IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND SHARPENING KNIVES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Courteen, of Clapham Road, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
CLEANING AND SHARPENING KNIVES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Courteen at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th April 1880.
HENRY COURTEEN, of Clapham Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND SHARPENING KNIVES."
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of apparatus
for cleaning and sharpening table knives, wheroby the amount of friction on the
blade is gradually increased from the back to the cutting edge in lieu of, as
heretofore, applying the greatest amount of friction to the the thickest or back
portion of the blade which, in consequence, became rapidly worn and deteriorated.
According to one form of my Invention I employ two rollers in the form of
frustums of cones covered with leather, skin, india rubber, or other suitable material,
and mounted upon converging axles working in adjustable bearings, such axles
being driven from a driving shaft common to the two by bevel or other gearing,
or the two converging axles may be geared together direct. These conical rollers
may be placed with their line of contact cither in a vertical or horizontal position,
or at any intermediate angle, but I prefer to dispose it vertically so that the
emery or other cleaning powder may descend in a stream from a hopper above
upon the surfaces of both rollers simultaneously. The knife blade is introduced
between the rollers with its back or thickest portion towards the smaller end of
the rollers and its cutting edge towards the larger diameter, so that a larger
frictional surface shall act upon the thinner part of the blade than upon tho.
thicker part. The knife is held in a convenient holder having a longitudinal to
and fro motion imparted thereto, such motion being derived, if desired, from tho
same shaft that drives the rollers by the aid of a reciprocating rack and pinion
motion, or its mechanical equivalent.
If preferred the conical rollers may be employed without the self acting knife
holding arrangement, in which case the knife would be held and moved to and fro
longitudinally by the hand of the operator, and if it be desired to clean only one
side of the blade at a time, the apparatus may be further simplified by using
only one conical roller in conjunction or not with an adjustable pressing surface.
The said conical roller or rollers may, if desired, be mounted with bristles in the
form of a rotary brush.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Courteon in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
October 1880.
HENRY COURTEEN, of Clapham Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND SHARPENING KNIVES."
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of apparatus
for cleaning and sharpening table knives, whereby the amount of friction applied
to the blades is so regulated as to he least at the thickest or back part and
gradually to increase towards the cutting edge in lieu of, as heretofore, applying
the least amount of friction to the thinnest parts and the greatest friction to the
thickest or back portion of the blade which, in consequence, became rapidly
worn at that part. According to one arrangement for carrying out my
Invention I employ two solid or hollow rollers of wood, metal, or other suitable
material in the form of frustums of cones having surfaces of leather, skin, india
rubber, bristles, or other frictional material suitable for cleaning or for sharpening
knives, and mounted upon converging axles working in adjustable bearings, such
axles being both driven directly from a driving shaft common to the two by
separate bevel or other gearing, or the two converging axles inay be geared
together the one to the other, either one of them being driven directly or from a sepa-
rate driving shaft, but I prefer the arrangement first mentioned. These conical
rollers are mounted in a suitable standard or supporting frame with their line of
contact either in a vertical or horizontal position, or at any intermediate angle, but
I prefer to dispose the same vertically so that the emery or other cleaning powder
employed may descend from a hopper above and be sprinkled upon the acting
surfaces of both the conical rollers simultaneously. The knife blade is introduced
point foremost between the rollers with its back or thickest portion towards the
smaller ends of the rollers and its cutting edge towards their larger diameter, so
that a greater frictional action shall be exerted upon the thinner part of the blade
than upon the thicker part owing to the larger diameter of the rollers at that part
and to an increased pressure there applied. The knife may, if desired, be held in
a convenient holder having a self acting to-and-fro motion longitudinally to the
blade imparted thereto from the driving shaft of the conical rollers by any well
known mechanical arrangement, but in most cases the self acting traversing knife
bolder may be dispensed with, the knife being simply held and moved to-and-fro
longitudinally between the rollers by the hand of the operator. Should it be
desired to clean only one side of the blade at a time it is obvious that one conical
roller alone might be used in conjunction with a fixed bearing surface for
supporting the opposite face of the blade.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to the
several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in both the Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings is a front elevation, partly in section, of my improved
machine; and Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the same with the cover of the
hopper removed.
The frame of the machine consists of two chief parts 1-2 joined together by the
aid of screws 3 in such a manner as to constitute an appropriate support for all the
moving parts, as well as a casing for enclosing some of these parts. A driving
shaft 4 furnished with a handle 5 carries two bevel wheels G which gear with two
wheels 7, severally mounted on the two inclined and converging axles 8. These
last have each fixed thereon a conical roller or frustum of a cone 9 covered on their
acting surfaces with india rubber or other suitable material 10. The axles 8 are
supported at the top and bottom in the sliding bearings or blocks 11 disposed in

page_text: inclined cavities formed by the frames 1-2 (see Figure 1). The blocks or
bearings 11 are constantly pushed along the inclined cavities towards the centre
of the apparatus by the helical springs 12, so that the cleaning surfaces of the cones
shall be maintained in elastic or yielding contact with one another. In order to
allow the pressure between the two cones to be regulated the springs 12 of the
lower bearings are made adjustable by the aid of a regulating screw 13, as shown
on the right in Figure 1. It is obvious that this pressure can be so applied as not
only to move the axles 8 towards one another laterally or in a direction at right
angles or thereabouts to their axis, but also to move them longitudinally towards
the point where the prolongation of their axes intersect. The adjustment of the
pressure by these two combined actions is effected by the arrangement shown on
the left in Figure 1, where the cavity receiving the lower bearing 11 is formed with
an inclined surface a upon which the bearing 11 having a corresponding inclined
surface slides, such inclination forming a larger angle than a right angle with the
axis of the roller or rollers. The knives are cleaned by introducing the blade point
foremost between the two cones through the openings 14 and 15 formed for this
purpose in the parts 1-2 of the frame, the sides of the said opening serving as
fulcra upon which the blade may be swivelled more or less so as to increase the
pressure or friction thereon of the rollers as required. In order to facilitate the
cleaning and give a superior polish to the blades the cones are constantly sprinkled
with emery or other suitable cleaning or polishing powder. For this purpose the
upper parts of the frame 1-2 form together a hopper 16 for containing pulverized
material which descends onto the cones through the holes 17 made in any convenient
part of the upper part of the casing, or a single aperture alone may be used situate
between the two cones. The hopper is preferably provided with a cover 18 in which
are secured one or more metal wires 19 projecting downwards and entering the hole
or holes 17 so as to facilitate the feeding of the powder by the vibration of the wires
caused by the working of the machine. In order to collect the powder as it falls
from the cones an opening is made in the lower part of the casing which encloses
the cones, and below this opening there is provided a trough or drawer 20 into
which the powder falls and from which it can be removed from time to time. The
drums 21 fixed in the lower parts of the casing and surrounding the axles serve to
prevent the powder from escaping by the openings in the frame through which the
said axles pass.
A covering of india rubber or other suitable material 22 mounted on the driving
axle 4 serves to clean the blades of the knives at their junction with the handle
where the lateral projections which are frequently to be found here might prevent
contact at this part with the cones.
With a machine constructed as above described the cleaning and sharpening of
knives can be effected in a simple and rapid manner by simply turning the handle
of the driving axle and introducing the blade point foremost and with the cutting
edge downwards through the front opening 14 between the cones.
A longitudinal polish of the blade is produced by these means greatly resembling
that of polished silver. The cutting edge is perfectly maintained, and the most
efficacious action is exerted at this part, the sides of the blade near the back being
less affected and consequently less worn. This results from the fact that the
pressure exercised by the cones at their lower parts can be increased to any desired
extent beyond the pressure at the upper parts by the screws 13, whilst the superficial
rate of motion at the larger diameter is also greater than at the upper part, hence
the friction is greater. Morcover, as the friction is applied longitudinally in lieu of
transversely to the blade, the shocks and vibrations which have the effect of rapidly
loosening the blade in the handle, as is the case in machines of the ordinary con-
struction, are entirely obviated.
"
Many modifications may be made in the construction of this machine without
departing from the essential features of my Invention, thus the hopper and its
accessories for supplying the cones with powder may be dispensed with in certain
cases. Regulating screws may be equally adapted to the upper blocks or bearings 11

page_text: of the axles 8. If desired a fixed support or rest 23 (Figure 2), serving to guide the
knives on their entering and also on their leaving the machine, may be fitted
thereto.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that I am aware that it has been proposed to
employ cylindrical rollers on parallel shafts geared together and revolving in opposite
directions for cleaning knives, and therefore I lay no claim to such an arrangement,
but what I consider to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,—
First. In an apparatus for cleaning and sharpening knives the use of rotary
conical rollers mounted on converging axles turning in opposite directions, substan-
tially as hereinbefore described.
Secondly. In an apparatus for cleaning and sharpening knives the use of rotary
conical rollers mounted on converging axles turning in opposite directions in
moveable or adjustable bearings, substantially as herein before described.
Thirdly. An apparatus for cleaning and sharpening knives consisting of the
combination of rotary conical rollers mounted on converging axles with appropriate
driving or actuating parts, and a hopper for sprinkling the conical rollers
with emery or other suitable pulverized material, substantially as herein before
described.
Fourthly. The peculiar constructions and arrangements of apparatus for cleaning
and sharpening knives, as herein before described and illustrated by the Drawing
hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Courteen, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
H. COURTEEN. (L.S.)