CD Designs Blog

Cement In Cutlery.

This is, to be honest, more of a cement fact than a concrete fact. But hey, the two are pretty closely related; you can’t have concrete without cement; it’s the magic powder that binds everything together, and makes pattern imprinted concrete driveways possible.

Cement, it turns out, also makes cutlery possible. In traditionally manufactured knives especially, a certain type of cement is used to secure the blade to the handle. Apparently in days gone by this was done with lead instead. There was an added benefit in this for the cutlery manufacturer; knives with silver-coated lead handle were heavier and so felt as if they contained more silver. It was a con, basically. Eventually, people realised that lead based eating utensils weren’t a great idea, that practice was made illegal, and so cement began to be used for securing the bond between blade and handle.

Cement, when it sets, is pretty tough stuff. Like the concrete created when you combined cement with aggregate, it’s amazing useful for a number of different applications. Whether that’s filling the handle of a knife before the blade is slotted in, or during the installation of a pattern imprinted driveway or patio, the fact that cement and concrete are wet and elastic before they set makes them remarkably useful.

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