File cutter

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The Nuremberg file cutter Peter Bauernschmied in 1534

Feilenhauer is a former handicraft occupation that deals with the production of new and the reconditioning of old files and rasps . Today there are only a few craftsmen who practice this profession and carry out special jobs.

history

The profession originated in the late Middle Ages as a special branch of the blacksmith's trade . It is mentioned for the first time in Germany in Frankfurt am Main in 1387, in Nuremberg the profession is mentioned frequently from 1494, in the 16th century also in Steyr, Leipzig, Cologne and Augsburg. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Remscheid and the Bergisches Land were a center of file cutting. From there, companies in far away regions also obtained file blanks.

File cutters had been organized in guilds since the Middle Ages . An apprenticeship period of at least three years was followed by a journey of at least as long as a journeyman before a master's title could be acquired by making a masterpiece, mostly in the form of 3 different types of files. It must be noted that the raw material of the special steel was extremely expensive at the time and the prospective master had to have both the material and, above all, the opportunity to manufacture it. A good file cutter in the 19th century could handle up to 50 files a day at 80 to 220 strokes per minute.

Many attempts have been made to cut files by machine , especially since the Renaissance . Probably the first surviving representation of a file cutting machine as a sketch comes from Leonardo da Vinci , created around the year 1500. Other considerations, even if not linked to the design by da Vinci, of a mechanized production of files were made by the French Mathurin Jousse in his book about Locksmith's shop (1627). The use of such machines (apparatus) initially failed due to the lack of economic advantage, because a worker who would have been required to operate such a machine could do the manual work in the same time . Such machines did not gain acceptance in file factories until around 1890. Since then, the production of files has been increasingly automated and relocated to factories. As a handicraft activity, file cutting gradually disappeared. In Baden-Württemberg, for example, the profession was deleted from the list of skilled trades in the 1950s, and the last company closed in the 1980s. In the GDR the profession was called skilled worker for manufacturing equipment, specializing in file cutter . In 1985 it became an apprenticeship ("rare craft"). Up to December 31, 1989, 3 file cutting companies were registered with the Chamber of Crafts of the Potsdam district alone.

Since the German reunification there is no longer this trade as a training occupation.

Machining

The files (and rasps ) were forged from a hardenable tool steel ( colored raw or cement steel, less cast steel, later rolled steel), with dies being used for those with triangular and round cross-sections. The forged file blanks were annealed and slowly cooled to make them as soft as possible. Before they were hewn, they were given their shape and smooth and shiny surfaces by grinding. This work step was carried out in our own grinding mills or kotten using water-driven grinding stones . This was extremely unhealthy work as the dust and cold water caused silicosis , gout and rheumatism in the workers . The notches on the surface of the file were made by driving in a chisel with a hammer , which had a curved, short handle and was knocked out of the wrist. The building anvil served as a base, on which the file was held with a leather strap that the file cutter stretched with both feet. The chopping started at the point and was made with one or two blows, cut for cut, down to the hook. Once all surfaces had been cut, the ridges were lightly filed down and the cross cut was applied. The regularity of the cut and the perfect regularity of the distances were signs of the skill of the file cutter. If triangular files had to be worked on from several sides, the file cutter placed the finished side in appropriately shaped dies made of soft lead to protect the teeth on this side. The decisive factor for the durability of the file was its hardness. The hardening took place by annealing in coke-fired hardening ovens. To prevent the file teeth from burning off, they were sprinkled with hardening powder to protect them. When the file was taken out of the oven, the file cutter quenched the file in cold water and smeared it with oil to prevent rust. Worn files could be brought back to the file cutter. They were annealed and ground down, after which the file cutter brought out new cuts and hardened them again.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/aussterbende-berufe-der-letzt-feilenhauer-mitteleuropas.1197.de.html?dram:article_id=402055
  2. ↑ Horst A. Wessel: Reinhard Mannesmann. Pioneer of the file industry (1814-1894), in: Portal Rheinische Geschichte online .
  3. ↑ Representation of the probably first file cutting machine by Leonardo da Vinci ( Memento of the original from November 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved August 12, 2013.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jadukids.de
  4. ↑ Achim Frick / Ralf Spricker: The craft of file cutting in Esslingen am Neckar , in: Schwäbische Heimat 1999, issue 3, pp. 307–311, here p. 311.
  5. ↑ Achim Frick / Ralf Spricker: The craft of file cutting in Esslingen am Neckar , in: Schwäbische Heimat 1999, issue 3, pp. 307–311.

literature

  • Federal Employment Agency: Education and Occupation - 302 GDR training occupations 2 - Comparable and related occupations in the Federal Republic of Germany Metall / Elektro Verlag BW Bildung und Wissen, Nuremberg 1990
  • Rudi Palla : The lexicon of the lost professions From skinner to Zokelmacher. Eichborn GmbH & Co. KG, Frankfurt am Main 1994
  • Florian Sauer: "One of the last German file-cutter". In: Koelner Stadtanzeiger from March 27, 2019.
  • Otto Dick: The file and its development history . Berlin 1925.
  • Bertold Buxbaum: Feilen (workshop books for company employees, designers and skilled workers 46). 2nd edition Berlin etc. 1955
  • Walter Siemen: Handicraft file cutting (published by the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association, Westphalia Regional Image Office). Munster 1984.

Web links