Cork: Being the story of the origin of cork, the processes employed in its manufacture & its various uses in the world to-day

by Armstrong Cork Company

For whatever purpose it is to be used, all bark removed from the immense storage rooms is taken first to the sorting department, where, under skilled eyes, the twenty-five or more foreign grades are resorted into approximately one hundred and fifty different classes, according to quality and thickness.

Bales of Cork being unloaded at Pittsburgh

The speed and skill with which this work is done is astounding. So slight is the difference between some of the grades that to the inexperienced eye none can be seen whatever, and yet success hinges on the care and skill exercised in this and the other sortings that follow.

Corks punched from Strips

In manufacturing corks it must be understood in the first place that the thickness of a given piece of bark determines the maximum diameter of the stopper which can be made from it, as the cutting is done across and not with the grain.