82. To clean Knives and Forks.—Hold the knives straightly on the board, and pass them backward and forward in as straight a line as possible. Forks should be cleaned with a stick covered with buff-leather, and finished with a brush. The best article for cleaning is the powder of the well-known Flanders bricks.
83. Of Knife-boards.—A knife-board properly made, should consist of an inch-deal-board, five feet long, with a hole at one end by which it is to be hung up when not in use. At this end, the left hand, and close to the front edge, should be fastened a stiff brush for cleaning forks. At the other end should be a box, with the open end towards the hand, and a sliding lid; this should contain a bath-brick, leathers for forks, &c., so that the materials for cleaning may be shut in and hung up with the board.
Or, cover a smooth board free from knots, with thick buff-leather, on which spread, the thickness of a shilling, the following paste:—emery, one ounce; crocus, three ounces; mixed with lard or sweet oil. This composition will not only improve the polish, but also the edges of the knives.
84. To re-fasten the loose handles of Knives and Forks.—Make a cement of common brick-dust and rosin, melted together. Seal-engravers understand this receipt.
85. Metal Kettles and other Vessels.—The crust on boilers and kettles arises from the hardness of the water boiled in them. Its formation may be prevented by keeping in the vessel a marble, or a potato tied in a piece of linen.