Lacoochee

The String Knife

By J. W. HUNNICUTT

In the summers of 1953 and 1954, after my sophmore and junior years at Pasco High School, I worked in Cummer Sons’ Cypress Company’s planing mill.

The first day on the job I was issued a “string knife” and a wooden peg. Jack Brabham, the Planing Mill Foreman, had a $.25 deposit for the knife deducted from my first pay envelope.

The string knife, actually a ring knife, was worn on the ring finger and used to cut the string when bundling lumber and moldings. A slip knot was tied, the string was wrapped around the peg a couple of turns and pulled tight then the string was cut. With a little practice it became an easy and quick procedure. The moldings were then loaded into a box car. The box car loading was also my job.

String knife used by J. W. Hunnicutt; courtesy of J. W. Hunnicutt

Samples of Moldings from the Cummer Planing Mill; courtesy of J. W. Hunnicutt

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