IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLIPPING OR SHEARING HORSES AND OTHER ANIMALS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Robert Grayson, of Princes Square,
Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLIPPING OR SHEARING HORSES AND
OTHER ANIMALS."
Sealed the 19th April 1870, and dated the 22nd October 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Robert Grayson,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd October 1869.
I, JOHN ROBERT GRAYSON, of Princes Square, Bayswater, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLIPPING OR SHEARING HORSES AND
OTHER ANIMALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of
apparatus for clipping horses and for shearing or clipping other animals,
the advantages consisting chiefly in the facility afforded of clipping the
hair or wool at a short distance from the skin instead of shaving the

page_text: animal close, in the application of the cutting blades in relation to
the comb, and especially in the means of adjusting the cutter in any
desired variety of position in regard to the guiding and clipping handles,
whereby all parts of the animal may be operated upon with equal
facility.
The apparatus consists of a flat guide plate, on which the moving
parts are carried; its upper portion is cut with a series of teeth to form
a comb or guide for the cutting knives to traverse, but the points of
these teeth aro so tapered as to be slightly above the under level of the
plate, whereby the skin of the animal is protected from injury.
1
A holder or guiding handle for the left hand is attached to the lower
portion of the plate by means of a forked bar, through the ends of which
and through the plate a strong pin or stud is inserted secured to the
under side of the plate by a head or screw nut. The plate being provided
with a series of apertures placed equidistant from the stem, it follows 1
that the guiding handle may be set to any angle up to 90 degrees on
each side of the centre of the plate, and secured at that angle by
means of a set screw or other equivalent passing through corresponding
apertures in the forked bar. The upper surface of the plate contains
two fixed stems in line with the edge of the comb, which servo to 2
support a horizontal bolt of metal by means of two slots, enabling the
bolt to shoot to and fro by the action of the working handle of the
apparatus, which is operated by the right hand, although whenever
required the left hand may be used to cut and the right to guide.
The clipping handle takes its fulcrum from the central stud, working 2
loosely thereon, and clevated clear of the sliding bolt by the intervention
of a collar, being finally secured by a double-headed thumbscrew. The
handle being terminated by an enlarged flat surface is pierced with a
series of holes, any one of which may be made to gear with a stud on
the side of the block, so that the motion of the handle will cause the 3
bolt to move reciprocally in a true line on the upper surface of the guide
plate; as a consequence the working or cutting handle can also be set
to any desired angle in regard to the plate and guiding handle as most
convenient for the operator. A nut may also be applied to the bolt stud
to steady its handle bar. A portion of the bolt is planed or cut away so 3
as to leave a space between it and the plate, within which space the knife
bar is secured, resting in a step along the block. The knives project

page_text: from the cutter bar free of the bolt, and take their bearing on the comb;
they are made very strong, and after the manner of triangular cutters used
in mowing machines, so that there is no possibility of the teeth of the
comb becoming clogged or choked by grit or other foreign substance, as
is the case with knives which work by a pressing or squeezing action
against the comb, and thus breaks the teeth.
A friction plate or washer and nut is finally placed over each stem of
the slots, so that the adjustment of the knife bolt may be regulated.
The knife bar being thus separate and distinct from the handle, it may
casily be removed and another cutter applied to avoid loss of time in
sharpening.
The guide plate is made of increased thickness under the comb so as
to allow of the under fastenings passing free from contact with the
animal.
In this apparatus no bearings aro made dependent on screws set in
plates, and which are so liable to become loose or broken by the unduc
pressure exerted on them. In place of such, the bearings and fulcrum
are taken from stems of great strength, which cannot get out of order
or be broken by any work to which the apparatus may be subjected. It
may be made of various sizes, from very fine teeth for clipping horses
to coarse teeth for shearing sheep or other animals, and it possesses, as
stated, the advantage over all other clipping apparatus of being varied
and adjusted as to cut just above the hoof, or under the flank, or the
neck of the horse without difficulty or danger.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Robert Grayson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ROBERT GRAYSON, of Princes Square, Bayswater, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto me, the said John Robert Grayson, Her special
licence that I, the said John Robert Grayson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Robert Grayson,
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 APPARATUS FOR CLIPPING OR SHEARING HORSES AND OTHER
ANIMALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Robert Grayson, 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 John Robert Grayson, do hereby
declare the nature of my said 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 certain improvements in the construction of
apparatus for clipping horses and for shearing or clipping other animals,
the advantages consisting chiefly in the facility afforded of clipping the
hair or wool at a short distance from the skin instead of shaving the animal
close, in the application of the cutting blades in relation to the comb,
and especially in the means of adjusting the cutter in any desired
variety of position in regard to the guiding and clipping handles,
whereby all parts of the animal may be operated upon with equal
facility.
The apparatus consists of a flat guide plate on which the moving parts
are carried; its upper portion is cut with a series of teeth to form
a comb or guide for the cutting knives to traverse, but the points
of these teeth are so tapered as to be slightly above the under
level of the plate, whereby the skin of the animal is protected from
injury.
A holder or guiding handle for the left hand is attached to the lower
portion of the plate by means of a forked or single bar, through the ends
of which and through the plate a strong pin or stud is inserted secured

page_text: to the under side of the plate by a head or screw nut. The plate being
provided with a series of apertures placed equidistant from the stem, it
follows that the guiding handle may be set to any angle up to 90 degrees
on each side of the centre of the plate, and secured at that angle by
means of a set screw or other equivalent passing through corresponding
apertures in the forked bar. The upper surface of the plate contains
two fixed stems in line with the edge of the comb, which serve to support
a horizontal bolt of metal by means of two slots, enabling the bolt to
shoot to and fro by the action of the working handle of the apparatus,
which is operated by the right hand, although whenever required the left
hand may be used to cut and the right to guide.
The clipping handle takes its fulcrum from the central stud, working
loosely thereon, and elevated clear of the sliding bolt by the intervention
of a collar, being finally secured by a double-headed thumbscrew or milled
edged button screw. The handle being terminated by an enlarged flat
surface is pierced with a series of holes, any one of which may be made
to gear with a stud on the side of the block, so that the motion of the
handle will cause the bolt to move reciprocally in a true line on the
upper surface of the guide plate. As a consequence the working
or cutting handle can also be set to any desired angle in regard
to the plate and guiding handle as most convenient for the operator.
A nut may also be applied to the bolt stud to steady its handle
bar. A portion of the bolt may be planed or cut away so as to leave
a space between it and the plate, within which space the knife
bar may be secured resting in a step along the block and being fixed to
the stud passing through the bolt or by means of two short pins. The
knives project from the cutter bar free from the bolt and take their
bearing on the comb; they are made very strong and after the manner
of triangular cutters used in mowing or reaping machines, so that
there is no possibility of the teeth of the comb becoming clogged or
choked by grit or other foreign substance, as is the case with knives
which work by pressing or squeezing action against the comb and thus
break the teeth.
A friction plate or washer and nut is finally placed over cach stem
of the slots, so that the adjustment of the knife bolt may be regulated.
The knife bar being thus separate and distinct from the handle it
may easily be removed and another cutter applied to avoid loss of time in
sharpening.

page_text: In this apparatus no bearings are made dependent on screws set
in plates, and which are so liable to become loose or broken by
the undue pressure exerted on them. In place of such bearings the
bearings and fulcrum are taken from stems of great strength, which
cannot get out of order or be broken by any work to which the
apparatus may be subjected.
In order that my said Invention may be completely understood I
annex the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 represents a front
view of the instrument; Fig. 2 a side view, and Fig. 3 a back view of
cutter on the block.
The plate a on which all the parts are sustained is held at the desired
position by the adjustable handle 6 capable of traversing the semicircle
of the plate and of being fixed in any of the round or square recesses c
by means of the moveable pin d or by means of a sliding bolt, so that
the instrument may be held by the operator in various positions according
to the surface of the horse or other animal to be clipped or sheared. For
convenience of clipping the belly of the horse the handle may be taken
off and placed reversley, traversing across the comb, so that the apparatus
may be worked upside down, leaving the other handle free below, as
shewn in dotted lines. The other handle e works on the central pin:
or fulcrum f, set in a square hole in the plate, and secured by a screw
collar, and actuates the sliding block 9 by the pivot h fixed therein, the
plate intervening, and all being secured together by thumbscrews, or
by preference by means of milled edged button screws, whereby tho,
friction of the cutters k against the comb on the plate a may be 2
accurately determined. The teeth of the comb do not form V-grooves,
but are parallel and cut like a musical box comb; they are so tempered
that they may be bent, but will not break; they do not assist the
cutting, excepting by their guiding action. It will be observed that
the cutter bar is provided with two slots m, m, corresponding with 3
similar slots in the block; through these the two stems m³, m', on the
plate a are caused to pass, and consequently the parallel reciprocating
motion of the block and cutters on the surface of the comb is com-
pletely ensured. The handle 6 takes its bearing at the rear of the
plate on the central fulcrum, and becomes a fixed handle when set in 3
either of the marginal recesses. The handle a has three or more
apertures, the central one being shown set on the stud, but either of the
others may be adjusted thereon as most convenient. The cutter is

page_text: entirely free of the sliding block, and is held in position between the
sliding block and comb plate by two short studs n, n, set in the block
and penetrating through the cutter plate, so that the block and cutters
move simultaneously. It is thus most easy to remove the cutting blades
for the purpose of sharpening them, as it is only necessary to release
the three screws and all the parts may be separated.
By the use of this apparatus it will be found that no marks will be
left on the horse's coat, but that a perfectly oven or velvety surface will
be presented such as cannot be effected by any other shearing or clipping
apparatus. The operation is one of a clean and direct cut without any
drag or clog, so that the instrument is not liable to get out of order or to
require repair; so also a new cutter may be applied at any time without
difficulty, two or three cutters being provided, if necessary, to each
instrument. In fact the action of the angular cutters is similar to that
effected by scissors, effecting a clear sharp cut, and this without the
slightest chance of injury to the skin of the animal. Moreover the
rapidity of work is far greater than can be afforded by any other
description of clipper, and the facility of its adjustment obviates the
fatigue and inconvenience experienced by the use of other cutters, as all
parts of the animal may be operated upon with the greatest facility and
certainty. As the reaping machine divides the stalk so also this
instrument takes away the desired extent of hair by the simple to-and-
fro motion of the angular cutters in conjunction with the protecting and
guiding comb.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and tho
manner in which the same is to be carried into practical effect, I would
remark that I do not limit or restrict myself to the precise details and
configuration of parts which I have expressed and shewn, as the same
may obviously be slightly varied or modified without in any degree
departing from the principles and objects on which it is based; for
example, the angles of the cutters, their size, and number may be varied,
and also the number of teeth in the comb and the dimensions and
strength of the apparatus may be increased or diminished according to
the purpose for which it may be required; but what I claim and desire
to bo secured to me by the hercin in part recited Letters Patent is, the
general arrangement, construction, and combination of parts whereby
I am enabled to construct an apparatus for clipping or shearing horses
and other animals in such manner that the apparatus may be adjusted to

page_text: numerous angles or positions to suit the varying surface of the animal,
and whereby the shearing or clipping may be regulated to the exact
extent required without shaving the hair or wool too closely and without
injuring the animal, leaving a smooth surface without marks, the apparatus
being capable of being taken to pieces and adjusted for sharpening or
renewing the cutter bar, or for other purposes, all substantially as herein
specified and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Robert Grayson, havo hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
ALEX³. PRINCE,
Office of Patents,
4, Trafalgar Square,
Charing Cross.
JOHN R. GRAYSON. (L.S.)