IMPROVEMENTS IN SHEARS FOR SHEARING SHEEP
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Salustiano Puente, of No. 15, Pelham Street,
South Kensington, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the
. ..
Comino HAR
SHARE"
Sealed the 30th July 1875, and dated the 5th February 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Salustiano Puente at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th February 1875.
I, SALUSTIANO PUENTE, of No. 15, Pelham Street, South Kensington,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SHEARS FOR SHEARING SHEEP,"
to be as follows:
This Invention has for its object the forming and arranging of the
blades or cutting parts of shears used for shearing sheep in such a
manner as to reduce the liability to or prevent as far as possible the
chance of cutting or injuring the sheep during the operation of shearing,
which so frequently takes place during that operation when performed
with shears as usually made.

page_text: In order to obtain this result I may form my shear blades of greater
thickness towards the cutting edges by causing those parts to be made of
a half round or other convenient form on the sides which come next the
animal when the shears are being used, and flat on the two surfaces of
the blades which come in contact with one another; and by grinding or
forming the rounded edges or cutting parts to the proper angle with the
flat parts of the blades, obtain an edge which will enable the wool to be
removed without the tendency to draw the skin between the edges, which
is found to exist in using shears of the present make.
I may also, especially in the case of shears already made, add or
attach to the blades pieces or guards of metal or other suitable material,
which may be arranged so as to be readily attached, removed, or
adjusted, and so that they may be readily taken off when it is required
to grind or sharpen the shears, and prevent their acting as obstructions
to either operation.
When these guards are formed as detached parts so as to be attached
to or removed from the blades or cutting parts, the same may be attached
by a screw or screws fitting into a screwed opening or openings formed
in the blades of the shears, and a slot or slots or their equivalent may
be made or formed in the guard to permit of the same being brought
nearer to or moved further from the cutting edge of the blade; and the
said screw or screws may have what is known as a "countersunk " head,
or be otherwise so arranged as to be flush with the exterior surface of the
guard when screwed home, and prevent it or them from acting as an
obstruction when the shears are being used.
I may also make the part or parts of the shears which form the handle
or portions on which the hand is placed in holding the shears when
shearing or cutting of a greater length than usual, in order that the
shears may be used with less power or strength on the part of the user,
and so diminish or prevent the cramping or fatigue of the hand caused
by holding the shears when made of the usual length.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Salustiano Puente in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SALUSTIANO
PUENTE, of No. 15, Pelham Street, South Kensington, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Salustiano Puente, Her special license
that I, the said Salustiano Puente, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Salustiano Puente, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHEARS FOR SHEARING SHEEP," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Salustiano Puente, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Salustiano Puente, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the forming and arranging of the
blades or cutting parts of shears used for shearing sheep in such a
manner as to reduce the liability to or prevent as far as possible the
chance of cutting or injuring the sheep during the operation of shearing,
which so frequently takes place during that operation when performed
with shears as usually made.

page_text: In order to obtain this result I may form my shear blades of greater
thickness towards the cutting edges by causing those parts to be made of
a half round or other convenient form on the sides which come next the
animal when the shears are being used, and flat on the two surfaces of
the blades which come in contact with one another; and by grinding or
forming the rounded edges or cutting parts to the proper angle with the
flat parts of the blades, obtain an edge which will enable the wool to be
removed without the tendency to draw the skin between the edges, which
is found to exist in using shears of the present make.
I may also, especially in the case of shears already made, add or 1
attach to the blades pieces or guards of metal or other suitable material,
which may be arranged so as to be readily attached, removed, or
adjusted, and so that they may be readily taken off when it is required.
to grind or sharpen the shears, and prevent their acting as obstructions
to either operation.
When these guards are formed as detached parts so as to be attached
to or removed from the blades or cutting parts, the same may be attached
by a screw or screws fitting into a screwed opening or openings formed
in the blades of the shears, and a slot or slots or their equivalent may
be made or formed in the guard to permit of the same being brought
nearer to or moved further from the cutting edge of the blade; and the
said screw or screws may have what is known as a "countersunk " head,
or be otherwise so arranged as to be flush with the exterior surface of the
guard when screwed home, and prevent it or them from acting as an
obstruction when the shears are being used.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to

page_text: is thus formed upon the sides of the shear blades which come next the
animal when the shears are being used, and the cutting edges of the
blades are thereby kept at a suitable distance from the skin, and the skin
is prevented from being drawn up between the blades and from being
cut by them, as is frequently the case with shears as heretofore made,
especially when used by inexperienced hands..
The handles of the shears are made in the ordinary manner, or may
be made somewhat longer than usual to prevent the cramping or fatigue
of the hand which is experienced when the shears are made of the usual
length.
The shear blades may either be made entirely of steel or other hard
metal capable of forming a good cutting edge, or the flat surfaces of the
blades which come together may be faced with steel or hard metal at the
cutting edges, whilst the remainder of the blades is of the same metal as
the handles; or raised ribs or projections may be formed upon the back
of the blades, as shown at Figures 2 to 5, the strip of metal of which the
blades are to be formed being rolled or made with this projection. One
way of forming a guard a at the back of the shear blades in this manner
is shown at Figures 2 and 2ª. In this each of the shear blades is formed
with a raised rib or projection at the back, close to the cutting edge.
The strips of metal of which the blades are to be made may for this
purpose be rolled or formed with this projection upon them, as above
stated; or in place of these ribs or projections being made solid, as
shewn at Figures 2, they may be hollow, as shewn at Figure 3, the
surfaces of the blades which come together being left flat for a distance
in rear of the cutting edges, so that the blades may work together in the
ordinary manner.
The form of the rib or projection a at the back of the blade, whether
solid or hollow, may also be varied, as, for example, they might be of
the form shown at Figures 4 or 5.
Guards a may also, as before stated, be attached to the back of the
blades by screws, as shown at Figures 6 and 6ª, so that they may readily
be removed when it is required to grind or sharpen the shears. The
guard plates may have slots formed in them, which allow of the edge of
the guard being set nearer to or further from the cutting edge of the
blades, as may be required. The guard plates may also be made some-
what hollow on their under side, so that when screwed to the back of

page_text: the shear blades they may spring somewhat, and so insure keeping the
edge of the guard plate close up to the back of the shear blade, more
especially at the points of the blades, so that the wool shall not be able
to enter and be caught between the blades and guards as the points are
pushed forward into the wool.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim, the con-
struction of shears, substantially as herein-before described, so as to
reduce as far as possible the chance of cutting or injuring the sheep
during the operation of shearing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Salustiano Puente, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.