Jack And A Pair Of Scissors?

[Adam Went]

Hey Phil,

You're quite right that it would take some doing to make it a clinical experiment, and it would be virtually impossible to re-create everything exactly as it was. However, it could be done to make it as close as possible. The best way to conduct a scientific experiment (and I'm hopeless at science, for the record), would be to try different instruments in a range of different ways, to see if it affects the cutting of the apron, if so, how does it effect it, how long does it take, how clean is the cut, etc.

It would be difficult to conduct the experiment in the dark as you would want somebody to photograph and time it being done. I don't think weather conditions/temperature are particularly relevant to how the apron would cut, especially if you're already going to try dry cloth, damp cloth and soaking cloth.

But there's no use nitpicking with it. Atleast you might be able to get some basic answers from it....might look into it further....

Cheers,
Adam.

[Pablito]

It was a half joke. Sorry. Yeah I know about those two suspects. Just wanted to put the idea out there.

[waterloo]

I cannot beleive you are all overlooking the obvious Whatever others may say slitting eyelids is something that cannot be done with a knife. Well having said that it could. But as mentioned earlier this would be with a very sharp surgical knife. Now if this is the case then our search becomes narrowed. This business along with other recently mentioned issues is proving to be very important. Yes the eyelids could be cut with a ceratin knife. Or scissors. There is not much room for anything else. We are getting there!

[Adam Went]

Waterloo:

What about something like a pocket knife? Or one of those Swiss army knives with their many varieties of instruments? It's possible he was carrying a knife of that sort on him as well.

It might well have been different in 1888, but every pair of scissors I have ever seen have always been reasonably blunt on the ends, presumably to stop people stabbing themselves by accident......certainly not sharp enough to cut through eyelid skin.

Cheers,
Adam.