to allow the blade to pass between the bolsters, in which situation it is fastened by means of a temporary pin. The tang is then filed square, to correspond with the bolster and the spring. The blade, the spring and the scale being properly adjusted to each other, the different parts are separated by taking out the pins. All the visible parts of the spring are next filed smooth, and the spring bent a little inwards, for the sake of giving it greater power when placed in its intended situation. The spring is then hardened, by heating it red-hot and immersing it in water; it is afterwards tempered, by rubbing it over with grease, and beating it till the grease inflames: the visible parts being glazed and burnished, the spring is deemed finished.

Our next process is to place the outer scales of horn or other substance upon the inner scales. Scales of horn or tortoise-shell are heated, and exposed while warm to the action of a screw-press, for the purpose of making them flat. The scales are then made of uniform thickness, by means of filing. In the next place, the shield of tin or silver is introduced.

As this is a process of some ingenuity, at least so far as concerns the forming a recess for the different shaped shields, we shall describe the tools employed, with the assistance of the following figures.

Fig. 2, is a plate of hardened steel, about one-twelfth of an inch thick, and of breadth and length suitable to the size of the shield. A hole is made through the plate exactly of the figure of the shield; and every different pattern of course requires a different plate. Fig. 3. represents the drill employed to cut the intended figure in the horn or other substance.

This differs from the common drill, in having the springs fastened into the part B. by means of two screws, A, A. The ends, b, b, are made sharp like the points of a drill, and are capable of boring up to the shoulder a a. The plate, fig. 2, is placed upon the scale, and fixed in the vice; the springs of the drill are then pressed till the ends, b, b, enter the hole of the plate. It is plain that if the drill be pressed
and turned round, that the force of the spring will cause the cutting parts to make a figure the same as that of the plate. The depth of the recess is limited by the shoulders, a, a. The silver shields are cut out of the sheet by means of a punch : those of tin are first cast, and afterwards struck into a recess made in a die by means of the plate and drill above mentioned.

The shield being secured in its proper place, the outer scales are pinned upon the inner ones; the compound scales are next pinned together with the temporary pins, and
both their edges are filed and finished together. They are again separated, and the insides of the inner scales polished; after which the blades, spring, and scales are all riveted together. The next thing is to file and burnish the joint and bolster; and lastly, to finish the outer scales. This is performed by filing, scraping, and buffing, first with fine sand, and lastly with rotten-stone.
 
setting
The operation of setting an edged instrument, is the giving it a more permanent, or lasting edge, by means of a hone, or any other fine cutting stone. Every article is left from the wheel with a thin wiry or notched edge. This must be removed, and one substituted of an angular form; the more obtuse the angle, the stronger the edge, and vice versa. This angular edge is obtained in several ways; sometimes by the thickness of the back of the instrument, but more generally by the elevation of the back from the stone.

Penknives are set upon a stone brought from Turkey, and from its property of absorbing oil, it is called an oil stone. They are held at an elevation of the back just sufficient to keep it from touching the stone ; and the greatest attention is here requisite, to give them the same exact elevation, during the removal of the wire edge. They have also a few strokes given them as a finish, upon a hard kind of green stone.

Pocket-knives, carving, and table-knives, are set at an elevation, upon a stone, called a rag-stone, of a fine sandy texture, and without the use of oil.

Plate%20pages%20from%20The_cyclopaeligdia_zpsradafehq.jpg
 
That was a really neat read. Thanks for finding it, and thanks for sharing it.
 
Great Stuff Jake- You will most probably see some of those still in Stans Workshop- Stan did a demonstration for Jack and I while we visited him... and people said you cant walk on Clouds!!!
I will come back and have a more involved read soon, as my daughters car awaits my attention :)
 
Excellent post Jake, with some really worthwhile information.:thumbsup:

Thanks for taking the time to share that material.

I'm about to head off for a road trip (to the Shipwreck Coast of western Victoria), but I'll definitely be checking out that material on other edged tools and grinders when I get a moment.
 
Thanks for sharing this with us Jake, I'm sure that it was no small labour. Very interesting material too, and a good description of the various processes :thumbsup:

Here's a cementation furnace used for making blister steel. Some of my family still work for the firm who owned this.

 
Last edited:
Thank you Jake, very interesting read.
I know the amount of work needed to "translate" scanned documents :thumbsup:

Mike
 
Thanks for the wonderful interpretation, Jake!!
Nicely extracted to make it easy to read and understand!!
Your efforts are heroic!
When I try to read some of those old texts, I often wake up with drool on my chin and the imprint of a keyboard on my cheek! You have made these descriptions understandable and enlightening!!
 
Charlie that must be quite a sight after your little drop and snooze on the keyboard:eek:. I feel the same way though trying to wade through and read some of those old texts! I am ready to dive into the key board. Thanks Jake for making/editing those text descriptions a pleasure to read--very insightful information:thumbsup:. Lloyd
 
I like the old ads Herder. Corkscrews too although Birmingham and London were more prolific production centres.
 
I was looking at a couple of corkscrews Stan Shaw had made yesterday, and asked how he made them. He has a tiny hand-operated lathe, not much more than a foot long! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top