Another What Is It?

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Jerlin
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Another What Is It?

Post by Jerlin »

I looked through the previous posts and didn't see one of these. Hint: you folks from the south should know what it is. I have had this for quite a while. It had a lot of dried paint on it, so I decided to clean it up. It turned out pretty well.
20200731_123203.jpg
Jerry Johnson
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by kootenay joe »

I'm from North, not South but is it a Pecan bud grafter ?
kj
Jerlin
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Jerlin »

kj, good guess, but no cigar. After I posted this, I got to looking online. There are some real fancy one's. This is the type I have seen in use here in Texas.

Jerry
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Jerlin »

I won't keep you guessing any longer. It is a cotton sampling knife. The cotton grader cuts a small area out of the bale to take a sample of the cotton for grading it. I became fairly familiar with the cotton industry because the insurance company I worked for insured the cotton warehouse receipts (that is the cotton bales that came from the gin to the cotton compress/warehouse). The cotton bales are sampled soon after they arrive at the compress/warehouse. Exposed cotton, especially when it is loose from where the sample was taken, ignites very easily and a fire can spread very quickly. As a fire protection engineer, it was my responsibility to evaluate the fire protection systems in the cotton warehouses and on the cotton yards for adequacy.

Jerry
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by kootenay joe »

Jerry what is a cotton "gin" and how is this related to the bale of cotton ?
What is the sampler looking for when he cuts a piece out of the bale ? length of fiber ? or mold/insects ?
Did you have to wear a respirator when in cotton storage shed ? I would think there is a lot of cotton dust.
kj
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Ripster
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Ripster »

kootenay joe wrote: Fri Jul 31, 2020 9:50 pm I'm from North, not South but is it a Pecan bud grafter ?
kj
I’m with you there KJ,From the north don’t know nothing about Cotton anything! That said kind of neat to learn more about the cotton industry and the cutlery surrrounding it. Thanks all ,be safe out there.
JP
Jerlin
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Jerlin »

kj, After the cotton is picked, it is loaded into wagons and transported to the cotton gin. The cotton gin is a machine that separates the cotton fibers from their seeds. This used to be done manually before the gin was invented. After the seeds have been separated from the cotton fiber, the cotton is formed into a bale. From there the cotton bales are transported to a cotton compress/warehouse for storage for the grower until it is sold. It is here samples of each cotton bale are take to grade the cotton fiber, which determines the price of the bale. The quality of the fiber differs from place to place. Grading is determined from three factors: color; trash content; and ginning quality. Staple length is also an expression of quality. Not all warehouses have compresses. A compress is a large steam driven machine that compresses a standard size bale into a more compact bale for shipping purposes. It is quite a process to observe. I had never been around the cotton industry before I moved to Texas. I am actually a transposed yankee, but was stationed here while in the Air Force.

Jerry
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by kootenay joe »

Thanks Jerry. I have heard the terms like "cotton ginny" etc but had no idea what they meant. I appreciate you for taking the time to explain a bit about cotton.
kj
mrwatch
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by mrwatch »

Us old timers learned in school that Ely Whitney invented the cotton gin. How much does a bale of cotton weigh? Also would like to know about quality of cotton fibers as for quality of clothing?
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Several generations of my family have grown cotton in south Texas. Until about 50 years ago cotton was picked from the field and loaded into cotton wagons which were then towed to the cotton gin (the word gin evolved from “engine” - just lazy English language :lol:). It was common at that time to see long lines and rows of wagons parked at the gin waiting to be processed. The gin used a vacuum system to suck “seed cotton” out of the wagon.
Cotton wagons
Cotton wagons
Then some enterprising guy invented the cotton module. Modules can be rectangular, and look like a huge loaf of bread, or round like a bale of hay. A rectangular module is about 32 feet long (a half-module is 16 ft). These are typically covered with a plastic tarp and left at the edge of the field until the gin is ready for them. The smaller round modules, also wrapped in plastic are placed in rows at the edge of the field. That pretty much eliminated the cotton wagon. My uncle used to have a bunch of cotton wagons parked behind his barn - not sure what happened to those - I’ll have to ask. ::shrug::
Cotton modules
Cotton modules
Cotton modules
Cotton modules
Now, for clarification none of these are cotton “bales”. They’re commonly called modules. The cotton “bale” is what comes out of the gin after the gin removes the seed, sticks, leaves, etc from the cotton. A ginned cotton bale is a compressed rectangular bundle weighing about 500 pounds. Typically a cotton buyer would use a cotton sampler knife at this stage to evaluate the quality and determine suitability for various uses, and price.
Bales of ginned cotton in warehouse
Bales of ginned cotton in warehouse
Today my cousin’s husband and their son farm cotton and grain sorghum, her brother runs the local gin, and another cousin owns and operates a welding and fabrication shop that makes replacement parts to keep the area gins operating.

That’s about the sum total of my knowledge and memories. Hope that helps answer your questions. :lol:
You can search “cotton gin”, cotton processing, etc on line if you’re interested in learning more. Here’s one link https://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncount ... market.cfm.

Ken
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by kootenay joe »

Great educational post. Thank you Ken.
How do the modules (which likely weigh a few tons) get to the 'gin' ?
Are there customized flat deck trucks with a tilting deck to allow modules to be winched on ?
Or ?? 100 very strong Texans ?
kj
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Colonel26
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Colonel26 »

Mumbleypeg wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 4:38 pm Several generations of my family have grown cotton in south Texas. Until about 50 years ago cotton was picked from the field and loaded into cotton wagons which were then towed to the cotton gin (the word gin evolved from “engine” - just lazy English language :lol:). It was common at that time to see long lines and rows of wagons parked at the gin waiting to be processed. The gin used a vacuum system to suck “seed cotton” out of the wagon.

1635DC42-6725-4595-B873-21691E69569F.jpeg

Then some enterprising guy invented the cotton module. Modules can be rectangular, and look like a huge loaf of bread, or round like a bale of hay. A rectangular module is about 32 feet long (a half-module is 16 ft). These are typically covered with a plastic tarp and left at the edge of the field until the gin is ready for them. The smaller round modules, also wrapped in plastic are placed in rows at the edge of the field. That pretty much eliminated the cotton wagon. My uncle used to have a bunch of cotton wagons parked behind his barn - not sure what happened to those - I’ll have to ask. ::shrug::

A87198DF-A314-47FE-AA10-4FAED4284CD6.jpeg
B25624A9-0D32-4B84-8D0A-88F42F1E1E94.jpeg

Now, for clarification none of these are cotton “bales”. They’re commonly called modules. The cotton “bale” is what comes out of the gin after the gin removes the seed, sticks, leaves, etc from the cotton. A ginned cotton bale is a compressed rectangular bundle weighing about 500 pounds. Typically a cotton buyer would use a cotton sampler knife at this stage to evaluate the quality and determine suitability for various uses, and price.

66DB7989-46A6-4D4D-9B30-4E094DD40F4B.jpeg

Today my cousin’s husband and their son farm cotton and grain sorghum, her brother runs the local gin, and another cousin owns and operates a welding and fabrication shop that makes replacement parts to keep the area gins operating.

That’s about the sum total of my knowledge and memories. Hope that helps answer your questions. :lol:
You can search “cotton gin”, cotton processing, etc on line if you’re interested in learning more. Here’s one link https://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncount ... market.cfm.

Ken
Very interesting Ken. I’m too fat north for cotton, but the tobacco farmers here like to get hold of those cotton wagons and put flat beds on them to haul tobacco out of the field to the barn.
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Mumbleypeg »

kootenay joe wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:53 pm Great educational post. Thank you Ken.
How do the modules (which likely weigh a few tons) get to the 'gin' ?
Are there customized flat deck trucks with a tilting deck to allow modules to be winched on ?
Or ?? 100 very strong Texans ?
kj
Yes, specialized “module hauler” trailers. Here ya go. I think these are self explanatory.

Ken


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Ripster
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Ripster »

Thanks all ,and that walk thru of cotton and the process ,very interesting! And now I understand the need and use of the cotton sampler blade more, it makes that kind of knife more interesting . Always wondered when a blade like that was shown ,what it really was used for. Be safe everyone and Thanks again for sharing.
JP
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by kootenay joe »

Wow, the 'module haulers' are huge. It certainly is "Industrial Farming", nothing like the old family farm with one tractor, mower & baler, mom, pop and the kids all helping out.
I had no idea how mechanized cotton farming/harvesting is.
Thank you Ken.
kj
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Colonel26
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Colonel26 »

Wonderful videos. Cotton seed meal is one of my favorite livestock feeds, and I use it in my garden fertilizer mix too. Wonderful stuff.
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carrmillus
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by carrmillus »

....I've got a Camillus Cotton Sampler, but it sure doesn't look like that one??????........ ::shrug::........
Jerlin
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Jerlin »

Ken, my thanks for all the information goes along with the others. It has been over 30 years since my involvement with cotton warehouses/compresses. I remember seeing modules along the edge of the cotton fields awaiting transport to the gin, but I don't remember the round bales.

Jerry
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carrmillus
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by carrmillus »

carrmillus wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:26 pm ....I've got a Camillus Cotton Sampler, but it sure doesn't look like that one??????........ ::shrug::........
...mine is 4 line stamped and it looks identical to pattern # s-702, but mine has just the single blade, no can opener!!!.............. ::tu:: ................
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Ripster
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Ripster »

FYI, As we were talking about Cotton Samplers ,just got my knife Magazine and wouldn’t You know it they got a nice article about Cotton Sampler knifes, check it out .Thanks again all for the tour. Be safe
JP
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by knife7knut »

Thanks for posting your knowledge of the cotton business;I learned a lot tonight. As for the OP's knife the blade looks as if it has experienced considerable wear.Here is a pic of my Russell cotton sampler that in all likelihood has never been used.
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RussellCottonSampler 003.jpg
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: Another What Is It?

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Glad y’all enjoyed the info. Most of it is what I’ve picked up from living around cotton farming. Personally I’ve never been involved in it - I’ve never grown it on our place. There is still a little grown in thIs area but thanks to government subsidized ethanol most around here have switched to growing corn. (Don’t get me started on that mess!). And I try to stay away from the old family farm in south Texas when they’re planting or harvesting - they might put me to work! ::woot:: :lol:

One thing I would clarify in regards to a previous post mentioning “industrial farming”. Most cotton is still grown on family owned farms, by family farmers. It’s just on a bigger scale than the “40 acres and a mule” of olden days.

Ken
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