with Sharpening Pencils.
Year: 1885

page_text: with Sharpening Pencils.
I JAMES LANGTON CLARKE of Leamington in the County of Warwick Clerk in
Holy Orders do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN OR CONNECTED WITH SHARPENING PENCILS,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to apparatus to be employed in sharpening or cutting lead
pencils and the like whereby the wood chips and dust or chips from the lead or
other marking material produced by the cutting or sharpening are collected in
place of being dispersed or scattered as is the case in the usual operation of pencil
cutting.
In carrying out my Invention in order to effect the above object I provide a
receptacle of suitable shape having slots or recesses into or through which the
blade of a knife is passed and where it can be firmly held at a proper angle whilst
the pencil is drawn across the cutting blade leaving the chips dust or refuse cut
away from the pencil within the receptacle. The receptacle may be made with a
shield or other arrangement for intercepting the chips or dust and causing them to
fall into the receptacle.
This receptacle may be conveniently made of card board, metal or other material
and may be plain or with any desired ornament or ornamentation.
By making the slits through which the blades of the knife pass a sufficient
length a spring like action is obtained and in some cases au additional spring may
be employed to hold the blade of the knife in the proper cutting position.
When the receptacles above described are made of any paper material such as
cardboard they may be strengthened by the addition of metallic or other plates
applied where the strain on the receptacles is likely to occur.
When desired the apparatus may be made with a special blade fixed in proper
position across the receptacle or the ordinary well-known pencil sharpener may be
fitted in the above described receptace.
A hone or leather or both may be applied to some part of the receptacle for
convenience of sharpening the knives.

page_text: with Sharpening Pencils.
I JAMES LANGTON CLARKE of Leamington, in the County of Warwick, Clerk in
Holy Orders, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
My Invention relates to apparatus to be employed in sharpening pencils or the
like whereby the dust and chips produced during the sharpening operation are
collected in place of being scattered or dispersed as is the case in the usual opera-
tion of pencil sharpening whilst the sharpening is effected more readily and with
greater precision by means of my apparatus than it is in the usual mode of
sharpening.
The apparatus may be constructed according to my Invention either so that it
can be used with an ordinary penknife or so that it constitutes a sharpening
apparatus complete in itself.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in plan and Figure 2
epresents in vertical transverse section an apparatus constructed according to
my Invention so that it constitutes a sharpening apparatus complete in itself that
is to say with a cutter forming a permanent part thereof.
A receptacle A has fixed therein a blade or cutter B situated at such an angle
and at such a distance from the edge of the casing at a and from the opposite wall
or side at a³ that when the pencil is passed into the casing as shewn at a in
Figure 2 it rests against the edge or surface at a and passing under the blade B
comes into contact therewith at an angle proper to effect the cutting of the desired
point. The back part a³ of the casing constitutes a stop against which the pencil a
can be brought before each cut (as shewn in Figure 2) to regulate the length of
point cut The said receptacle À may be made with a shield or the like as at a³
where the said shield is shewn as constituted by a continuation of the material of
the receptacle itself. This shield serves to intercept the chips or dust to the better
insure their falling into the receptacle A.
The said receptacle may conveniently be made of sheet metal but it may if
desired be made of cardboard or papier mâche or of any other suitable material, and
it may be plain or ornamented as desired. If made of a comparatively weak
material such as card board it may be strengthened at parts with metal. I do not
limit myself to the shape shewn in the Drawing as it may of course be varied.
For example it may be made narrower or flatter with a correspondingly shorter
cutter so that the apparatus is adapted to be carried in the pocket and it may if
desired be provided with a lid or cover.
In using the apparatus the receptacle A is grasped in one hand and the pencil is
by the other hand inserted into the receptacle over the edge or surface a and under
the cutter B until the end of the pencil touches the wall at a² and the casing or
the pencil is then moved in the direction of the length of the pencil the requisite
number of times to effect the sharpening the removed portions falling into the
receptacle.

page_text: The apparatus in the form for enabling an ordinary penknife to be used in place
of a fixed cutter is shewn in perspective in Figure 3. Slits C are formed in the
sides of the apparatus preferably extending through the edges at c so as to give a
springing action to accommodate different thicknesses of blade. c² are small strips
which may be fixed to one side of each slit and embrace the end opening thereof
at c to prevent the distortion of the sides and the accidental withdrawal of the
blade.
It will be understood that the blade of the penknife is passed through both
slits C so as to take the same position as that taken by the cutter in the apparatus
shewn at Figures 1 and 2.
The apparatus may be adapted for cutting various lengths of point by inclining
the position of the cutting blade (or the relative position of the slots for its
reception) to the opposite wall of the receptacle as illustrated by Figure 4 which
shews an apparatus with a fixed cutter; or for the same purpose the said wall
may be provided with surfaces at various distances from the blade as illustrated
at as as in Figure 5. I may fix a piece of gritstone .or other like material at the
back wall (a) of the receptacle and this material may be made to constitute the
steps a. The said material will serve to enable slate pencils or the like to be
rubbed to a fine point.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. In apparatus for sharpening pencils, a blade or cutter or slots for the
accommodation of a blade or cutter, and an edge or surface as at a, so relatively
arranged in connection with a receptacle or support that the pencil can be passed
over and rest upon the said edge or surface a and be passed beneath the blade or
cutter substantially as herein before described and illustrated, whether or not the
opposite wall of the receptacle or support be utilized as a stop or as stops, as
described and illustrated.
Second. A sharpening apparatus, constructed and arranged as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
Third. An apparatus for use with a penknife to effect the sharpening of pencils,
the said apparatus being constructed and arranged as hereinbefore described and
illustrated in Figure 3 of the accompanying Drawings.
Fourth. The modified constructions of the apparatus explained with reference to
figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying Drawings.
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