Improved Hand-grasp suitable for Golf Clubs, Tennis Racquets, Cricket Bats, Fishing Rods, Base-ball Bats, or other Instrument where a Firm Grasp is Necessary.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 10th July, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 9th Feb., 1891--Accepted, 18th Apr., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Hand-grasp suitable for Golf Clubs, Tennis Racquets,
Cricket Bats, Fishing Rods, Base-ball Bats, or other Instrument
where a Firm Grasp is Necessary.
I, WILLIAM CURRIE, Junr., 6, Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
The application of india rubber, gutta perch balata or celluloid and cork to form
a hand-grasp or handle for golf clubs etc."
The india rubber, gutta percha or balata is mixed with ground cork and vulcanised
(if necessary) in the manner well known to india rubber manufacturers.
When the celluloid and cork is used they are mixed in the manner usually
adopted by celluloid manufacturers. The proportion of india rubber, gutta percha,
balata, or celluloid to cork may be varied. I do not confine myself to any particular
shape of hand-grasp or manner of fixing it on but will use the shape & manner of
fixing I find best. The advantages claimed are
1. That it is not affected by water or heat.
2. Will not blister the hands.
3. That by its use a more perfect hand-grasp may be obtained.
WILLIAM CURRIE, JUNR.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Hand-grasp suitable for Golf Clubs, Tennis Racquets,
Cricket Bats, Fishing Rods, Base-ball Bats, or other Instrument
where a Firm Grasp is Necessary.
I, WILLIAM CURRIE, Junior, of 6, Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, Scotland,
India-rubber Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to hand grasps or handles for golf clubs, tennis racquets,
cricket bats, fishing rods, base-ball bats and other instruments where a firm grasp
is necessary and consists in an improved manufacture of said hand grasps or handles
by means of which a firm and supple grasp or grip of the same is obtained.
In carrying my invention into effect, I first mix ground cork with one or more of
the following substances, namely: india-rubber, gutta-percha, balata and celluloid.
The proportion I prefer is two parts of said substances to three parts of ground
cork, but the proportion may be varied according to the toughness or solidity of the
handle required. To the mixture I by preference add sulphur or other vulcanizing
agent and make the same into a dough or batch in the manner ordinarily used by
india-rubber manufacturers for this purpose. Said batch or dough when sufficiently
mixed is run or rolled into sheets of the desired thickness and cut into strips or
pieces of the required size and shape for being formed into a tube fitting upon the
wooden handles of the articles herein before referred to. The tube is formed from
the said strip or piece by placing the same upon or bending it round a mandrel or
otherwise moulding it into a tube, which is then vulcanized in the manner ordinarily
used and well-known to manufacturers of india-rubber goods. It is then ready for
use and can be easily fitted upon and cemented or otherwise fixed to the wooden
handles of the instruments hereinbefore referred to. In some cases I do not add
sulphur or other vulcanizing agent to the mixture of cork and india-rubber, gutta-

page_text: percha, balata or celluloid and omit the vulcanizing process, forming and fixing the
handle in other respects in the manner herein before described.
These handles or coverings of handles enable the holder to have a secure grasp
on the same, which is very important and essential in the case of the instruments
herein before referred to, while the composition also has a certain yielding quality;
obviating the liability to blister the hands common to plain or string covered
wooden handles. The improved handle or hand grasp is also not affected by heat
or moisture.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
Firstly. The manufacture of handles or hand grasps with coverings formed of a
vulcanized or unvulcanized compound of ground cork and one or more of the
following ingredients, namely: india-rubber, gutta-percha, balata, and celluloid,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
Secondly. The combination with a wooden handle of a tubular covering fixed to
the same and formed of a vulcanized or unvulcanized compound of ground cork and
one or more of the following ingredients, namely, india-rubber, gutta-percha, balata,
and celluloid, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 6th day of February 1891.
W. T. EMMOTT,
Agent for the Applicant.