[net.nlang] What is origin of "korl"?

jeff@rtech.ARPA (Jeff Lichtman) (03/03/85)

A friend of mine is writing a play based on a story written by a woman in
a steel town during the industrial revolution.  I don't remember the title
of the story, but it contains the world "korl", which was a by-product of the
steel-making process.  I say "was" because I can't find the word "korl" in
my dictionary (Webster's 2nd), so it's possible that current steel-making
techniques don't produce korl.

Does anyone know the origin of this word?  Some clues are that the author of
the story was Welsh, and korl was a soft and porous material that was used
for carving.
-- 
Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.)
aka Swazoo Koolak