Cutting

“ In cutting from block patterns, provision may be made for this by the insertion of wedges, but it should be understood that the insertion of the wedge at any part will have a purely local effect, and, indeed, it is in this feature of it that its greatest value consists.
In attitude we have a principle of the greatest importance, for unless the attitude of your customer is duly considered, it will be impossible to produce a fit. Many cutters meet this successfully by the aid of a trained eye ”

“ Some are of such a soft and yielding nature that any attempt to cut them is an utter failure, for in place of a perfect section being obtained, nothing remains upon the knife but a mass of diffluent pulp; others, again, are of such density as to resist the action of any cutting instrument. ”

“ Very rarely, if ever has a work so comprehensive been published in connection with the art of cutting. For though nominally a work on Juvenille Cutting, it embraces nearly every garment made by tailors. ”

“ The cutting is made easier if the skin is well stretched and kept flat and perfectly steady, the operator's left hand exerting traction on the skin behind, the hands of the assistant on the skin in front, one above and the other below the seat of operation. ”

“ In practical garment cutting, a cutter is often compelled to cut some backs narrower or smaller on the same kind of a garment in order to save material, or in some cases, when a larger garment is to be cut down to a smaller size, where the points around the back of the armhole, or at the shoulders, cannot be made even with our patterns, then it comes handy for a cutter, if he be able, to place certain quantities on either back or front and take it off on the other. ”

“ To attempt to cut delicate sections of soft tissues with the stout knives which are suitable for cutting sections of woody fibre would be to destroy 84the sections, while to reverse the operation and cut sections of wood with thin, delicate knives would result in the ruin of the knife. ”

“ Some cutting weapons, like an axe, act as much by means of their weight as by their cutting edges. Wounds caused by such weapons we can often distinguish by the following signs: The edges are not as smooth as is the case with a cutting instrument, and they may be more or less lacerated and show signs of contusion. The wound is often deep in comparison with its length, and the ends of the wound abrupt instead of slanting up from the bottom to the surface. The section of resisting organs and the impression of the edge of the weapon on the bone are further signs of the use of such a weapon. ”

“ Here we can find the reasons why certain parts can be worked the very contrary, and both ways will fit, and for this reason a newly-arrived jour. should be thoroughly instructed by the cutter, as to how things must be put together according to his cutting, and the cutter himself should be a good tailor, or at least he should know how it is to be made, even if he can not do the sewing. A cutter who is a thorough tailor himself will always be a better cutter than the one who only knows how to cut, all other things being equal. ”

“ All the internal organs of the body are, when freshly removed, of much too soft a nature to permit, when in their unprepared condition, of easy or perfect cutting. It is upon bringing them to that critical degree of hardness, which is often so difficult to attain, that the chief secret of successful section-cutting depends; for unless 17the hardening process has been carried up to, but not beyond, a given point, which varies with different tissues, the operator, however dexterous, will fail to obtain satisfactory sections. ”

“ Those then which form in the legs, arms, and extremities it is not safe to cut out, for there is danger lest the part be mutilated. But those about the head or forehead we operate upon by dividing the skin with a scalpel, and if the tumours be small, seizing them with a flesh forceps and cutting them out by the roots. But if they are larger, we transfix them with hooks, and remove them by dissecting them from the skin, and uniting the lips with sutures, complete the cure by the treatment applicable to fresh wounds. ”

“ This constant backward and forward movement of the neck, waist, and shoulders is one of the greatest studies any cutter will be obliged to go through, as it is, in fact, the only variation to be found in the normal form which cannot be measured, but must be taken by the trained eye of the cutter, and his practical knowledge of how to alter. ”

“ How much the reduction at the side should be must always be determined by the judgment of the cutter; but an outlet at the side of the forepart is more important than anywhere else—it will never do any harm and may become very handy sometimes when it is least thought to be necessary. ”

“ And as to cutting, it is only necessary to place the number of pieces of fabric desired to be cut in cutting dies, or upon a table, and over them an “over-board” cutter, which comprises a reciprocating band-saw, or a rotary knife, all quick, keen and delicate, in an apparatus guided by hand, in order to produce in the operation a great pile of the parts formerly so slowly produced, one at a time, by scissors or shears. ”

“ KNIVES FOR CUTTING SECTIONS. Success in cutting sections depends more upon the excellence of the knife that is used than upon any other one point, and therefore the art of keeping the knife in good order is one which should be acquired by every microscopist, even at the cost of considerable time, study and labor. As a stepping stone to the acquisition of this art, there are certain general principles which must be thoroughly understood before we can hope for success in practice. ”

“ We now come to the more practical part of the work, and so apply the teachings of anatomy and experience to the various tailor-made garments which come within the cutter's range We will not occupy space with arguments on the merits or demerits of the various modes of cutting, such as by breast measure or direct measure ”

“ So much might be said on this topic that we feel we should be overlooking a most important factor in successful cutting if we did not make some allusion to it, for not only must we have the seams to run in graceful curves and devoid of all sharp angles, etc., but they must be also arranged so as to bring out the special points of beauty which exist in a more or less degree in every figure, as well as toning down other prominent points which detract from its graceful appearance. ”

“ The operation is to commence with first cutting the skin, and then when the bone of a limb is to be sawn, you must not cut through the whole flesh at once, lest an immoderate discharge of blood take place from the veins and arteries so as to occasion the death of the patient and interrupt the process of sawing the bone; except the flesh of the limb be wasted or putrid. ”

“ Moist and warm ground is essential to the starting and growth of cuttings. The lower end of the cutting should be lodged in solid ground, or the cutting will fail to grow. This point is of the utmost importance, and should be carefully observed. If, when the cutting is pushed down in the soil, a small air chamber form at the lower end, the butt end of the cutting will mold, and the latter will be poisoned and die. ”

“ Of the matter of cut we have treated in our section dealing with "The Principles of Fit: " and as long as the seams runs exactly over the prominence or depression, all that is necessary will he to provide for them by suppressions, &c.; but as soon as the seams run to the one side or the other, then manipulation will be necessary, as for instance in the sideseams: if the back is cut very wide and straight, then the back must be fulled on to the sidebody ”

“ Many of the students who come to our office to study the art of cutting ladies' garments, have been in the habit of allowing all the seams beyond their marks'; this plan has many advantages, especially when cutting checked goods, or if the material is of a very ravelly nature, and when the usual 1/4 inch seam would not be sufficient to stand the ordinary wear and tear. ”

“ This method of cutting is quite dangerous, so care must be taken. Perhaps, a less dangerous method, tho not so practical, is to heat the bar red and cut the piece off with a hot chisel and sledge, or on the hardie, if one has no helper. ”

“ If a cutter is troubled with this fault, the best thing he can do is to pin up the fold on and along the in-seam, and anywhere below the crotch, until the leg hangs straight, then fold the pattern the same way and change the draft accordingly. The same effect can be obtained by cutting the pattern through at the outside. But to imitate this cutting through on a pants which is made already, the side-seam should be opened and both sides, back and front, pretty well stretched at and below the side of thigh. Stretching both outsides as far over as possible is equal to shrinking both insides. ”

“ A study of our earlier pages, where we treat of anatomy somewhat fully, will show the cutter where the prominence and depressions of the body are to be found, and if he is in any doubt, let him study his own body, and he will soon realise the importance of making provision for these ”

“ If a cutter goes to the trouble to mark a line for every degree or fraction thereof, and draw stitches in them, he will find that the legs will fold, or can be pressed into shape, on any of these lines, and on no other. When such a pants leg is sewed together, it may be turned in almost any position, with or without back slope, and will always turn from the point of the angle, though cut off at the ankles; and the sweeps at the knee, or at other points, swept from the point of the angle, will always fit together. ”

“ And now the cutter begins his task of cutting the skins into square pieces of a certain size, which must be done very carefully, as all gloves have to be cut with the grain of the skin, to run from the head downward, and a great deal of the skin would, of course, be wasted if any but very skillful hands were employed. One fine skin will generally cut about three or four gloves, according to the size required, and often large sheep-skins turn out nine or ten gloves, but of a much poorer quality. ”

“ This is done by cutting cautiously until the lids appear, being careful not to cut the eye itself, and you can then, with a forceps, which you will likewise find useful, pull each from its socket; wipe the orifice carefully, wash it with the alum solution, and fill it with cotton wadding. Cut off the neck close to the skull, wash the stump, and the whole of the interior of the skin with the alum, and the skinning is done. ”

“ If a cutter will go to the expense and trouble to cut and make for himself a skeleton coat, cut over Dia. III, omitting all seams sidewise, and for this reason reducing the square of 18 to 17, and using nothing in front and outside of the angle of 15 deg., in fact cutting nothing out except the armholes and the shoulder seams, and using some stiff material, such as heavy vest padding or French canvas, he will be able to form for himself a correct idea of the workings of the angle of 15 deg. ”

“ The plan is to take good well-matured shoots which are a little longer than the injury which has to be spanned, making a sloping cut on both ends, also a cut into the healthy bark above and below the injury, and slip the cut ends of the cutting into the cuts in the bark so that the ends go under the bark above and below, and the cut ends are closely connected with the growing layer of the stock. If the cutting is made a little longer than the distance to be spanned, the tendency of the cutting by straightening is to hold itself in place. ”

“ Stretching the side of the back upward from the side of the crotch is equal to cutting a larger gore between the front and back on top of side, and allowing it behind. If the pants are lined in the seat, or all the way down, a large fold should be laid in the back lining in place of cutting it in as some do, to imitate the gore, or as others do, who baste the lining flat over the gore, whereby the effect of that gore is destroyed. ”

“ The finest emery paper, glued on a strip of wood and used as a strop, will impart to a razor an edge sufficiently keen to enable it to remove the beard, and if paper three or four degrees coarser be used, a very dull knife or razor may be sharpened, and afterwards stropped on the finer emery until it is keen enough to cut a hair. But it will be found that cutting edges produced in this way are not smooth enough for section-cutting. ”

“ By employing a small saw—represented in both ancient and modern surgical works—so as to widen the fracture, or remove a projecting corner of bone, sufficient room may be obtained for the introduction of the lever and the removal of splinters. In old subjects, the bones are brittle, and a small corner may be readily removed by pliers, or cutting forceps, so as to allow the depression to be raised. ”

“ A common practice is when making the cutter to so regulate the depth of the grooves or recesses in its face that the cutting edge will be of the required shape when the length of the bevelled facet is equal to three times the thickness of the cutter. ”

“ A cutting costs so little that it pays to use only the strongest and best, when a much better stand will be the result. Frosted cuttings can be detected by their darker color. Fresh and healthy cuttings should have a green and fresh cambium or inner bark, and a fresh cut should show fresh sap oozing out. ”

“ While it is not necessary that the back of the knife and the cutting edge should be parallel to each other, it is absolutely necessary that they be in the same plane, or, as mechanics say,—“out of wind.” If this condition be not observed, the blade will rock on the microtome table as it passes over it, and irregularity in thickness of section will result. ”

“ Great care should be taken in hardening and tempering each of these cutters to prevent possible injury from small particles of steel that might fly from them if they were tempered too hard. The cold cutter should be hard enough to cut steel or iron without being broken or battered on its cutting edge. The hot cutter should not be quite so hard and should be dipped in water frequently when it is being used to prevent the temper from being drawn. ”