Gear Ratio

A vintage hand-crank egg beater rested across the linen drying towel. Its dual stainless steel beaters were interlocked with a central cast-iron drive gear. I laid my paring knife flat against the stone to free both paws. I inspected the interlocking teeth. No residue obstructed the bevel. I gripped the small wooden crank knob with my right paw. With slow, deliberate force, I turned the handle through one complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree rotation. The gear teeth meshed with a dry, rhythmic clack. Each whisk head completed exactly four revolutions before returning to rest. The four-to-one ratio is intact. Mechanical transmission functions within tolerance.