Steinway hammers

[Horace Greeley]

Mark,

"Fuzzy Lint"???

Oh! Say not so!  These are the very finest which can be produced.

It says so in black and white.

Besides, who cares about W=FCrzen (or Weickert either, for that matter).

Best.

Horace


At 08:22 PM 2/14/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Hello list
>
>  On the 28th of Jan. I had the pleasure of meeting Nikolaus
>Schimmel,  of Schimmel Piano, at an informal gathering.=20
>One of the interesting comments made by Herr Schimmel
>was after the reunification of Germany,  it was discovered
>that a former East German felt manufacturer was still
>making felt the "old " way because they had been unable to
>modernize  their equipment.  The company name is Wurzen
>I believe that  is correct .
>Maybe Andre knows of this company? Or another list member?
>It was my understanding that all 8 German piano makers
>were producing or getting hammers from this felt, inculding=20
>Hamburg Steinway.  Will this material makes its way into=20
>the U.S. market?  Renner maybe?  Mr. Schimmel stated
>that the hammer shaped like a pre- WWII hammer, in a
>continuous layer,  not like the fuzzy lint I see in most
>hammers. =20
>=20
>Mark Ritchie
>Cols OH =20
>
>
>
>"The art in hammer making has ever been to obtain a solid,
> firm foundation, graduating in softness and elasticity toward=20
> the top surface, which latter has to be silky and elastic in=20
> order to produce a mild, soft tone for pianissimo playing, but
> with sufficient resistace back of it to permit the hard blow of=20
> fortissimo playing."                 - Alfred Dolge 1911
>
>
>An interesting note.  A hammer is the felt and the felt is the fiber.  Long
>renowned in felt making circles is the wool fiber from South African Merino
>Sheep.  The finest, most resilient felt is produced from blends that have a
>high percentage of this fiber.
>
>For decades South African wool fiber has been generally absent from piano
>hammers produced with felt made by countries who joined in the embargos on
>the previously racist regime.  With the uplifting change in politics and=
 the
>lifting of embargos, South African Merino Wool Fiber is once again used in
>Steinway hammers.  This information is from the president of the Bacon Felt
>Co. in Taunton Mass. who produce hammer felt for Stenway, not to far from=
 my
>home on Martha's Vineyard.
>
>David C. Stanwood
>
>
>
>
Horace Greeley

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