Chapter XXVII: Work to Do with a Knife

A number of years ago a friend of the writer paid a visit to a large penitentiary where the prisoners were engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes. Among the workers he became particularly interested in a small German boy who was industriously marking the backs of boots with the lot numbers always to be found upon these goods. The boy didn't have an ink bottle near him, and yet, with what appeared to be a wooden stick, was marking the numbers in ink. A closer inspection disclosed the fact that the pointed stick held by the lad was nothing more or less than

=A Home-made Fountain Pen.=--Upon seeing that the visitor was struck with the novelty of the affair, the superintendent presented him with one of the pens and told him of its origin. The pen was the invention of a forger who was placed in this department of the prison, and when its good qualities were seen it was very quickly adopted by all of the prisoners in place of the pointed stick and ink-bottle they had been using.

The pen is shown in Fig. 391. It is made out of a piece of elderberry wood about five inches long, a small glass vial, and a piece of sponge. First push out the pith of the piece of elderberry wood (this you will find easily removed), and then point one end pen-shape, as shown in the illustration, and split it back from the point about an inch in the same manner as a writing pen is made. Whittle the other end of the stick so it will fit tightly in the neck of the glass vial. This bottle, or reservoir, should be filled with ink, and a small piece of the sponge you have procured should be pushed into the hollow of the pen above the point (see illustration), as a means of preventing the ink from flowing too freely upon the point.

Although the pen was originally made with a coarse point for marking heavy figures, you will find that it can be made to write to a reasonable degree of fineness by whittling a fine point upon it.

=The Magic Pin-wheel= represented by Fig. 392 can be made with a few minutes' work, and is something entirely new in the line of magic toys. There are probably few persons who will understand this simple yet mysterious toy when they see it properly operated, until the secret is disclosed to them. As you will see by looking at the drawing, the pin-wheel consists of nothing more than a stick notched along one edge, and a thin piece of wood about an inch in length fastened through its centre to the end of the stick by means of a pin. In cutting the notches it is important to make them of the same length and depth. Locate the exact centre of the chip of wood before pivoting it to the end of the stick, and with your knife make a small hole for the pin to run through at this point. Be careful to drive the pin in straight.

=To Operate= the pin-wheel, hold the stick in the left hand as illustrated in Fig. 393, and then, taking a coin in the right hand, rub it vigorously across the notches. The vibration produced by rubbing the stick causes the small pin-wheel to revolve about its pin axis. The funny part of the performance is the fact that you can have perfect control over the wheel, and change the direction of its course at will, if you but master one little trick performed with the first and second fingers of the right hand. In holding the coin between the thumb and first finger of the right hand, allow the end of the first finger to extend over the top of the stick and bring the second finger close to the side of it, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 393). To make the wheel revolve from left to right, allow the end of the first finger to rub along the top edge of the notches; then, to reverse the direction, relieve the pressure of this finger, and press the second finger against the other edge of the notches.

At first you may not be able to make the wheel obey your commands, but with a little practice you will find it a simple matter to make it change its direction without any one noticing how you perform the magical trick.

=A Brass Tack= driven into the stick a little below the notches, about the point where the thumb of your left hand will strike, will add to the mystic appearance of the pin-wheel. A person invariably notices this the first thing when he sees you operate the wheel (you can make it a point to press your left thumb against the tack), and thinks he has solved the trick. But when you let him have the toy, he will soon find out that all his pressing and pulling upon the tack will have no effect upon the wheel, and beg you to "put him on" to the trick.

=A Wooden Chain and Rattle= has long been one of the most interesting pieces of work a boy can make with his jack-knife, and, inasmuch as the making of one requires careful cutting, the exercise is a good test of a boy's skill with this handy tool.

FIG. 395.

FIG. 396.

Details of a Wooden Chain and Rattle.]

In making the first chain and rattle, you had better use a pine block, as hard wood is not so easy for a beginner to handle. Therefore, for a first attempt, select a piece of sound pine free from blemishes, and plane it down to the dimensions, seventeen inches long, two inches wide, and two inches thick. With a lead-pencil mark off ten divisions one inch apart, running the lines around the four sides of the block (see Fig. 394). Then draw two lines lengthwise on each side of the block, as shown at _AB_ and =CD=, making them one-half inch apart and three-quarters of an inch from each edge. With a chisel, cut out the four corners of the block down to the tenth line, as represented by the shading in Fig. 394.

=The Chain= is to be cut out of the remaining core, one link out of every two divisions. Commencing at the top of the block, remove the shaded portions _T_ and _U_ (Fig. 395), as those would form only half links; then notch out the shaded corners marked _X_ in the drawing, and gradually cut the core into circular links. Having finished this operation, draw a circle inside of each link, and cut out the wood inside of it. Round the edges of the links as shown in the drawing of the finished chain (Fig. 396).

Your success in making a good chain will depend largely upon a good, sharp knife and careful cutting. With a dull knife you are almost certain to split the links when separating one from another.

=The Rattle= is to be made from the lower portion of the block. This part of the figure is more difficult to cut than the chain. First draw the two lines marked _HI_ and _JK_ in Fig. 394 one-half inch from the edges; then draw the cross lines _LM_, _NO_, _PQ_, and _RS_, as shown in the illustration. These lines should be similarly drawn upon the other three sides of the block. Remove the wood from the spaces shaded in the drawing, and you will then have left a centre solid block from which to cut the ball. Gently round the corners of this, and then gradually separate it from the surrounding framework. When this has been accomplished, the centre block will slip up and down. Now continue cutting the block until it is a perfect round ball, but be careful not to make it small enough to fall out of the frame, for that would spoil the entire piece of work.

After completing the cutting, sand-paper the links and rattle until they are perfectly smooth. Then oil the wood or give it a coat of varnish.