BERNARD LEVINE'S KNIFE LORE NUMBER 60 JULY 1993 (c)1993 Bernard Levine, exclusive to the NKCA ANOTHER TRIP IN THE TIME MACHINE In January, March, and May of this year, we visited the cutlery workshop of Jean Jacques Perret in Paris, France, in 1771. Well, we didn't exactly go there in person, but we did read translated excerpts from Perret's own account of The Art of the Cutler. I have received a number of cards, letters, and phone calls asking for "more Perret." As I am now the proud owner of five different French dictionaries, I am happy to oblige. In this month's installment we actually take a peek inside of Perret's shop. Two of the seventy-two plates in Volume I of The Art of the Cutler are big double-page illustrations (Volume I deals with cutlery; Volumes II and III deal with surgical instruments). The first of these double-truck spreads, Plate XII, shows the interior of Perret's shop, at least the front section. This section of the shop includes the retail sales counters, the showcases, the drawers for storing finished goods, and some of the workbenches for "clean-side" operations. The dirtier forges and grinding wheels are situated in the back of the shop, and are shown in other plates. Plate XII also includes over-head views of two basic cutlery operations. The text which accompanies Plate XII is the introduction and Part 1 of Chapter 8. * * * PLATE XII GOES SOMEWHERE NEAR HERE, 2 OR 3 COLS. WIDE EIGHTH CHAPTER Description of the Cutler's Shop; placement of Tools, of Cabinets, of Storage Drawers for one's Work; method of tagging customers' sharpening Work; and proper hand positions for performing different types of Cutler's work. It is necessary to suppose that the forge, together with its appurtenances, is to be placed behind the partition in the back- shop, along with the [grinding and polishing] wheels...; for the rest, Plate XII shows the arrangement of the cutler's shop, which is at once both workshop and store. The entry is in the middle. To the left and to the right are placed two workbenches, each one carrying two vises (b). Figure 2 [far right] shows a workman who is manually threading a pivot screw for a scissors, the same way that one would thread any other small holes or screws that need to be threaded. Figure 4 shows the position [which a workman assumes] for straightening a piece of work that has been hardened and tempered. [In the March 1993 column, Perret explained the making and use of taps, dies, and screw plates; also the special hammer and anvil used for straightening.] This operation is done on the little round-headed hand anvil that is held in the vise. One puts the convex side of the workpiece on the anvil, and one strikes gentle blows with the straightening hammer upon the concave side, watching all the time as the piece becomes straighter. Take care that the edge of the hammer strike the piece exactly opposite the spot where it is supported by the anvil. This is because straightening a hardened piece of steel is not the same as straightening one that is soft, as a large number of cutlers still believe. Hardened steel will not "obey" readily. One must force it to obey by means of a hammer with a sharpened head. You see, this edge enters slightly into the metal, and makes a multiplicity of tiny indentations in the concave side. That causes this side to lengthen imperceptibly, until it becomes equal in length to the convex side. That is how straightening actually works. Also, if one rests the workpiece incorrectly on the hand-anvil, it will break [when struck]. At B are the files, arranged on a rack. At D are the other small tools for various purposes, such as punches, gravers, small files, hammers, etc. At E [on the left wall] are the drill bits with their drive spindles. Figure 5 [the vignette at bottom left] shows the manner of dressing a grinding wheel. One holds the truing iron [wheel- dresser] in one hand. Two fingers of the other hand are applied to the tip of the truing iron. In this position one rotates the tool on the [moving] grindstone, moving it from one side to the other. This is necessary to detach the metal filings which stick to the wheel in large quantity, which if they are not removed by this quick and easy method, will prevent the wheel from biting. Figure 6 shows how one polishes the long way, using as an example the back of a scissors blade. One hand I holds the ring and the shank, while the other hand above K holds the point of the blade between the thumb and the index finger only. To better show the position of the hands holding the scissors and the truing iron, the artist has omitted the bearings and the frame. FIRST ARTICLE On the arrangement of Cutlers' Shops As cutlers are both master craftsmen and merchants, they need to have a workshop where several workmen can labor. Beyond this, their shop has to include a salesroom where one might find completed work. The Mistress [i.e. the wife of the Master] must take charge of this part of the shop, and see to it that everything is kept orderly, clean, and neat. For this purpose it is necessary to have around the shop a number of glass-front cabinets M which lock with a key, and into which dust and moisture cannot penetrate, so that the steel implements that are displayed within will not rust. They need to be about 4 or 5 feet off the ground, and to be about 3 or 4 inches deep. It is within these cases that one tastefully arranges the larger cutlery implements, making a handsome effect. (The vulgar name for these cabinets is Montres [showcases], and also the ones which are set on the windowsill of the store, facing out. The inside of these showcases is decorated with white paper tacked in place.) As regards the smaller cutlery implements, which one must stock in quantity -- such as knives of various types, scissors, pen knives, razors, etc. -- one puts these in drawers which are below [and beside] the bodies of the display cabinets which we just discussed, keeping each type separate. In order promptly to find the items which one needs, one pastes on to the front of each drawer a label that indicates what is inside. These drawers are of different sizes, from 1 inch deep up to 4 inches, depending upon the sizes of the implements which are to be kept in them. Figure 3 [bottom center] shows how one should arrange implements in the drawers. The Mistress, when she is at the counter, must take care to wipe with a fine soft cloth all of the implements, especially those which have been handled, so that rust will not attack them. See Figures 7 and 10. People often bring to cutlery shops their scissors, knives, pen knives, and razors to be sharpened. It is necessary that the Mistress who is at the counter keep these in order, so that they may be returned to their proper owners. To avoid all confusion, she should tie a tag to one ring of each scissors, with either a serial number or the full name of the owner. As for other implements, sometimes one puts a number on the handle. Everyone can adopt his own method for marking implements, as long as it prevents confusion, and returns each implement to the person who brought it. * * *