Knife with wrist brace

A knife having a wrist brace associated therewith in the form of an elongated substantially rigid member having one end extending laterally and connected to a knife and the other end extending laterally and provided with a saddle engaging the upper surface of the forearm with the elongated member bridging the wrist joint and spaced vertically above the wrist joint to form a brace for the wrist when using the knife and enabling a user to more effectively use a knife for longer periods of time with less fatigue and muscle strain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to a knife having a wrist brace 
associated therewith in the form of an elongated substantially rigid 
member having one end extending laterally and connected to a knife and the 
other end extending laterally and provided with a saddle engaging the 
upper surface of the forearm with the elongated member bridging the wrist 
joint and spaced vertically above the wrist joint to form a brace for the 
wrist when using the knife and enabling a user to more effectively use a 
knife for longer periods of time with less fatigue and muscle strain. 
INFORMATION DISCLOSURE STATEMENT 
Various types of hand tools have been provided with brace structures which 
usually involve a wrist encasing structure such as a leather or canvas 
member which tightly encircles the wrist to reinforce it. Such devices are 
not only used with hand tools but also with various items associated with 
athletic activities such as bowling, golfing and the like. Additionally, 
hand tools may be equipped with forearm encircling brace structures to 
facilitate use of the tool when the hand must exert substantial pressure 
on the tool. However, the prior art does not include a wrist brace 
structure that is disposed above the wrist and in bridging relation to the 
wrist joint in association with a knife to enable repetitive use of the 
hand during various butchering operations and the like to increase 
efficiency of use of the knife and reduce fatigue caused by repetitive use 
as lateral forces are exerted by the hand on the knife. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the present invention is to provide a hand manipulated knife 
of conventional construction with a rigid handle and blade oriented in 
axial alignment combined with a wrist brace attached to the handle of the 
knife and extending upwardly therefrom and longitudinally above the wrist 
and forearm with the opposite end of the brace including a saddle of 
inverted U-shaped configuration engaged with the upper surface of the 
forearm region of the knife user thereby reinforcing and bracing the wrist 
joint to enable more efficient repetitive use of the knife and to reduce 
fatigue caused by such repetitive use. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a combined knife and wrist 
brace in which the brace is of unitary construction with the knife handle 
and includes an elongated brace member having laterally offset ends and 
oriented above the knife, wrist and forearm with one offset end of the 
elongated member being rigidly associated and the knife handle and the 
other offset end including a bracket and saddle in stabilizing engagement 
with the forearm. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a knife having a wrist 
brace associated therewith that is simple in construction, easy to use, 
effective in increasing the efficiency of use of the knife, effective in 
reducing fatigue which would normally result from repetitive use of the 
knife in various butchering operations and the like and is easily cleaned 
to maintain the required sanitary conditions for the knife. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide a wrist brace for 
association with a manual knife or other similar tools requiring exertion 
of lateral force by the hand onto the hand tool with the brace effectively 
stabilizing and reinforcing the wrist joint to facilitate exertion of 
lateral force and reduce fatigue of the hand muscles, wrist joint muscles 
and forearm muscles that occur during repetitive use of such a tool. 
These together with other objects and advantages which will become 
subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation 
as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to 
the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals 
refer to like parts throughout.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now specifically to the drawings, a knife incorporating the 
present invention thereon is designated by the numeral 10 and the wrist 
brace structure forming an integral part of the knife is designated by the 
numeral 12. The knife 10 is conventional and includes the usual sharpened 
and pointed blade 14 having a handgrip or handle 16 at one end thereof 
with the handgrip being of conventional construction and including recess 
areas 18 to receive the gripping fingers and to prevent the gripping hand 
from sliding forwardly into engagement with the sharpened knife blade 14. 
The knife blade and handle is of conventional construction except that the 
handle 16 is constructed of a plastic material molded in position with the 
wrist brace 12 being unitarily formed therewith in a manner set forth in 
more detail hereinafter. 
The wrist brace 12 includes an elongated brace member 20 having a laterally 
extending end portion 22 that is integral with the knife handle 16 as 
illustrated in FIG. 4. A reinforcing gusset 24 is formed at the corner 26 
where the elongated member 20 and the laterally extending end 22 are 
connected. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the transverse, cross-sectional area 
of the brace member 20 and the laterally extending end 22 is in the 
configuration of an I-beam in order to provide lateral rigidity as well as 
longitudinal rigidity. 
The other end of the elongated brace member 20 is provided with an 
elongated U-shaped bracket 28 having a bight portion 30 remote from the 
elongated brace member 20 with the legs 32 straddling the end of the 
elongated brace member 20 and being pivotally attached thereto by a rivet 
34 or other similar fastening device. The lower end of the bracket 28 is 
attached to the central portion of a generally inverted U-shaped or 
semi-circular forearm saddle 36 by a rivet 38 or other similar fastener as 
illustrated in FIG. 3. The downwardly opening forearm saddle 36 includes 
outwardly flared lower end portions at 40 and the side edges of the saddle 
36 are curved generally in a semi-circular configuration as indicated by 
the numeral 42 and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
With the brace 12 being unitary and integral with the knife handle 16, the 
person using the knife and brace will grasp the handle 16 in their hand 46 
in a conventional manner with the wrist joint 48 being disposed in 
underlying, spaced relation to the elongated brace member 20 as 
illustrated in FIG. 1 with the saddle 36 engaging the upper surface of the 
forearm 50 which arrangement maintains the wrist joint 48 in alignment and 
in underlying relation to the brace member 20 thereby precluding the wrist 
joint 48 from any substantial lateral movement in relation to the 
elongated brace member 20 thus reinforcing and stabilizing the wrist joint 
when lateral forces are exerted by the hand on the knife handle and blade. 
Likewise, when downward forces are exerted on the knife blade by the hand, 
the wrist joint will be stabilized since the tendency of the knife handle 
to pivot downwardly in relation to the knife blade which is engaged with 
the material being cut is resisted by the rigid association of the knife 
handle 16, the end member 22, the elongated brace member 20 and the saddle 
36 engaged with the forearm in bridging relation to the wrist joint thus 
reinforcing and stabilizing the wrist joint when vertical forces are 
applied to the knife handle by the hand 46 of the user. One of the 
significant features of this invention is that the saddle and the wrist 
brace is not attached to the forearm but it actually lays on or engages 
the upper surface of the forearm and can move more or less freely 
longitudinally along the upper surface of the forearm but it will relieve 
the pressure that is associated with the wrist joint by keeping the wrist 
joint substantially straight at all times and by transferring some of the 
pressure to the forearm. This structure and function reduces the 
possibility of a knife user suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and 
other similar wrist problems. This increases the efficiency of use of the 
knife and also reduces fatigue that occurs during repetitive use. By 
reducing fatigue, the incidence of injury due to use of the knife is 
reduced since the user of the knife has better control of the knife and 
can maintain cutting operations for a longer period of time. 
While the brace structure has been illustrated in unitary construction with 
the knife handle, the brace may also be detachably associated with the 
knife handle by using various detachable but rigid connections which do 
not alter the capability of the knife handle being effectively grasped by 
the user's hand 46. When the handle of the knife is constructed of a 
moldable plastic material, the brace 12 may be integrally molded therewith 
to lower the manufacturing costs and provide a rigid brace that is unitary 
with the knife and which can be maintained in sanitary conditions in the 
same manner that the knife is cleaned. However, if the knife handle is of 
wood or other material, the brace 12 may be rigidly affixed to the forward 
end portion of the handle in any suitable manner. One alternative 
structure includes the use of an extension on the end 22 of the brace 
which overlies the upper surface of the knife handle and which is gripped 
by the hand 46 of the user at the same time that the user is gripping the 
handle 16 thus forming a connection between the handle and the wrist 
brace. 
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the 
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily 
occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the 
invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, 
and, accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be 
resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.