Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

THE CUTLERY INDUSTRY. cutlery is a trade to itself, and in former days each workman had a forge at his own cottage door, and, being paid by the “ piece,” he was one of the most independent of artisans. We shall see as we go along that the peculiar feature which formerly characterised the manufacture of cutlery, and which still to a great extent survives, is its dependence upon a number of independent craftsmen or small employers having their own workshops and receiving their remuneration by “ piece.” 1 o-day there are a few modern, large, and self-contained cutlery factories in the city, but we doubt whether there is one where the cutlery sold is produced entirely on the premises. But let us return to the forger, with whom the making of the knife begins. Starting with a bar of steel made from best Swedish iron and rolled to a convenient width and thickness at one of the rolling mills in Sheffield which prepare metal for the various trades, by a series of quick blows with his hammer the craftsman forms a roudi o semblance of a blade ; the work being performed at a “ hearth ” or furnace similar to that of the ordinary village smithy. But by far the most delicate and important part MARKING MAKER’S NAME ON BLADE AND SETTING THE BLADE. {Photo kindly supplied by Messrs, Mappin Bros., Sheffield.) {Photo kindly supplied by Messrs. Mapp in Bros., Sheffield,) of the work is that of hardening or tempering, upon which the cutting power of the instru- ment depends. A sharp, durable edge is everything to a knife, and indifferent hardening will destroy the very best steel. Hardening is accomplished by heating the blade and plunging it suddenly into water or oil. If the blade is heated to an extreme temperature the edge will be as brittle as glass, and liable to snap, while if the tempera- ture be too low it will be too soft to cut. The workman has nothing to guide him except the tint of the hot metal, assisted by his experience. The universal plan is to produce a too high temper at the first operation, and to let it down by one or more heats and coolings. The superior properties of Sheffield cutlery is believed to be largely due to the softness and peculiar property of the water used for hardening. It is also a tradition that the more the water is used for the purpose the better are the results, and it is said that many of the tanks have not been emptied for a great number of years. Pen and pocket knife blades are made wholly of steel, but in table cutlery the tang or shank and the bolster (the raised portion between the blade and handle) consists of iron, which the forger welds to the steel blade.