"Penn
Perfect"
The "Penn
Perfect" is Penn Hardware Company's version of Reading's 78. The
hand-driven gear in the "Penn Perfect" and the 78 is an excellent
design. The outer rim of the gear is a ring gear that spins the fork gear
at a high
rate. The central portion of this same wheel drives a spur gear attached
by an axle to the small bevel table gear, which rotates the turntable gear
at
a slower rate. So when you turn the hand-driven gear the fork spins quickly
while the turntable
rotates more slowly. Like the 78, this parer has a blossom cutter. It is
interesting to note most people seem to load the apple onto the fork stem
first (opposite end as the blossom). A 1915 Penn ad in Don Thornton's book
states the small blade pares the stem end. This parer is marked PENN PERFECT
PARER MADE BY THE PENN HARDWARE Co. READING, PA.
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