The E-Sylum:  Volume 6, Number 33, August 17, 2003, Article 18

WELL, SHRIVEL MY SCISSEL

  Dick Johnson writes: "The definition for SCISSEL in last week's
  E-Sylum was not entirely accurate. Not only is it the long strips
  of metal from which blanks (not coins, blanks) are cut, but also
  the trimmings from other metal-working operations. Workers
  today are more apt to use the term SKELETON SCRAP for
  the blanked strips rather than the archaic word "scissel."

  The shavings from turning on a lathe is scissel; so are the rings
  trimmed off the edges of medals struck on oversize blanks (like
  those forming an integral loop at the top). Scissel or skeleton
  scrap is useful at a mint because it is the exact alloy formula as
  coins being struck.  It can be melted and rerolled into new
  strips for blanking without being reformulated (tested and
  virgin metal added to give the exact ratio of two or more metal
  elements).

  Scissel is similar to another term, SHRUFF.  Scissel is clean
  metal scrap, shruff is dirty metal. Shruff comes from the trash
  barrels in metal-working shops in which everything is tossed
  in, plus floor sweepings. It needs to be processed to recover
  useful metal. In contrast, scissel is tossed into the melting pot
  intact.

  In large operations, skeleton scrap is either cut into small
  pieces or folded onto itself rolling the strips into balls. This
  process is called cabbaging. It is easier to handle the loose
  pieces or the "cabbages" tossing these into the melting pot
  rather than strips.

  I have walked the hallways and docks of metal-working
  plants and seen dozens of large containers overflowing with
  metal scrap, scissel. These await shipment to metal processors.

  The wealthiest families near metal-working centers are not
  the inventors of the metal products, not the manufacturers,
  not the company investors, not the salesmen. The wealthiest
 families are the scrap metal dealers."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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