The Pinking Machine: a mechanical go-with

ISMACS News
Issue93
by Martin Gregory

'Pinking" is the name given to producing scalloped or zig-zag edges to cloth for decorative purposes or to prevent fraying. Nowadays it is usually done with 'pinking shears" (Figure 1), a pair of special scissors. For the serious dressmaker, specialised machines have long been available to produce a variety of uniform fancy edges. Here are a couple of variants and the edges they produce (Figure 2). I would be interested in pictures and details of others, so send them to ISMACS News.

The first is an American machine, the 'Hannum Pinking Machine" patented 110 years ago on November 2nd 1897 (Figure 3).

A sharp wheel cutter with a wavy edge (Figure 4) rolls against an upper wheel. Both cutter and upper wheel are hardened steel and the pressure between them is controlled by a screw. When cloth is fed between the wheels the edge is cut in the pattern of the cutter wheel. The 'Hannum" machine was made by H. A. Hannum & Co., Syracuse, NY and must have been a success as an improved version called 'The Gem" (Figure 5) was patented in America on April 25th 1899 and subsequently in Canada, England, France, Belgium, Italy and Russia between that date and 1903. The principal improvement is the ability to change the cutter wheels.

In a later American machine, the 'Chandler HP2" (Figure 6) the two wheels are reversed, the wavy cutter wheel is on top, and is driven through gears to keep the sense of rotation the same. A spring regulates the pressure between the wheels. This machine produces the ordinary zig-zag to prevent fraying (Figure 7).

The machine in Figure 6 is similar to the design shown in an English trade catalogue of 1930 (Figure 8).