Carborundum

Carborundum is actually the worlds very first artificially produced mineral. In the mid 1880’s an inventor/scientist named Edward G. Acheson, who had worked as assistant manager of European interests for Thomas Edison, started his own experimental laboratory in Monongahela City, Pennsylvania. He had a crazy notion that he could produce man made diamonds by dissolving carbon into molten corundum (natural aluminum oxide) with intense heat from electrical furnaces. His experiments failed to produce diamonds of course, but he actually produced a substance that proved to be second only to diamonds in hardness and abrasive ability. Since this product came from a compound of Carbon and Corundum, he named it “Carborundum”. Years later a chemical analysis determined the substance to actually be silicon carbide.

Acheson and a group of investors from Pennsylvania started the “Carborundum Company” (he liked the sound of the name) in 1891 in Monongahela City. They produced a line of silicon carbide abrasives. In 1893 Acheson wanted to move to the Niagara Falls area and utilize the cheaper hydro-electric power available. Andrew Mellon financed the move and in return the Mellon family retained 20 percent ownership in the company throughout the next century. The Niagara Falls Carborundum Company plant opened in 1895 with its newly built 1000 horsepower furnace (746 KiloWatts). This new production ability was supported by and fueled by massive demands for abrasives that were needed for production of the finely ground and machined parts required by American Industries. The Carborundum Company was expanding. In 1899 Acheson opened his first international company across the Niagara Falls in Canada The slogan "Illegitimi Non Carborundum"--often translated as "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down" --helped make the Carborundum Company a household name during WWII

Carborundum also was the source for graphite lubricants. Acheson discovered that when “Carborundum” (silicon Carbide) was superheated to 7,500 degrees Fahrenheit, the silica vaporizes and leaves behind artificial graphite. The Carborundum specimens that are collected are manufactured in blast furnaces at abrasive factories. Most pieces are small iridescent crystalline structures that are later crushed down to produce graded grit. One may rarely find an old stock specimen that has been allowed to fully produce some stunning crystalline plates with detailed geometric patterns on the surfaces of the plates…these are the collectors most highly treasured specimens. These types of specimens were most commonly available in the 1940’s to the early 1950’s.